The East End Four Centuries of London Life
This study examines the evolution of the Tower Hamlets - Bethnal Green, Poplar, Hackney and Stepney - and sifts through the facts relating to an area notorious for its violent crime, political unrest and poverty. Palmer argues that the area is a microcosm of the tensions apparent in British society as a whole, derived from the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the age of the railway, the two World Wars and the current invasion of the young rich.