Night Waves

Philip Dodd explores the work of the journalist, social investigator, dramatist and novelist, Henry Mayhew. His masterpiece, London Labour and the London Poor, is a staggering account of the struggle for survival in tough times. It grew out of a series of newspaper articles and was first published in book form in 1851. Its admirers say Mayhew paints the most vivid picture that we have of labourers in the greatest city of the nineteenth century. It's driven by his manic curiosity, his moral indignation and an unflinching descriptive pen that rivals Dickens....all in all a fitting subject for a Night Waves landmark. To discuss Mayhew's achievement and legacy, Philip Dodd is joined by the writer Iain Sinclair and by historians Jerry White, Rohan McWilliam and Lawrence Goldman. Producer: Zahid Warley.