Book description
Victorian Liverpool was a city of abundant wealth and abysmal poverty. By day the broad streets bustled with wealthy merchants making fortunes from the booming dock trade. By nightfall they were taken over by fearsome gangs from the foul courtyards and overcrowded tenements. Shrieks and screams cut the air, while…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Gangs of Liverpool as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Liverpool in the 19th century was actually two cities; one of fabulous wealth (a powerful minority of the population) and the other of grinding poverty and deprivation (the majority of the population). This divide, and the dreadful living and health conditions of the poorer and working classes led to a great deal of crime, often carried out by violent gangs of mostly young men.
This book tells the stories of how this came about, and of the gangs and their members. It pulls no punches, and paints a picture of the dark underbelly of what was then ‘The Second City…
From Ken's list on The best books of Liverpool and Merseyside history.
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