Were things really better in the good old days? Only if you were healthy, wealthy and male. For most, life in London was one of grinding poverty, binge drinking, prostitution and gun crime. The 19th century was a time of growing awareness of the existence of an impoverished underclass - a terrifying demi-monde of criminals, tarts and no-hope low-lifes. Gilda O'Neill explores the teeming underbelly dwelling in the fog-bound streets, rat-infested slums, common lodging house, boozers, penny gaffs and brothels in the heart of the greatest empire the world has ever seen, revealing that Victoria's was actually a most unruly reign.