In the 1880s and 1890s, Walter Besant was one of Britain’s most lionized living novelists.Today he is comparatively unknown.Bringing together literary critics and book historians, as well as social and cultural historians, this volume provides a major reassessment of Besant.

First published in 1882, All Sorts and Conditions of Men chronicles daily life in the East-end district of Whitechapel road, where people go about their business with an air of quiet resignation. The arrival of Miss Kennedy, who wants to establish a dressmakers' co-operative, causes great excitement, especially when it transpires she is a friend of Angela Messenger, heiress to a local brewing fortune. Meanwhile, Harry Goslet learns his is not an aristocrat but the son of a lowly army sergeant. Determined to return to his true roots, he moves to the East End, where he ends up in the same boarding house as Miss Kennedy. The two discover a mutual interest in social reform, imagining a People's Palace of delight where the working classes can enjoy recreational activities as a reward for their labours. Nothing is quite what it seems in this magical microcosm, and soon their dreams are realised in the shape of a shimmering edifice that transforms the local community. This edition includes: a critical introduction, explanatory footnotes, suggestions for further reading, and extensive contextual material.

Reprint of the textbook on the history of London, from the foundation to the reign of George II, illustrated with many pictures and maps. Originally published in 1894.

Reproduction of the original: The Revolt of Man by Walter Besant

Autobiography of Sir Walter Besant (1902) is a posthumously published autobiography by Walter Besant. Although he is more widely known for his works of fiction and book-length studies of the city of London, Besant was also a gifted autobiographer whose unique sense of self and rich memories make for an entertaining, informative read. “I am supposing that [man] has the choice offered him, together with an outline of the future—not a future of fate laid down with Calvinistic rigour, but a future of possibility. And as time, past or future, does not exist in the other world, I am supposing that a man can be born in any age that he pleases.” The son of a merchant, Walter Besant would combine ambition with wit to become one of Victorian England’s leading intellectual figures. His autobiography is not just the portrait of a man, but a record of a century that saw empires rise and fall, industry outpace agriculture, and the life of humanity change forever, for better or worse. Unsatisfied with the success and fame he found in his literary work, Besant dedicated himself to social causes and was a true champion of the poor in London and around the world. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Walter Besant’s Autobiography of Sir Walter Besant is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.