Despite being written over a hundred years ago, this book still has surprising relevance. The job market, new machinery, immigrants, religion, causes of poverty, the working life, ability to save for one’s own retirement and enable one’s children’s future - these are some of the themes discussed in this book.

Reading through the struggles of working men and their families in a small town outside of London prior to the events of the Russian revolution you can see the fresh hope of socialism and their arguments for it. It’s a valuable historical journey to that time, which makes you reflect on where we are today. As a literary piece, it offers both - humour and disturbing moments of sadness. I thoroughly enjoyed the language and the spelling used to mimic the accents and pronunciation, which add richness to the characters.

Would definitely recommend reading about the author prior to reading the book for some extra context.

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