Life in the Cities [Australia in the Victorian Age Volume 3] by Michael Cannon

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to edges and corners. Foxing to top foredge. Small mark on top foredge. Dust jacket covered in protective plastic. Interior pages are in excellent condition and binding is still very good.

The final volume of Michael Cannon's saga on Australia in the Victorian age brings together the human factors that made our cities unique monuments to ambition and folly.

Contrary to romantic notions, the story of booming cities of the laissez-faire era was one of steadily deteriorating quality of life for most inhabitants. Problems of public health were appalling. The stench of cities and suburbs were notorious, affecting even middle-class areas, while urban waterways were quickly polluted by uncontrolled industrialisation and sewage. Mortal diseases like typhoid and tuberculosis stalked unchecked through households of rich and poor alike.