This book is based on the inspectors of nuisances reports from the 1800s, the nuisances report, and if anything later came from the reports.
I felt for the inspectors on several occasions as it seemed they were talking to brick walls when giving evidence to the committee and to me it felt on many of the nuisances the committee just was not interested in improvement especially on one occasion where the inspector showed photographic evidence of smoke coming from chimneys but as not all were lit the committee could see no problem. This photo was of a Government building and I'm sure if it had been a private building being shown there would have been something done so it shows that even back then certain things were overlooked for certain people or companies.
Overall I found it quite interesting and it definitely made me realize how fortunate we are and how much we take something such as rubbing water for granted.
I found it quite well written although at times it could be monotonous. There were some moments where I could picture it vividly and others where I had to reread the sentences.

Certainly interesting in snippets as it builds up a picture of 1800s public health in Britain but I personally felt it needed more commentary to go alongside the reports.

I enjoyed this book I will admit that if the author had not taken the time to get the records he had and put them together in this book, I would not have though to go and look for them myself.

The book is a good introduction and it is one that sparked my interest to look further in to what would have been like where I like. I know when my dad was born in the late 1950s my grandparents lived in a traditional back-to-back property in Birmingham where they had one toilet at the end of the block of houses for communal use so this was a book that hit home for me seeing what my relatives could, and did live through.

I really liked the way that the book was set out with the different chapters focussing on the different type of “nuisances” and some of what was described was shocking and it did make me shiver, and my skin almost crawl. I am so pleased that sanitation and the sewers were introduced and accommodation (generally) has improved for all.

I liked the images that were added to the book, personally I would have liked a few more if possible to really highlight what it was really like.

It is 3.5 stars from me for this book rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads and Amazon – I really enjoyed it and it was great to get a glimpse of what life was life in the “Grimy 1800s”.

The Grimy 1800s really makes you feel for the people who had to live in such horrid conditions back then. The author has clearly done his research.

Overpopulation was a huge problem in nineteenth century Britain. As the population grew so did the filth in the town. It wasn't unusual to see dog and cattle carcasses floating in the Boggle Hole Pond, the source of the town's water supply. Food covered in bugs and putrid rotting smells filled the air.
This book is the inspectors' chronicle ,Parliamentary Committees that were set up in an attempt to ease the struggles against filth.
"This is the history of a grimy century in the throes of the Industrial Revolution, illustrating the many ways in which the country responded to the ever growing demands of a new age of industry."

Expected publication: December 19th 2019 by Pen & Sword Books.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

A look at a number of towns - a few examples per chapter with the population numbers within the 1800s. Images are helpful to get some sense of what was talked about. Not in-depth, a starting image of what was going on and a look at the people involved at the time.

"The Grimy 1800s" summarizes reports given by Inspectors of Nuisances in England on various sanitation topics between 1846 and 1915. These inspectors were created in the mid 1800s and reports were recorded by Parliamentary Committees over the years. The author summarized the contents of these reports, selecting ones that he felt were the most interesting. He covered overcrowding, privies, poor or no drainage, improper human waste disposal, lack of availability of clean water, water pollution, food safety, bad smells, reporting of infectious diseases, excess smoke from mills and such, and what type of ground made for a good cemetery. I'd recommend this to anyone researching specific examples of these problems (what town and at what time). It gets a little repetitive if you just want a general overview of the problem.

Review for 'The Grimy 1800's' by Andre Gren
This book is based on the inspectors of nuisances reports from the 1800's, the nuisances report and if anything later came from the reports.
I felt for the inspectors on several occasions as it seemed they were talking to brick walls when giving evidence to the committee and to me it felt on many of the nuisances the committee just was not interested in improvement especially on one occasion where the inspector showed photographic evidence of smoke coming from chimneys but as not all were lit the commitee could see no problem. This photo was of a Government building and I'm sure if it had been a private building being shown there would have been something done so it shows that even back then certain things were overlooked for certain people or companies.
Overall I found it quite interesting and it definitely made me realise how fortunate we are and how much we take something such as rubbing water for granted.
I found it quite well written although at times it could be monotonous. There were some moments where I could picture it vividly and others where I had to reread the sentences.
Overall quite an interesting book which I would recommend to history fans.
I gave it 4/5 on Goodreads

The Grimy 1800s by Andre Gren is an intersting read if you are interested in the issues caused by rising populations in the 1800s and the problems that the pollution caused.

A book about what the inspectors of nuisances had to deal with. The population growth was so quick that the country couldnt keep up with sorting out the filth and grim.

This would be an intersting book if you have a background in waste management in the 21st Century to see just how far we have come on!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Pen and Sword for the ARC. (My review is my own Opinion.)

Britain used to have inspectors of nuisances until the twentieth century. Originally appointed by the Courts Leet in medieval times, the officials in the mid-1800s were appointed by local authorities. The job title became Sanitary Inspector and then Public Health Inspector. Their successors are health and safety officials; trading standards officers; building inspectors; and others.

This book, by André Gren, contains an introduction and thirteen chapters, each on a different topic, e.g. Wells, Drains and Discharges; Water Supplies; Markets: Stinking Crabs and Ice Cream with Bugs.

When Parliament was scrutinising a bill brought forward under the Nuisances Removal Act, the select committee would summon an inspector to give evidence. Gren has read the manuscripts of these sessions, which are held in the Parliamentary Archives in the House of Lords. He summarises a few sessions in each chapter, drawing upon documents from 1847 to 1915. Each summary is a succinct readable version of what I guess is probably several pages of dry questions from the committee and equally dry answers from the relevant inspector, all couched in terms familiar to Dickens’ contemporaries.

Gren does an excellent job of putting forward the inspectors’ evidence in modern English, aimed at us, readers in the 21st century. I expected the book to be rather sensationalist, gleefully showing me disgusting scenes of dirt and infestations. It’s not really like that. Sure, Gren shows us some horrible practices such as sewage flowing into drinking water; and taps clogged up with the bodies of tadpoles and frogs, but the general impression is of a cadre of officials fighting on behalf of the poorer echelons of society. Wealthy and middle-class people could afford to sink private wells to get clean water; the poor had to make do with contaminated wells and taps. The inspectors were frustrated by their lack of power to shut down nuisances as quickly as they would like. The processes were slow and malefactors often just ignored the authorities or delayed acting as long as possible.

It’s a well-written and very well-researched book, but it left me dissatisfied. The select committee were considering a bill; the inspectors gave evidence that one hopes would ensure a bill was drafted and passed that would benefit society; but what was the result? John Kirley, in Bristol in 1887, appeared before a committee studying a bill for incorporating Bristol Consumers Water Company and empowering them to construct Waterworks and supply water. He talked about how a bucket of water was drawn from a tap in one house he visited. Kirley strained a large tea cup of shrimps from that tap water. But what happened when the bill was passed? Did water improve that year? In five years’ time? How do we see the effect in mortality or sickness statistics for Bristol over the next few years?

And nor is it a book of primary sources. We read Gren’s version of what was said and it’s in modern English. Whilst that makes it easier to read, I would like to like to see the inspectors’ words as they were spoken at the time; to hear what Dickens and others would have heard.

It’s a good book but I have a feeling the author’s only done half a job.

#TheGrimy1800s #NetGalley

I received an ARC in exchange for my review.

I was quite excited to read this book; working in the wastewater engineering business I thought the history of how a country went from grime to clean water would be interesting. I should have read the description more carefully; it's just literally a book that dutifully replicates nuisance reports of the day. A few of those ... yes, interesting. But I would have loved to see history on the actions or progress made in the country that was generated by those reports. It would be great to see the evolution of the wastewater industry as seen through the eyes of the inspectors, as issues were resolved. Sadly, just reading hundreds of pages of the gross circumstances of the day is a little monotonous.