'...we may lie and die in a land of plenty...': The Victorian poor in their own words

In all but the most specialist accounts of Victorian histories
the poor are often represented through generalisations, graphs or
summed up in 'averaging' paragraphs. More detailed work might
look at the experiences of individual poor people through pulling
together accounts from contemporary newspapers, the letters of
the wealthy, or poor law officials and government inspectors who
write about the poor. Few historians have looked at accounts of
poor people's lives written by the poor themselves. There are
good reasons for this: many poor people were unable to write and
many letters undoubtedly do not survive; and the letters that
survive are scattered across a great many archives, usually
unlisted in large collections. This talk will concentrate on a
collection of such pauper letters, statements and petitions which
demonstrate the concerns, thoughts and feeling of the poor
themselves.


Paul Carter is the principal domestic records specialist in the
Advice and records knowledge department at The National Archives.
His research and publication interests include early labour
movements and popular politics.