The Lambeth Cholera Outbreak of 1848-1849: The Setting, Causes, Course and Aftermath of an Epidemic in London

This work brings together a unique range of sources to reveal a forgotten episode in London’s history. Situated opposite Westminster on the south bank of the River Thames, by 1848 Lambeth’s waterfront had become London’s industrial center and a magnet to migrant workers. The book exposes the suffering of the working population in the face of apathy and ineptitude, and convincingly challenges the long-standing belief that London’s numerous cholera outbreaks beginning in 1832 were unrelated. The work combines recent scientific research with first-hand accounts to show for the first time that in the nineteenth century cholera was very probably endemic in the River Thames.