Life in a workhouse during the Victorian and Edwardian eras has been popularly characterised as a brutal existence. This book establishes a true picture of what life was like in a workhouse, of why inmates entered them and of what they had to endure in their day-to-day routine.

The word 'workhouse' has a grim resonance even today, conjuring up a vision of the darker side of Victorian Britain. Here we examine how workhouses came into being, what life was like for men, women and children on the wrong side of the poverty line, and how social attitudes evolved through Victorian Britain into the 20th century.

A masterpiece of narrative non-fiction, set around an American crime and the birth of the FBI, a thrilling investigative account of a forgotten moment in history.