The year was 1902 and the rich of London lived in peace and prosperity in a city which was the financial centre of the world . But just yards from where the upper classes of the capital resided in opulence , the poor scratched an existence in chronic misery in East End slums . Disguised as a stranded sailor , American journalist Jack London took to the streets of Whitechapel to document the struggles of London 's destitute , in what is believed to be the earliest contemporary account of life on the city ’ s streets . He wrote The People of the Abyss ( 1903 ) based on his first-hand account of living in the East End for several months the previous year , sometimes staying in workhouses or sleeping on the streets . In eighty-six days he gathered an enormous amount of material , read hundreds of books and thousands of pamphlets , newpapers , and Parliamentary reports , composed his book , typed it all out , took two-thirds of the photographs with his own camera . The conditions he experienced and wrote about were the same as those endured by an estimated 500,000 of the contemporary London poor . Now the seminal work has been republished as handbound box set . The People of the Abyss ( 1903 ) is a book by Jack London about life in the East End of London in 1902 . He wrote this first-hand account by living in the East End , sometimes staying in workhouses or sleeping on the streets , and writing and photographing all he saw . A photo entitled 'View In Wapping ' in the groundbreaking book . Disguised as a stranded sailor , American journalist London took to the streets of the East End to document the struggles of London 's destitute . A photo titled 'Under the Arches ' shows destitute and drunk men slumped under the arches where they were forced to sleep . A group of starving 'ticket men ' queue at a Salvation Army Courtyard , waiting for a ticket to afford them food . London wrote : 'For over two hours I had waited outside , and for over another hour I waited in this packed courtyard . I had had nothing to eat all night , and I was weak and faint , while the smell of the soiled clothes and unwashed bodies , steaming from pent animal heat , and blocked solidly about me , nearly turned my stomach . So tightly were we packed , that a number of the men took advantage of the opportunity and went soundly asleep standing up ' The Salvations Army Barracks Near the Surrey Theatre . London said : This is the breakfast : two slices of bread , one small piece of bread with raisins in it and called “ cake , ” a wafer of cheese , and a mug of “ water bewitched. ” Numbers of the men had been waiting since five o ’ clock for it , while all of us had waited at least four hours ; and in addition , we had been herded like swine , packed like sardines , and treated like curs , and been preached at , and sung to , and prayed for ' ' A Tow-Relay System Lodging ' : 'There are many kinds of doss-houses , but in one thing they are all alike , from the filthy little ones to the monster big ones paying five per cent . and blatantly lauded by smug middle-class men who know but one thing about them , and that one thing is their uninhabitablenes ' , London writes . 'The Municipal Dwellings Not Far From Leman Street ' : ' I stood , yesterday , in a room in one of the “ Municipal Dwellings , ” not far from Leman Street . If I looked into a dreary future and saw that I would have to live in such a room until I died , I should immediately go down , plump into the Thames , and cut the tenancy short ' A 'monster doss house ' in Fieldgate Street , Whitechapel , a now much more affluent area , although some of the original buildings remain . 'Devonshire Place , London ' shows a busy street filled with young children in Jack London 's book 'People of the Abyss' about life in the East End of London in 1902 . 'Spitalfields market , London ' shows horse-drawn carriages making their way down the bustling cobbled street in the early 1900s ( left ) and in 2015 , where some of the original buildings remain to this day ( right ) 'Before Whitechapel workhouse ' shows poor men queuing up ahead of the day 's work at the workhouse in Fulbourne Street , London which has since been demolished . 'Green Park , London ' the smallest of the capital 's eight Royal Parks in the early 1900s ( left ) and the park today , more than a century later , where some of the original buildings in the background still remain ( right ) A photo titled 'Petticoat market , London ' in 'People of the Abyss ' book shows the many stalls in Middlesex Street and Wentworth Street selling goods in the 1900s- a market remains in the area to this day . The conditions he experienced and wrote about were the same as those endured by an estimated 500,000 of the contemporary London poor . Now the seminal work has been republished as handbound box set .
American journalist Jack London took to the streets of Whitechapel to document struggles of London 's destitute . The conditions he experienced and photographed were the same as those endured by an estimated 500,000 poor . Now the seminal work , the earliest account of life on the city ’ s streets , has been republished as a box set .