Summary: But there was another side to London - one of extreme poverty, which grew worse as the capital grew richer. By the nineteenth century hundreds of thousands of London residents were living in squalor. As the city expanded into ever more desirable suburbs, the poor were segregated into violent and lawless ghettos that threatened the stability of the regime. London was a mass of contrasts. it had superb architecture, brilliant entertainments and magnificent shops, but also an underclass that was ignored by the authorities. This city of contrasts is vividly and comprehensively described in John Richardson's beautiful new illustrated account of London's history.