Birmingham in 1850. On the ground reporting of life in the manufacturing metropolis of Victorian Britain. In this volume Charles Mackay takes us to Birmingham where thousands of workshops were turning out a vast range of goods, supplying the nation and the world. From the makers of swords, matchetts, and bayonets to the manufacture of fire-arms. From pearl buttons to pens, from workers in glass to workers in brass. From the factory women to the Ragged Schools for their children and the amusements of the people - all this and much more is explored. "Labour and the Poor", the acclaimed investigation into the poor of England and Wales, was undertaken from 1849 to 1851 by The Morning Chronicle, a leading London-based newspaper of the period. This remarkable series will take you into the cities, towns, and villages, into the mills, the factories, and the mines, hearing from the people themselves about their lives, their occupations, and their struggles for survival amidst the overwhelming poverty of the period. Brought to you in its entirety, for the very first time, this extraordinary and unsurpassed investigation will show what life was really like in the mid-19th century - on the ground reporting at its very best. In this series:Volume I: The Metropolitan Districts. Henry Mayhew. Volume II: The Metropolitan Districts. Henry Mayhew. Volume III: The Metropolitan Districts. Henry Mayhew. Volume IV: The Metropolitan Districts. Henry Mayhew. Volume V: The Manufacturing Districts. Angus B. Reach. Volume VI: The Rural Districts. Alexander Mackay and Shirley Brooks. Volume VII: The Rural Districts. Alexander Mackay and Shirley Brooks. Volume VIII: Wales. Special Correspondent. Volume IX: Birmingham. Charles Mackay. Volume X: Liverpool. Charles Mackay.