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A Note About Life in England in the Nineteenth Century
A Christmas Carol takes place in London in the 1820s. At this time, Great Britain was a very rich country. London was the largest city in Europe.
Many rich people lived in London. They had expensive houses and they had the very best food and drink. They travelled in fine carriages pulled by horses. They wore beautiful and fashionable clothes.
Charles Dickens lived in London. He saw how the rich people lived. But he also saw that thousands of poor people lived in London. They lived in small, dirty houses. They did not have enough to eat.
Many poor people could not get work. Men, women and children often became criminals. They stole food and clothes. Sometimes they killed people to get money. If a family could not pay their bills, they had to go to prison. The prisons in Britain in the nineteenth century were the worst in Europe.
England is divided into counties. And each county is divided into parishes. In the nineteenth century, officials of the parish looked after poor people. A workhouse was built in every parish. Workhouses were places where poor people had to live. They were usually terrible places. The poor people who lived in workhouses were given food and a bed. But they had to work very hard and the food was very bad. Many people died in workhouses.