[Gutenberg 59674] • Homes of the London Poor

*Homes of the London Poor* contains a selection of writing by Octavia Hill, dealing with her responses to poverty and poor housing.

Today, there is a tendency to celebrate Octavia Hill only for her role in founding the National Trust. However, it should also be remembered that Octavia Hill was one of the great Victorian social reformers. Her response to poverty and overcrowding included both campaigning and practical action.

In addition, there is a direct link between her concern with conditions in the city and her involvement in the creation of the National Trust. This can be seen clearly in Homes of the London Poor, which includes Octavia Hill’s essay *Space for the People*. In *Space for the People* , Octavia Hill discusses the need to buy land on the fringes of London, in order to protect it from speculative development. As Octavia Hill puts it: “We all need space; unless we have it we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently."

It is accurate to say that the origins of the National Trust lay, to a large part, in a concern with the problems of the city. In this sense, anybody interested in the ideas which inspired the formation of the National Trust will find Homes of the London Poor an invaluable point of reference.

REVIEWS OF THE ORIGINAL 1875 EDITION:

"There are few who have so good a right to be heard on the matter as the author of this volume. She has not only thought long and deeply on the problem to be solved, but she has worked nobly to aid in its solution. . . . We know nothing in literature of this kind more touching than the simple, unaffected tale of her struggles, disappointments, and triumphs. There is not a word of mere sentimentalism in any one of her papers; she is clear, practical, and definite." - Globe

"We offer her our hearty commendation, and we trust that her little book will have a wide sale. It is not less interesting than instructive." - >Builder

"Miss Octavia Hill has grappled successfully with one of the most difficult and disheartening of our social problems." - Nonconformist