The People of the Abyss

This nonfiction book is considered by some to be a brilliant piece of journalism. From the author's preface: "The experiences related in this volume fell to me in the summer of 1902. I went down into the under-world of London with an attitude of mind which I may best liken to that of the explorer."
The conditions London experienced and wrote about were the same as those endured by an estimated 500,000 of the contemporary London poor.