A Child of the Jago

I first read this tale over 50 years ago and have remembered it ever since. Unfortunately, the author Arthur Morrison never quite caught on and the novel never received the recognition it merited. Which is a huge pity. Because having re-read it recently, I can confirm that my lasting affection for the story was not misplaced. It is basically a compelling account of the hardship and misery of life in a victorian London slum. But it is also a beautiful and persuasively written childhood adventure that deserves to be considered a minor classic of the "mean streets" genre. The story follows the lives of a family living in "the Old Jago" a psuedonym for the real slum, the Old Nichol. It graphically depicts their struggles, setbacks and adjustments through the adventures of the son and lovable scamp Dicky Perrot as he makes his way through life. The book's central proposition is that we are all creatures of our envoironments and can scarce escape it's overwhelming and pervasive influence upon our character. Considered an unduly frank and pessimistic account at the time, it contrasts interestingly with the more popular novels of Charles Dickens who described similar social settings but much less convincingly, in his tales of the period. The reader of "the Jago" is invited to compare it with "Oliver Twist" for example. I believe Morrison's work to be the better of the two and would welcome others thoughts on the subject. In essence, I recommend this work most highly. Morrison brings his consderable journalistic skills to bear in presenting his story and will leave the reader profoundly moved by the experience.

A strongly written book comveying well it's subject matter in a well-rounded though not light-hearted way

Arthur Morrison's novel provides an excellent (if harsh) counterpoint to the relative gentility of Great Expectations or Wuthering Heights. You may be thinking, "Dickens and Bronte didn't pull punches," but read A Child of the Jago, and suddenly Pip's life will seem downright bucolic.Morrison gives the reader a window into the seamy underbelly of Victorian London, and exposes unimaginable living conditions and inhuman treatment. This book is a must-read if you enjoy Victorian literature. It brings to life a part of London that must be experienced to be believed.

The Jago was one of, if not the worst slums in London. Dicky Perrot is the main character of the story and we follow him form age 8 to about 17. His fight for survival and the responsibility he feels for his mother and sister whilst his Father is in prison makes you feel like crying. He has nothing and knows, as the local eccentric put it, that the Jago had got him and that there are only two ways out for him - to become a "Swellmobsmen" ( successful thief ) or death. Dicky is encouraged by the local Parson, Father Sturt, who is tireless in his work with the people of the Jago, to try to make something decent and honest with his life and enjoy all the things that the people who he robs enjoy and manages to secure him a job as a delivery boy for the local chandler. Unfortunately for Dicky he is dismissed thanks to an old friend who does not want him to take the straight and narrow path. After this Dicky goes down hill fast, he loses patience with his mother who takes to the Gin and leaves Em his sister to crawl in the gutter and fend for herself, his Father, disenchanted with life after coming out of prison, does his one last fatal job and at the end we see a small, poor desperate Dicky and like his old friend Beveridge told him years before, there are only two ways out of the Jago... Find out which way Dicky gets out in this excellent and realistic portrayal of life in a London slum at the turn of the century.