By 1901, about 20% of Britain's population lived in London. Life in London meant variety - nowhere else in Britain would one find such a range of different types of lodgings, occupations, economic groups, ethnic groups, interests and entertainments. Articles about "life in London" are as varied as the people who write them - men and women, rich and poor, from those who fancy an evening at the opera to those who can only afford to spend it at the free lending library. Small wonder that, to many folks in the rest of England, much of London seemed as exotic as a foreign country!

The Doings of Dustmen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

A French Dinner in London (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

An evening at a French café, where dinner cost all of 18 pence!

Improved Common Lodging-Houses: Two Visits (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1879)

London Fogs, by J. Erskine (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1881)

Saturday Night in a Free Library, by Rev. Frederic Wagstaff (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1882)

A Wet Day in London (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1888)

A soggy day in London town... and the people one meets on the omnibus!

"Little Lord Fauntleroy" as a Play in London, by Cecil W. Franklin (St. Nicholas, 1889)

The Popular Concerts (Girl's Own Paper, 1890)

Concerts performed at St. James hall every Saturday from November through Easter, a tradition begun in 1859.

My Summer in a London Garden (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1891)

Through London on a Barge, by F.M. Holmes (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1893)

A look at canal barge life.

A Bohemian Artists' Club, by Alfred Story (The Strand, 1894A)

London's Langham Sketching Club

The Cheaper City [London vs. New York], by Elizabeth L. Banks (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

Which city is cheaper to live in, London or New York? People still ask this question today; this article comes down on the side of New York.

Tea on the Terrace, by Alfred W. Robbins (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

The Ladies' Gallery of the House of Commons.

Familiar Features of Musical London, by Hugh A. Scott (Windsor Magazine, 1896A)

Common objects of the London concert-room, including instruments, busts of famous musicians, and some of the musicians themselves.

Queer Competitions, by Framley Steelcroft (The Strand, 1897B)

A variety of competitions held in the East End, including perambulator races, basket-carrying competitions, shaving matches and a boy's treacle-pulling contest.

London's Yearly Losses (Good Words, 1902)

Figures on the costs of London's "lost property," including umbrellas, opera glasses, walking sticks and more.

• See also The Poor of London