First published in 1972, Victorian Aspirations is the story of the personal struggles and achievements of Charles and Mary Booth, as remembered by their families and as revealed in private family papers, especially in their letters to each other. Charles Booth started his investigations into the social conditions of the English lower classes at the critical moment in the history of social reform. From this work, he produced Life and Labour of the People in London, a comprehensive and instructive account of the condition of the London poor. All seventeen volumes were carefully revised and corrected by his wife Mary.