SOURCE: In a preface to Tales of Mean Streets, The Boydell Press, 1983, pp. 7-17.

In the following essay, Krzak examines the circumstances surrounding the publication of Morrison's Tales of Mean Streets.

In 1907, thirteen years after the publication of Tales of Mean Streets, Arthur Morrison stated in an interview: ‘the stories were built entirely on what I had heard and seen in the East End. I have reason for believing that they shocked a good many very respectable people.’ Morrison repeatedly claimed that his presentation was true-to-life, and it must be realised at the outset that his portrayal of East London rests on a first-hand knowledge of the area. It is an insider's view of working-class life. Despite misleading statements regarding his birthplace, whether prompted by personal reserve or social consideration, Arthur Morrison was born in Poplar on 1st November 1863. His father was an engine fitter who worked in...