This work investigates the rapid urbanization and social conditions of Australian cities during the Victorian era. Michael Cannon, a noted historian of 19th-century Australia, utilizes extensive archival research and contemporary accounts to document the stark contrasts between the wealth of the colonial elite and the squalor of the working class. The book argues that the rapid expansion of cities like Melbourne and Sydney created profound social inequalities that defined the Australian colonial experience.

Historians and scholars frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the social stratification of colonial Australia. Readers often note the dense, descriptive nature of the prose which provides a vivid, if sobering, look at the realities of Victorian urban development.