The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is considered by some to be the heart of the East End, the sometimes infamous section of London that fascinated journalists, novelists, and social scientists through the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth. This site offers an excellent collection of both contemporary writings and historical essays, all taken from the Tower Hamlets' Local History Library and Archives, that provide a fascinating look at life in the East End in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Especially useful to scholars and students in British or urban history or literature, the texts can be browsed by title, author, or subject. Separate listings of eyewitness accounts and images are also available, as is a keyword search engine.