The story of Southend's growth as a town and resort in the Victorian and Edwardian periods is told here in this new history of Southend. As the nearest seaside resort to London, the town's development has been determined in large part by the impact of its seasonal visitors. Yet it was the year-round movement of people from other parts of Essex, England and from the European continent in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries that was to have a lasting effect on the character of the town.

Richly illustrated and drawing from original sources, this volume offers new perspectives on the developments that laid the foundations of Southend as we know it today. Its thematic chapters chart the physical expansion of housing in the period and the development of the resort's infrastructure and economy, among other topics. Although concentrating on Southend and its resort, chapters on agricultural depression and land speculation, education, clubs and societies and unemployment expand the book's regional focus to neighbouring areas, making this valuable reading for anyone interested in the history of Essex and the UK's seaside towns.

Ken Crowe taught history at a local Comprehensive school before joining the staff of Southend Museum, where he curated, among others, the Local History collections. He gained MAs in both Archaeology and Local and Regional History (London and Essex) and has written extensively on local history and archaeological subjects. Since retiring, in 2014, he has been closely involved with both the VCH Essex Trust and the Friends of Historic Essex.