"The Situation of the Working Class in England" is one of Friedrich Engels' most well-known books. Originally written in German (*Die Lage der Arbeitenden Klasse in England*), it is a study of the living conditions of workers in Victorian England. The book is considered a classic account of the conditions faced by industrial workers. Initially intended for a German audience, it was first published in 1845.

The work was translated into English in 1885 by American reformist Florence Kelley (or Florence Kelley Wischnewetzky). With Engels’ authorization, it was published in New York (1887) and London (1891), with a new preface by the author added in 1892.

This was Engels' first book, written between 1842 and 1844 during his stay in Manchester, then the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Engels based the book on his observations and detailed reports gathered at the time.

The result was an impressive document on the dire poverty in which workers lived in England’s industrial areas. Engels notes, for instance, that mortality from diseases and death rates among workers were higher in industrial cities than in the countryside. In cities like Manchester and Liverpool, mortality from diseases like smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, and whooping cough was four times higher than in neighboring rural areas, and death rates from convulsions were ten times higher than in rural areas.

Additionally, the overall mortality rate in Manchester and Liverpool was significantly higher than the national average. An interesting example concerns the changes in mortality rates in the industrial city of Carlisle.

Before the introduction of mills (1779-1787), 4,408 out of every 10,000 children died within their first five years. After the mills were introduced, the number rose to 4,738. Similarly, before the mills, 1,006 out of every 10,000 adults died before the age of 39. Following the introduction of mills, adult mortality increased to 1,261 out of 10,000.

The eldest son of a successful textile industrialist, Engels became involved in radical journalism as a teenager. Sent to England, he became even more radicalized by everything he witnessed. During this period, his lifelong partnership with Karl Marx was established.