However, last year, I read Love and Capital by Mary Gabriel and developed a fascination with Marx’s life. In that book, I learned that Karl Marx had spent his much of his adult life in London.
Thus, when I planned a visit to London this April, I looked online to see what I could discover about Marx’s life in London. I came across a tour that was highly rated online, and that is conducted every Sunday morning. I was not going to be in London for the usual Sunday morning tour. However, my friend Alix called up the tour guide, and he said he’d be willing to do a private tour for us. Here's the website.
Alix and I decided to sign up, and we booked a tour for 2pm on Saturday. Even though it was drizzling (and even down pouring) for a good part of the tour, I am glad we were able to do the walk, as we learned a lot and it was great to walk in Marx's footsteps.
Karl Marx was born in Germany to a middle class family, and his wife, Jenny, was the daughter of a baroness. In Love and Capital, I learned how much of his adult life Karl Marx lived in deprivation.
Karl Marx lived in London from 1849 until his death in 1883. He and Jenny lived in Chelsea when they first arrived in London, but moved to the working-class neighborhood of Soho soon afterwards. We did not see the Chelsea house, as the tour is primarily in Soho, and apparently, the house is no longer there.
Our first stop on the tour was at a pub, now called Beat One – much to our tour guide’s dismay. Our guide, Mick, told us the pub was once called the Red Lion, which was much more fitting. The pub, on Archer Street, is the location where the Second meeting of the Communist League was held, which Karl Marx attended when he first arrived in London.
The second stop was 40 Rupert Street – at a restaurant now called “Little Sicily,” but which used to be the Communard Club Mutual Aid Society. During the 1870s, this is where refugees from the Paris Commune arrived, and could receive assistance settling into London.
Our third stop was once called the “German Hotel.” It now serves mussels. It was a decent hotel in the 1850s, when Marx, Jenny, and their three children lived there for three months. They were evicted once their funds ran out.
The fourth stop was at 6 Macclesfield Road – now a Malaysian restaurant. Engels once lived here. I learned in Love and Capital that Engels financially supported Marx for much of his life, and Marx was almost never able to earn any money. Our guide, Mick, told us that Engels was also much more practical and an efficient writer, and thus helped Marx finish manuscripts he started.
The fifth stop was at a facsimile of a water pump. This is the original location of a water pump that Dr. John Snow discovered was the source of a cholera epidemic in London. Marx and his family suffered through this cholera epidemic as they lived right in the middle of it.
The sixth stop was on Dean Street. This is the place where Karl, Jenny, their children, and their housemaid lived for many years in two and a half rooms. One of those rooms was where Karl Marx did much of his writing. This place actually has a plaque that states that Marx lived there.
Mick wasn't sure why this barbershop is called Marx - so far as he knows, this is not where Marx one got his haircuts.
The eighth stop was a pub named the “White Hart,” which once housed the German Educational Society. Marx volunteered his time teaching children and adults many of the fifteen languages he spoke. Mick told us that Marx only learned Russian in his later life, once he learned the Russians were increasingly interested in his works. Russian was the fifteenth language he learned, and Marx learned it in a matter of months.
The final stop was at the British Museum. Mick explained that you can no longer see the actual Reading Room where Marx did his research and writing, due to renovations done about a decade ago. However, he took us into a space that resembled where Marx would have written.
Overall, it was a great pleasure to listen to Mick share his vast expanse of knowledge about Karl Marx and his life with us. Mick is an intellectual and a history buff, as well as a long-time Londoner. His quiet demeanor and real interest in and knowledge about Marx’s life was a great treat.
After the Marx tour, Alix and I made our way over to the East End, where Alix’s sister, Leila, has an organic café and shop. We had a few sweet bites to eat, but were sure to save room for delicious Indian fare later on that day at Lahore Kebab House. Alix and her family have been going to Lahore for decades, and the food there continues to be amazing.
I was reluctant to try the lamb chops, but as they are the specialty, I decided to give them a shot. They were a delight, as were all of the other dishes.
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