John Worby

John Worby (born in 1911, active 1930s–1940s) was an English tramp memoirist and self-described spiv. He is best known for his controversial memoir The Other Half (1937), which chronicled his experiences of homelessness, vagrancy and petty criminality across Britain and North America. The book was rebranded in subsequent editions to emphasize his underworld connections, reflecting the growing public fascination with marginalized figures during the 1930s Great Depression in Britain and Europe in general. A sequel, Spiv's Progress (1939), expanded on his earlier reflections and articulated a clearer anti-conformist, anti-work philosophy.