In the 18th and 19th centuries, the street was famous for its concentration of mediocre, impoverished 'hack writers', aspiring poets, and low-end publishers and booksellers, who existed on the margins of the journalistic and literary scene. Grub Street's bohemian, impoverished literary scene was set amidst the poor neighborhood's low-rent flophouses, brothels, and coffeehouses.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the street was renowned for its concentration of unskilled, destitute 'hack writers', aspiring poets, and low-quality publishers and booksellers who were on the fringes of journalism and literature. Grub Street's bohemian, impoverished literary scene existed in the dilapidated neighborhood's cheap lodging houses, brothels, and coffeehouses.