How the Victorians Lived (Hardback)
Imprint: Pen & Sword History
Pages: 224
Illustrations: 32 mono illustrations
ISBN: 9781399056663
Published: 13th June 2024
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The Victorian era is arguably the most exciting and invigorating reign of an English monarch ever, and one of progress on a massive scale. By the time Queen Victoria died in 1901, England was almost unrecognisable. The Victorians neatly avoided revolution, built upon what the Georgians started and turned the country into a political powerhouse which ran the biggest Empire the world had ever seen.
Meanwhile, Victorian writers and journalists were observing, questioning, and recording for prosperity the life and times of what would become known as the Victorian era: a steady, relentless building of the modern world. Using quotes from Victorian literature, How the Victorians Lived will help you on your way to understanding how society coped with the upheaval of the industrial revolution during one of the most innovative centuries England has ever seen.
This book is a detailed exploration of the daily lives of mainly working- and middle-class Victorians. It recreates the remarkable and wondrous world of the English Victorians: their traditions, their expectations, their hopes and their fears and how these have shaped the society we live in today.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Andrea Romance
A time of unprecedented progress and empire-building, the Victorian era witnessed a dramatic transformation of society. This book explores how writers and journalists documented the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the modern world.
This book delves deeply into the lives of Victorians of all social classes. Fascinating and fun to read, it’s an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the Victorian era. As an author of historical fiction, I highly recommend it.
In this fascinating insight into Victorian Britain, Shona Parker brings the nineteenth century to life in this complex and descriptive nonfiction book. Each chapter delves into a different aspect of Victorian life in great detail, with sections within the chapters focusing on specific elements of the larger chapter theme. This book covers all social classes, occupations, and genders through its focus on the minutia of the lives of many rather than the more detailed lives of a few. From medicine to the home to transportation, communication, and food, Parker goes into incredible detail and supplements each section with quotes and excerpts from historical documents that provide more insights and details into Victorian lives. Parker’s prose is straightforward and engaging, and the sections and chapters are manageable lengths with clear language. Making history relatable, this is a great book for historians and for amateur readers taking their first foray into the genre or time period. The level of detail is absolutely amazing and provides a lot of context for other history and historical fiction books set in the Victorian era. A great easy history book, the depth of detail and information about daily Victorian life really makes this a fantastic option for anyone interested in the time period.
NetGalley, Lily Amidon
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Laura Jourdain
I have been fascinated by Victorian history ever since I was a young child, so was incredibly grateful to be granted my wish for this book. As someone who loves historical fiction set in Victorian times, this book helped contextualize the fiction I read.
This book provides as fascinating glimpse into Victorian society. While it is a non-fiction book that gives a lot of information, the writing is extremely readable, and I found it sustained my interest. The breadth of topics covered was fascinating. The author covered everything from the roles of men and women in different classes, to how children were educated, what people ate, how people entered the workhouse, the changing nature of work across the Victorian period, and even how rubbish and waste were managed.
Overall a fascinating read to give any history lover a solid foundation in how Victorians lived in their daily lives.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Anita Wallas
Shona Parker has done an exceptional job in exploring and bringing to life a period of significant cultural, political and industrial change. It’s a remarkable era and her approach views it through the eyes of mainly ordinary people. For anyone wishing to gain some insight into the Victorians, this is an ideal book to delve into. It’s written in a way that’s detailed, but accessible and interesting. There are numerous literary references throughout and the chapters are broken down into subjects including money, health, home, Parliament, education and more. Each gives a real feel for the subject and how society was affected and shaped during this time. Research appears to be meticulous and it’s one of the best non fiction titles I’ve read this year.
I have had an interest in Victorian England since I was six years old, and, upon adulthood, have found the history of sex workers fascinating.
NetGalley, Laura Jourdain
So often historical works center on men. When they do focus on women, they tend to focus on women from the upper echelons of society who hold more power. This is why this book is so important; it tells the often harrowing stories of women who didn’t hold power. They existed and they matter.
.. The research was incredibly done. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Georgi Lvs Books
As soon a I seen the cover for this book I knew I needed it! It did not disappoint!
“The Victorian era; a steady, relentless building of the modern world”.
Such a delight to read, very interesting and another reason why I love reading about the Victorian era :)
A must read for history and Victorian readers.
We learn about Victorian life from how the country was run, Victorian parliament, marriage, health, home, schools, and so much more.
“Men and women were expected to get married but if a man never married it wasn’t the end of the world”. (Rolls eyes!) I actually don’t know why I love this era so much when you have statements like this! Hence why I’m lucky I wasn’t born back then.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Alina Macarie
How the Victorians Lived helps the reader to imagine how was it to live in Victorian times. It's an interesting book with plenty of details that help a person to immerse themselves in those times. All the photos from the book are great help to imagine those times.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Brenda Carleton
How the Victorians Lived by Shona Parker is a highly fascinating and informative book about life in Victorian England from Christianity to Charles Dickens' experiences to classes to gender roles. But Parker goes much beyond that and writes in detail about education (25% of children went and often had to do lessons twice to accommodate everyone), the definition of "gentleman", buildings and shortcuts which led to damp and sagging, the "Blue Stocking Society", the usefulness of hedgehogs and slow worms, dame and rugged schools, debtor's prison and workhouses, laws regarding the poor, sewage/night soil collecting issues, implementation of the penny post, eating at "ordinaries", displaying dead insects, two-minute amputations and fingerprinting.
The book highlights the dreadful disparity between low, middle and upper classes and hopelessness of the poor. I've read countless books on the subject and am always grateful to learn more about this era. The influence of Queen Victoria was profound and impactful and truly changed the course of history. As a rabid Dickens fan, I'm always awed by his knowledge, compassion and reform. Thank goodness for his vivid and thoughtful accounts! We have much to learn from his timeless wisdom.
If you are intrigued by Victorian life, do not miss this book, chock full of riveting details on every page. It prompted me to do further digging into specifics.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Jaden Jones
This book was a delightful trip through time, bursting at the seams with facts and stories. I've not stopped talking about this book since I finished reading it, so much so that even my friends are clamoring to pick up a copy. I think anyone with interest in this topic will have a wonderful time reading through this, and I commend the author for the depth of research that shines through.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Heather Bennett
A fun look into Victorian life and times! The book was interesting and engaging, and just a good easy read.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, Louise Gray
A terrific insight into the era. The author has cleverly balanced detailed research with an engaging writing style to create this very easy to read book. It covers an amazing range of topics and touches on well known literature, characters and events of the time. I loved it.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
NetGalley, A D
I have always been interested in the lives of the Victorians and this book showed me so much information about the era in a large variety of topics and locations.
About Shona Parker
Shona is a lover and writer of English social history with a penchant for museums, castles, large gardens and copious amounts of tea and cake. She is happiest when falling down research rabbit holes.
Please see her website www.backinthedayof.co.uk for history articles and information.
You can also find her on Twitter: @_backinthedayof