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How to be a Victorian

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Mitchell, Sally (2011). "Music". Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp.518–520. ISBN 9780415669726. I absolutely love this book. Exuberant, absorbing ... there's scarcely a detail of Victorian life Ruth has not tried A N Wilson, Mail on Sunday My experience was merely very funny. I've just got a weird sense of humour and not necessarily at the appropriate time.

To both my pleasure and discomfort, I have had much experience of Victorian laundry in my career and can vouch for just how much hard work it is. A day thus spent is exhausting, and it is no surprise that so many women from the period mentioned in their diaries tempers fraying on wash day. . . In my own encounters, I did not mind the steam that filled the kitchen like a fog, but the constant change of temperature, from working inside with the hot pans to being outside in the cold moving water around, was almost unbearable. So – for example – we learn that Victorians usually slept with their windows open for fear of suffocation, that they still believed in the miasma theory although by and by scientific progress opened their eyes to the nature of infections, that early condoms were made from sheep guts, that milk was usually adulterated with water and dyed with chalk in big cities, and many other things. Goodman knows what she is talking about since she has not only studied various sources but also actually tried Victorian dress, Victorian make-up and Victorian work and can tell us a lot about her personal experience with these things. Her style is generally extremely sober and inornate because she seems to know that the facts she presents are interesting in themselves.

The author brings an unusual perspective as she has lived as a Victorian, dressed in clothes she made and working as one as a historian for museums, tv and her own research for books. The most surprising conclusion is the change living such a lifestyle brought to her own tastes: century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. [79] In the 1901 census, more than 3 out of every 4 people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to 1 in 5 a century earlier. [80] Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in the West." [81] The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as Edinburgh and London. [80] [82] Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants. [83] Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least the 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in Liverpool in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20. [84] Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. Kellow Chesney wrote of the situation: [85] The Victorian period (1837 - 1901) was a time of growing industrialisation , invention and empire. However, the country was divided as a large proportion of people did not share in the growth of prosperity .

And yet who has not asked themselves at least once in a while how people in the Victorian era started their day, how they washed themselves, what they wore, what medicine they took, what childcare was like and many other questions pertaining to people’s everyday life at that time? In her fascinating book How to Be a Victorian Ruth Goodman gives a very detailed account of the minutiae of daily life in the Victorian era. She structures her overview of Victorian chores and pleasures by following a typical daily routine, i.e. her first chapter covers everything people did when they got up in the morning and her last chapter sees them to bed and also gives an account of Victorians’ sexual mores. Goodman is very well aware of the differences between social classes and of changes from the early Victorian period to the latter days of that era, and she is not only content with listing and commenting on daily routines but she also paints a picture of the important issues of the time – like, for instance, child labour, the problem of hunger, schooling, or the dangers of medical treatment. Even George Costanza would like that book as it has a little sub-chapter on toilet-paper as well. Taylor, A. J. P. (1954). The Struggle for Mastery in Europe: 1848–1918. Mumbai: Oxford University Press. pp.60–61. Draznin, Yaffa Claire (2001). Victorian London's Middle-Class Housewife: What She Did All Day (#179). Contributions in Women's Studies. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp.95–96. ISBN 978-0-313-31399-8. Ruth - a woman who possesses so much elbow grease that she could probably can the overflow to sell on the side Independent Ruth Goodman's excellent book puts huge detail and meaning in what it meant to be and live as a Victorian. From early-morning ablutions to fashion; to feeding babies and wearing clothes; to menstruation and adulterated food; prostitution and medicines and much much more.a b c Szreter, Simon (1988). "The importance of social intervention in Britain's mortality decline c.1850–1914: A re-interpretation of the role of public health". Social History of Medicine. 1: 1–37. doi: 10.1093/shm/1.1.1. S2CID 34704101. (subscription required) This book is just as good. It gets a little heavy at times, especially in the clothing section, but that's great if you're interests lie in what the people wore during that period. This is well written, and highly informative, and quite honestly, I enjoyed every chapter. a b "Queen Victoria: The woman who redefined Britain's monarchy". BBC Teach. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020 . Retrieved 12 October 2020. Some women did not feel satisfied and had strong prohibitions and opportunities to have affairs. Men had fewer prohibitions and more opportunity.

Richardson, Ruth (15 May 2014). "Chapbooks". British Library. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022 . Retrieved 22 April 2022.Seiler, Robert M. (2011). "Soccer". In Mitchell, Sally (ed.). Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp.728–729. ISBN 9780415669726.

Richard, Maxwell (2011). "Bicycle". In Mitchell, Sally (ed.). Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp.74–75. ISBN 9780415669726.Litzenberger, C. J.; Eileen Groth Lyon (2006). The Human Tradition in Modern Britain. Rowman & Littlefield. pp.142–143. ISBN 978-0-7425-3735-4. Hewitt, Martin (Spring 2006). "Why the Notion of Victorian Britain Does Make Sense". Victorian Studies. 48 (3): 395–438. doi: 10.2979/VIC.2006.48.3.395. S2CID 143482564. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017 . Retrieved 23 May 2017. a b c Thompson, F. M. L. (1988). Rise of Respectable Society: A Social History of Victorian Britain, 1830–1900. pp.211–214. In contrast to this, in 1851 the Great Exhibition was held in Crystal Palace in London. It was opened by Queen Victoria and showcased new inventions, technology and exhibits from around the world. The exhibition was open for five months and attracted 6 million visitors. In 1880, a law was passed that made school compulsory for all children between the ages of five and ten. In 1889, the school leaving age was extended to 12. This gave all children access to free education and also helped to end child labour in factories.

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