I love Victorian History 1836 - 1901?

Question

I would love to have interesting facts about the era. I have tried to find things on the internet, but only find sites that want to sell me books. I am a costumed presenter and I love to tell the trivial stuff. Anything true would be great. Corsetts, clothing, funerals, meals, rules of ettiquette, supersticians, strange beliefs, recipes, decorating, dance/ball, holidays, invention successes & failures, anything. I do have quite a bit of knowledge of the era, but I would love to know more. If someone is an expert, I would love to have someone to correspond with.

Don't forget the Queen and royalty.

Also, doesn't have to be English history. Could be American history and French also.

llorylloyd, I actually love books and I do have quite a large collection of them. For what I am looking for, you are not talking a small investment. I have spent upwards of of $75 for books. What I meant by my internet reference is that the internet is no longer the info. highway, it is now the spend your money highway. Next time, don't be such a jerk. Maybe what you need is a bit of the lessons of social ettiquette the Victorians were known for.

Alex, do you know how I can get ahold of that series. I did watch 1900 house, and I felt they could have used a family that was more familiar with the history like corsettes and a child that wasn't so finicky. If that is the same series, it was interesting.

Answer 1

The Victorian Era was a fascinating time in America and Britain as both nations boldly confronted the future.

Among the tidbits that comes to mind; Medicine. Over the counter remedies in both America & Britain contained opiates & canabis & cocaine and very few had a reason to complain. The Temperance Movement in both countries was preoccupied with putting an end to Demon Rum and cousins.
One of the most oft prescribed treatments for Women's Menstrual Cramps was Canabis and one of its most noted users was Queen Victoria.
http://www.ukcia.org/medical/menstrualcrampsmorningsicknessandlabourpain.php
"""One of the biggest medical uses of cannabis in the 19th century was for the treatment of menstrual cramps and reduction of labour pain. Queen Victoria was prescribed cannabis for this reason by her physician J.R. Reynolds. Yet there is nothing mentioned in 20th century medical literature. ""
And that most British of Foods, Fish & Chips, owes its origins to the 1860's ---
http://www.niagara.co.uk/fish_and_chips.htm
"""in 1839 Charles Dickens referred to a 'fried fish warehouse' in Oliver Twist. The great British fish and chip trade grew out of these existing small businesses which sold fish and chips separately in the streets and alleys of London and some of Britain's industrial town, in the 1850s.
Both, Lancashire and London stake a claim to the origin of our most famous meal - chips were the standard fare of the industrial north whilst fried fish was introduced in London's East End.
Long Live the Fish and Chip Shop
Along with the history of fish and chips comes the colourful history of the fish and chip shop. The first fish and chip shop in the North of England is thought to hove opened in Mossley near Oldham, Lancashire, around 1863. Mr Lees sold fish and chips from a wooden hut in the market and later he transferred the business to a permanent shop across the road which had the following inscription in the window "This is the first fish and chip shop in the world." But in London, Joseph Malin opened a fish end chip shop in Cleveland Street within the sound of Bow Bells 13 in 1860. There are now around 8,100 fish and chip shops across the UK that, eight for every one McDonalds """

This is already longer than it ought to be so will end with a blurb about a Butler's Duties from the 'Book of Household Management,' by Isabelle Beeton a book a proper Victorian would have on hand.
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/beeton/isabella/household//chapter41.html
"""2157. The domestic duties of the butler are to bring in the eatables at breakfast, and wait upon the family at that meal, assisted by the footman, and see to the cleanliness of everything at table. On taking away, he removes the tray with the china and plate, for which he is responsible. At luncheon, he arranges the meal, and waits unassisted, the footman being now engaged in other duties. At dinner, he places the silver and plated articles on the table, sees that everything is in its place, and rectifies what is wrong. He carries in the first dish, and announces in the drawing-room that dinner is on the table, and respectfully stands by the door until the company are seated, when he takes his place behind his master’s chair on the left, to remove the covers, handing them to the other attendants to carry out. After the first course of plates is supplied, his place is at the sideboard to serve the wines, but only when called on.

2158. The first course ended, he rings the cook’s bell, and hands the dishes from the table to the other servants to carry away, receiving from them the second course, which he places on the table, removing the covers as before, and again taking his place at the sideboard.

2159. At dessert, the slips being removed, the butler receives the dessert from the other servants, and arranges it on the table, with plates and glasses, and then takes his place behind his master’s chair to hand the wines and ices, while the footman stands behind his mistress for the same purpose, the other attendants leaving the room. Where the old-fashioned practice of having the dessert on the polished table, without any cloth, is still adhered to, the butler should rub off any marks made by the hot dishes before arranging the dessert.

2160. Before dinner, he has satisfied himself that the lamps, candles, or gas-burners are in perfect order, if not lighted, which will usually be the case. Having served every one with their share of the dessert, put the fires in order (when these are used), and seen the lights are all right, at a signal from his master, he and the footman leave the room.

2161. He now proceeds to the drawing-room, arranges the fireplace, and sees to the lights; he then returns to his pantry, prepared to answer the bell, and attend to the company, while the footman is clearing away and cleaning the plate and glasses.

2162. At tea he again attends. At bedtime he appears with the candles; he locks up the plate, secures doors and windows, and sees that all the fires are safe.

2163. In addition to these duties, the butler, where only one footman is kept, will be required to perform some of the duties of the valet, to pay bills, and superintend the other servants. But the real duties of the butler are in the wine-cellar; there he should be competent to advise his master as to the price and quality of the wine to be laid in; “fine,” bottle, cork, and seal it, and place it in the binns. Brewing, racking, and bottling malt liquors, belong to his office, as well as their distribution. These and other drinkables are brought from the cellar every day by his own hands, except where an under-butler is kept; and a careful entry of every bottle used, entered in the cellar-book; so that the book should always show the contents of the cellar.

2164. The office of butler is thus one of very great trust in a household. Here, as elsewhere, honesty is the best policy: the butler should make it his business to understand the proper treatment of the different wines under his charge, which he can easily do from the wine-merchant, and faithfully attend to it; his own reputation will soon compensate for the absence of bribes from unprincipled wine-merchants, if he serves a generous and hospitable master. Nothing spreads more rapidly in society than the reputation of a good wine-cellar, and all that is required is wines well chosen and well cared for; and this a little knowledge, carefully applied, will soon supply.

2165. The butler, we have said, has charge of the contents of the cellars, and it is his duty to keep them in a proper condition, to fine down wine in wood, bottle it off, and store it away in places suited to the sorts. Where wine comes into the cellar ready bottled, it is usual to return the same number of empty bottles; the butler has not, in this case, the same inducements to keep the bottles of the different sorts separated; but where the wine is bottled in the house, he will find his account, not only in keeping them separate, but in rinsing them well, and even washing them with clean water as soon as they are empty.""

Peace

Answer 2

Victorian era Edwardian era Elizabethan era middle ages(medieval) ancient civilizations such as Greece, Rome, Egypt, Pompeii, Mayan etc Japanese and Chinese history British history Scottish history

Answer 3

There is a nice TV series called "What the Victorians Did For Us", BBC I think.

As for clothing, there are quite a few retro clothing sites on the net, but be careful as they can get near the knuckle.

Luck

Answer 4

If you want a girl to grow up gentle and womanly in her ways and her feelings, lace her tight."

~ Male testimonial in Victorian Press

The dresses, corsets, and crinolines worn in this era were extremely confining, making women vulnerable and passive, with no ability to act on their own. These things signify women's role in society at this time.
/www.lclark.edu/~ria/Corsetts.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_corsets
www.antiquecorsetgallery.com

Answer 5

They just want to sell you books?! The vile curs! Bounders!

Why don't you make a small investment in one and really start learning? If they're too expensive, libraries are full of 'em.

Answer 6

These sites are both full of info - trivial and serious.

http://www.victorianlondon.org/
http://www.victorianweb.org/