Getting In Touch With Your Inner Victorian

The Victorian era is one of our favorite periods - a few years ago we even did a Victorian reading challenge* called Our Mutual Read.  Since then, we have seen many more publications that address this era - enough that you could probably immerse yourself in Victoriana, if you are so inclined! (Do you remember those PBS reality shows, Manor House, Colonial House, Frontier House, etc.? We're imagining that kind of scenario.)

Even if you are just a casual reader, the library catalog most likely has something to pique your interest. The Victorian era, encompassing the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837-1901, was a fascinating period. Victorians were interested in science (hello, Darwin); it was the height of England's imperial power; the age of the Industrial Revolution.  Artistically, the era showcased major literary talents such as Dickens, the Brontë sisters, and Tennyson; in art, the Pre-Raphaelites; on the stage, Gilbert & Sullivan. It was also the era of Jack the Ripper, appalling child labor conditions, and workhouses.

Below, we've compiled a list of books for you to sample. You can find even more titles, including fiction, by searching the catalog with the keyword "Victorian".


How To Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide toVictorian Life by Ruth Goodman

The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders

Crime and Punishment in Victorian London: A Street-Level View of the City's Underworld by Ross Gilfillan

Victorian London: The Tale of a City 1840--1870 by Liza Picard [eBook]

Dirty Old London: The Victorian Fight Against Filth by Lee Jackson

Visions of Science: Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age by James A. Secord

Did She Kill Him?: A Torrid True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and Murder in Victorian England by Kate Colquhoun

The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj by Anne de Courcy

A Victorian Flower Dictionary: The Language of Flowers Companion by Mandy Kirkby [eBook]

Victorian Servants: A Very Peculiar History - With Added Elbow Grease by Fiona Macdonald [eBook]

Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais by Suzanne Fagence Cooper

To Marry An English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders


Is there an era you'd like to read about?  Let us know in the comments, and we'll try to round-up a list of related books for you!

*If you haven't done a reading challenge before, it can be a great way to discover new titles or work through your TBR pile! Bustle has a few pertinent ones listed, and the blog An Adventure is Reading is also a good source.