What do you think?
Rate this book
Daily Life in Victorian England
Drawing on a wealth of sources, this volume brings England's Victorian era to life. Teachers, students, and interested readers can use this resource to examine Victorian life in a multitude of settings, from idyllic country estates to urban slums. Organized for easy reference, the volume provides information about the physical, social, economic, and legal details of daily life in Victorian England. Over sixty illustrations plus excerpts from primary sources enliven the work, which can be used in both the classroom and library to answer questions concerning laws, money, social class, values, morality, and private life.
Chapters in the work cover: traditional ways of life in town and country, social class, money, work, crime and punishment, the laws of daily life (marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardians, and bankruptcy), the development of a modern urban world (with railways, electricity, plumbing, and telephones), houses, food, clothing, shopping, the rituals of courtship and funerals, family and social life, education, health and medical care, leisure and pleasure, the importance of religion, and the impact of the Raj and the Empire. Historical contexts are explained and emphasis is placed on groups often invisible in traditional history: children, women both at work and at home, and people who led respectable, ordinary lives. A chronology, glossary, bibliography, and index complete the work. This valuable resource provides students, teachers, and librarians with all the information they need to recreate life in Victorian England.
Chapters in the work cover: traditional ways of life in town and country, social class, money, work, crime and punishment, the laws of daily life (marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardians, and bankruptcy), the development of a modern urban world (with railways, electricity, plumbing, and telephones), houses, food, clothing, shopping, the rituals of courtship and funerals, family and social life, education, health and medical care, leisure and pleasure, the importance of religion, and the impact of the Raj and the Empire. Historical contexts are explained and emphasis is placed on groups often invisible in traditional history: children, women both at work and at home, and people who led respectable, ordinary lives. A chronology, glossary, bibliography, and index complete the work. This valuable resource provides students, teachers, and librarians with all the information they need to recreate life in Victorian England.
313 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
12 people are currently reading
730 people want to read
About the author
Sally Mitchell
35 books4 followersSally Mitchell is Professor of English and Affiliated Professor of Women's Studies at Temple University. She is the author or editor of several books on 19th century England.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 25, 2024
When I was a wonderfully nerdy preteen, I loved getting the history textbook for whatever that school year was and just reading it cover to cover over a single weekend. There’s something fascinating in getting lost in the sensation of history in the Land of Ago (as years later I read Stephen King so aptly referring to the past).
I never really outgrew that nerdy kid self of mine, and fascination with the past remains - but not with battles and rulers and such, but with the curiosity of how regular daily life felt in the past. I’ve read a number of books giving a peek into the routines of the past, and Sally Mitchell’s Daily Life in Victorian England is one of the better ones on the subject.
Mitchell indeed focuses on daily life and limits her scope just to the years of Queen Victoria’s reign (and not to the entire 19th century, unlike some authors do) and just to England rather than to the entire British Empire, thus allowing for a sharper focus. Historical perspective is there but it does not overshadow the primary focus of everyday life, as Victorian time was that transition between rural and urban living and technological advances that would dominate the time we think of as “ours”.
Mitchell gives an overview of the whole period first and then goes in depth into details, nicely structured by topics rather than chronology. Especially for American readers, she highlights the separation and differences between class and income. It also goes beyond the more glamorous life of the wealthier and upper classes and gives a lot of focus on working life among all the classes, women and children included. The marriages were also carefully considered as a man needed to reach a certain income in order to be considered able to support family and children. Schooling and education, domestic servants, factory life, workhouses — all these are explored in detail, as well as housing, decor, clothing, hygiene, medicine, technology, social rituals, food, money (good overview, especially for Americans).
It’s easy to assume that Victorian women were mostly concerned with family life, given common attitudes towards Victorian morals and domesticity. But in fact the idea many have of refined and pampered Victorian women idly sitting around in corsets was not true other for those comfortably rich, and up to a third of paid labor force comprised of women. At the same time our idea of childhood as a time of innocence seems to lead to Victorian times, with compulsory schooling and restrictions on child labor.
It’s written well, informatively and yet simply, without any unnecessary ornamentation, in the way that makes dense information read effortlessly. It’s very readable and interesting, and my inner (and outer) nerd is very happy after reading this.
5 stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
I never really outgrew that nerdy kid self of mine, and fascination with the past remains - but not with battles and rulers and such, but with the curiosity of how regular daily life felt in the past. I’ve read a number of books giving a peek into the routines of the past, and Sally Mitchell’s Daily Life in Victorian England is one of the better ones on the subject.
Mitchell indeed focuses on daily life and limits her scope just to the years of Queen Victoria’s reign (and not to the entire 19th century, unlike some authors do) and just to England rather than to the entire British Empire, thus allowing for a sharper focus. Historical perspective is there but it does not overshadow the primary focus of everyday life, as Victorian time was that transition between rural and urban living and technological advances that would dominate the time we think of as “ours”.
Mitchell gives an overview of the whole period first and then goes in depth into details, nicely structured by topics rather than chronology. Especially for American readers, she highlights the separation and differences between class and income. It also goes beyond the more glamorous life of the wealthier and upper classes and gives a lot of focus on working life among all the classes, women and children included. The marriages were also carefully considered as a man needed to reach a certain income in order to be considered able to support family and children. Schooling and education, domestic servants, factory life, workhouses — all these are explored in detail, as well as housing, decor, clothing, hygiene, medicine, technology, social rituals, food, money (good overview, especially for Americans).
It’s easy to assume that Victorian women were mostly concerned with family life, given common attitudes towards Victorian morals and domesticity. But in fact the idea many have of refined and pampered Victorian women idly sitting around in corsets was not true other for those comfortably rich, and up to a third of paid labor force comprised of women. At the same time our idea of childhood as a time of innocence seems to lead to Victorian times, with compulsory schooling and restrictions on child labor.
It’s written well, informatively and yet simply, without any unnecessary ornamentation, in the way that makes dense information read effortlessly. It’s very readable and interesting, and my inner (and outer) nerd is very happy after reading this.
5 stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
September 30, 2015
Description: Drawing on a wealth of sources, this volume brings England's Victorian era to life. Teachers, students, and interested readers can use this resource to examine Victorian life in a multitude of settings, from idyllic country estates to urban slums. Organized for easy reference, the volume provides information about the physical, social, economic, and legal details of daily life in Victorian England. Over sixty illustrations plus excerpts from primary sources enliven the work, which can be used in both the classroom and library to answer questions concerning laws, money, social class, values, morality, and private life.
Chapters in the work cover: traditional ways of life in town and country, social class, money, work, crime and punishment, the laws of daily life (marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardians, and bankruptcy), the development of a modern urban world (with railways, electricity, plumbing, and telephones), houses, food, clothing, shopping, the rituals of courtship and funerals, family and social life, education, health and medical care, leisure and pleasure, the importance of religion, and the impact of the Raj and the Empire. Historical contexts are explained and emphasis is placed on groups often invisible in traditional history: children, women both at work and at home, and people who led respectable, ordinary lives. A chronology, glossary, bibliography, and index complete the work. This valuable resource provides students, teachers, and librarians with all the information they need to recreate life in Victorian England.
More indepth than most, yet not dry as, say, London in the Nineteenth Century: A Human Awful Wonder of God
Chapters in the work cover: traditional ways of life in town and country, social class, money, work, crime and punishment, the laws of daily life (marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardians, and bankruptcy), the development of a modern urban world (with railways, electricity, plumbing, and telephones), houses, food, clothing, shopping, the rituals of courtship and funerals, family and social life, education, health and medical care, leisure and pleasure, the importance of religion, and the impact of the Raj and the Empire. Historical contexts are explained and emphasis is placed on groups often invisible in traditional history: children, women both at work and at home, and people who led respectable, ordinary lives. A chronology, glossary, bibliography, and index complete the work. This valuable resource provides students, teachers, and librarians with all the information they need to recreate life in Victorian England.
More indepth than most, yet not dry as, say, London in the Nineteenth Century: A Human Awful Wonder of God 
May 8, 2024
¡Al fin lo terminé!
No es que fuera difícil pero este tipo de libros siempre los leo con más lentitud. 🙈
Sí te gusta la época victoriana este libro es ideal. Me encantó la investigación, es muy fácil de comprender, tiene una perspectiva histórica pero a la vez con capítulos cortos fáciles de comprender.
Amé lo detalles que sé mencionan tenía dudas con respecto a la moneda de la época y aquí me explicaron cosas que había dado por sentado y que no había pensado.
Sin duda alguna es una lectura amena y completa para saber de la época.
Me encantaría que lo tradujera al español. 🥺
No es que fuera difícil pero este tipo de libros siempre los leo con más lentitud. 🙈
Sí te gusta la época victoriana este libro es ideal. Me encantó la investigación, es muy fácil de comprender, tiene una perspectiva histórica pero a la vez con capítulos cortos fáciles de comprender.
Amé lo detalles que sé mencionan tenía dudas con respecto a la moneda de la época y aquí me explicaron cosas que había dado por sentado y que no había pensado.
Sin duda alguna es una lectura amena y completa para saber de la época.
Me encantaría que lo tradujera al español. 🥺
October 15, 2013
I liked this book. I would have preferred some more depth with some topics, but it was a nice wrap up of the era.
It showed what changed and what stayed the same. We get to know different aspects of society, the differences between the classes, school systems, ethics and even a bit about the empire. There is some information towards race issues and how they changed (from culture to biology, e.g. originally Indians were considered culturally inferior in Victorian times not biologically and the differences between workers and aristocracy in England were seen due to biology and not nutrition), but these things (like the empire) were not the main focus of this book, so you won't find stuff about the Opium wars since they didn't affect everyday Victorian life that strongly as it seems. But you do get to know about what state England had in that time, what changed regarding transportation, public hygiene, morality, food etc. etc.
There is so much in this book that it is not something for casual reading, it isn't hard to read or anything, but it covers a lot of topics so you have to keep attention to it and can't do it halfheartedly.
As an intro to the Victorian era I would definitely recommend it, but for more in-depth looks you would need other literature that is more oriented towards specific topics.
It showed what changed and what stayed the same. We get to know different aspects of society, the differences between the classes, school systems, ethics and even a bit about the empire. There is some information towards race issues and how they changed (from culture to biology, e.g. originally Indians were considered culturally inferior in Victorian times not biologically and the differences between workers and aristocracy in England were seen due to biology and not nutrition), but these things (like the empire) were not the main focus of this book, so you won't find stuff about the Opium wars since they didn't affect everyday Victorian life that strongly as it seems. But you do get to know about what state England had in that time, what changed regarding transportation, public hygiene, morality, food etc. etc.
There is so much in this book that it is not something for casual reading, it isn't hard to read or anything, but it covers a lot of topics so you have to keep attention to it and can't do it halfheartedly.
As an intro to the Victorian era I would definitely recommend it, but for more in-depth looks you would need other literature that is more oriented towards specific topics.
May 24, 2018
An outstanding, and readable, reference work. Mitchell covers all the major topics, including religion, and has an uncanny knack of answering the reader's questions even as they're forming. In addition to the many illustrations and charts that accompany the text, there is a glossary, a bibliography, and an extensive appendix titled "Victorian Research and Resources", in which the author details how best to consult the vast array of material the WWW has to offer. If you're looking for a place to start researching the Victorian era, I highly recommend this book as your jumping off point.
(By the way, I have read two other entries in Greenwood Press' "Daily Life" series, Victorian Women and The Holocaust, and both are as informative and well-written as Victorian England is.)
Read
October 25, 2018This is an amazing book for what it is. It's an introductory book. With all their topics, there is no real way to really dig into too much. I can't tell you how many times I've dug this book out (particularly for the table of careers and general pay grades) to either reference something, or give it to others to look through for their projects.
While it's not a book that I would say is the only one you need, particularly if you're obsessed, like I am. I do fully believe that it is one of the staples in my little cubby of Victorian Nonfiction. This book is one that I will hand out to those who are just starting to study or show interest in the Victorian period.
While it's not a book that I would say is the only one you need, particularly if you're obsessed, like I am. I do fully believe that it is one of the staples in my little cubby of Victorian Nonfiction. This book is one that I will hand out to those who are just starting to study or show interest in the Victorian period.
July 6, 2017
Thorough overview of everyday life. Very informational and easy to read.
Read
August 20, 2024great
January 18, 2025
Excellent for research. A keeper.
March 24, 2025
This guide was a clear way to understand the most important bits of life. It clearly explains how everything was not standard and varied based on class and location
December 11, 2019
Back in the 1950s, a series of useful volumes began to appear under the uniform series title “Everyday Life in [name your period or culture]” which were designed for high school readers, though they were popular with anyone wanting a quick, accessible introduction to a given slice of social history. There were eventually a couple hundred titles in the series and they’re still being revised and reprinted. This newer and similarly-titled series from Greenwood Press (now owned by ABC-Clio, a highly regarded publisher of authoritative reference works) is sort of the adult version of that earlier effort, and it’s now up to more than eighty volumes, covering every period and cultural experience from Anglo-Saxon England and 16th century Spain to the California Gold Rush and the Holocaust.
This particular effort, put together by a recognized expert on the culture and literature of Victorian Britain, is an extremely thorough and very useful overview of almost every aspect of English life between 1837 and the turn of the 20th century. It runs about 300 pages but if you try to sit down and read straight through it, you might think it’s twice that length, so dense is it with information. At the same time, it’s extremely readable, even for those with no background whatever in 19th century social history. There are thirteen topical chapters, beginning with an excellent survey of the period (divided into early, mid, and late Victorian), and followed by examinations of class and tradition, work, technology and science, government and the law, private life and the home, family and social ritual, education, health and medicine, sports and recreation, religion and the impetus to reform, imperialism, and the whole, often misunderstood notion of “Victorian morality.” Each can be read separately and referred back to for later reference (the index is quite good), and each includes a number of brief illustrative excerpts from contemporary works. As it happens, I know a good deal about the nuts of bolts of life in this period and I found nothing that made me raise an eyebrow. There’s very little redundancy, though some topics are examined from different angles in different chapters. Whether you’re a undergraduate history or sociology student, a novelist, an aficionado of 19th century novels, or just an explorer of past cultures, this is a book to browse though and go back to again and again. First-rate work.
This particular effort, put together by a recognized expert on the culture and literature of Victorian Britain, is an extremely thorough and very useful overview of almost every aspect of English life between 1837 and the turn of the 20th century. It runs about 300 pages but if you try to sit down and read straight through it, you might think it’s twice that length, so dense is it with information. At the same time, it’s extremely readable, even for those with no background whatever in 19th century social history. There are thirteen topical chapters, beginning with an excellent survey of the period (divided into early, mid, and late Victorian), and followed by examinations of class and tradition, work, technology and science, government and the law, private life and the home, family and social ritual, education, health and medicine, sports and recreation, religion and the impetus to reform, imperialism, and the whole, often misunderstood notion of “Victorian morality.” Each can be read separately and referred back to for later reference (the index is quite good), and each includes a number of brief illustrative excerpts from contemporary works. As it happens, I know a good deal about the nuts of bolts of life in this period and I found nothing that made me raise an eyebrow. There’s very little redundancy, though some topics are examined from different angles in different chapters. Whether you’re a undergraduate history or sociology student, a novelist, an aficionado of 19th century novels, or just an explorer of past cultures, this is a book to browse though and go back to again and again. First-rate work.
February 24, 2016
Chapters include: Brief History, Class, Tradition, and Money, Working Life, Technology, Official Life (Government and Law), Private Life, Social Customs, Education, Medicine, Leisure and Holidays, Religion, Military, and Victorian Morality. This book contains lots of details about the Victorian Era and is very interesting and informative about the everyday life of people in every class. Although in a fairly scholarly format it lacks footnotes but does include a glossary and “Further Reading” sections as well as a useful appendix directing readers to other resources including online.
Read
January 14, 2017"Daily life in Victorian England" is delightfully informative while remaining interesting and immersive. Join Mitchell on her tour through Victorian England's ups and downs as she introduces us to the curious and familiar habits of England in a crucial time of it's existence. Playfully switching between her own research and sources of the time itself she succeeds in shaping a clear image of the time in such a way that you will not be able to put the book down after you have started.
February 15, 2010
A very approachable look into Victorian society. Sources are cited but do not bog down the reader, yet the lack of pages following pages of numbers do not lower the level of the information presented. Overall, I found this a delight and I found it a useful resource for assisting with Victorian novels.
December 9, 2013
A FANTASTIC research tool for those interested in the Victorian period. I already had substantial background, but this book taught me many facts which were completely new to me. Structured very intelligently and written so that all can understand, I found this an invaluable writer's resource. Thanks Ms. Mitchell, for doing all the work so that we don't have to!
February 13, 2017
From the title I was expecting more of an intimate description of the general activities and daily routine of Victorian families. However, the book is full of interesting information, albeit rather in textbook style than casual reading material. A great reference book for anyone researching the period.
May 20, 2011
This was a great behind the scenes of Victorian England - whether you are a follower of Victorian era television, books, or just a history buff wanting to know more about the lives of people before us. I especially liked that there was a decent listing of books for further in-depth reading.
October 25, 2011
An entertaining and easy-to read over-view of Victorian England. Good for getting a general picture of the era. It's an American book so I did find certain things amusing, like having cricket explained.
Don't expect in-depth analysis of events, and treat it more as a primer.
Don't expect in-depth analysis of events, and treat it more as a primer.
May 10, 2008
A great book for helping you get more from most Victorian novels and many Masterpiece Theater productions.
March 26, 2013
Very interesting. Some of what we thought life was like back then is incorrect according to this book. Just wish I could remember everything I read.
Read
March 6, 2015Excellent resource for a writer of historical fiction.
Read
June 18, 2014i want read this book
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews