The World for a Shilling: How the Great Exhibition of 1851 Shaped a Nation

by Michael Leapman

Conceived as a showcase for Britain's burgeoning manufacturing industries and the exotic products of its Empire, the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace was Britain's first truly national spectacle. This text examines the story of how the exhibition came into being; the key characters who made it happen (from Prince Albert, who was credited with the idea, to Thomas Cook, whose cheap railway trips ensured its accessibility to all); and the tales behind the exhibitors and exhibits themselves, from the Koh-i-noor diamond to the more quirky inventions on display, such as a bed that physically ejected its occupant in the morning. One quarter of the British population had visited the exhibition by its close. This is the story of how it fired the imagination of the era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Victorian, British Literature, Research

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Robert Godden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history book, Accessible and well researched. Makes me want to read more of some of the principal characters, particularly Prince Albert, who unexpectedly turns out to be a bit of a social reformer.
It really shows how different the world was less than 200 years ago.
I bought it for 1.50 in a charity shop, which the internet tells me is the purchasing power of half an 1851 shilling, so I got the World for Half a Shilling! But it was worth the cover price of 7.99 easily.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and very readable book - I don't recall any dull moments or weak links, as can occasionally happen with nonfiction. I like the way this book explored social attitudes of the time by discussing the behaviour and attitudes of the visitors to the exhibition, and questioned the effect of the coming-together of so many previously disparate sections of society. This was just as interesting as the exploration of the exhibits to me. There was also an interesting comparison with the Millennium Dome project and why it might have failed as compared with the exhibition of 1851 - I know which one I'd rather have visited...

I'd recommend people who enjoyed this book to take a look at Bill Bryson's 'At Home', which explores the history of domestic life with a focus on the Victorian era, beginning as it does with an overview of the Great Exhibition.

[juneshin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book on the Great Exhibition of 1851, Michael Leapman wants to give a flavour of what it was actually like to have visited the Crystal Palace during the 5 and a half months the Exhibition of Industry of All Nations was staged in Hyde Park, London. He admits that this is not an academic piece of work, however, the book was thoroughly researched and written from original sources, using a wealth of contemporary documents, literature and press reports. This is a really well-articulated book in which Leapman paints a picture of what it was like to have travelled to and experienced the Great Exhibition in London. It gives a fascinating inside into British culture, perceptions and class struggle at the time. It has an intentional light-hearted character, though occasionally the reader receives a glimpse of a critical assessment from the author. This is a perfect book for anyone who does not want to read an academic piece about the Exhibition but still receive a true account of what happened at the time.

[Bill38silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well-researched, well-structured non-academic work. It is a straightforward read, mostly set down in chronological order of events leading up to and during the 1851 Great Exhibition. There have been plenty of other books on this subject and Leapman probably adds little that has not been covered before except the final chapter which compares this Great Exhibition with the one at the Millenium Dome in 2000 which I remember as being disappointing on my visit in its final week.

The book shows that the world of the working class in 1851 was distinctly different from the aristocracy and also from north to south. It also shows the Englishman's attitude and prejudices at that time to foreigners. I would have liked to see more illustrations of exhibits rather than try to imagine them from a detailed description culled from the 948 page guidebook, Robert Hunt's "Handbook to the Official Catalogue".

I admit to being unclear why the sub-title refers to the 1851 Exhibition as "shaping the nation". On many levels it was a very successful event but did it radically change anything in this Nation over the next 50 to 100 years and more? I think not.

[Alexandra Needham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly charming, detailed and well researched. The rural perspectives were particularly interesting when contrasted with that of the landed aristocracy. The Great Exhibition was put very well within the social and economic context of the day

[Lynn Stallings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Norain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Great Exhibition was the shared ideas of a number of people, among them Prince Albert who was ever eager to do something that would leave him a better name in the history book than just the Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria. Most chapters of this book told of the sequence of event chronologically: the planning phases, the designing and construction of Crystal Palace, the opening ceremony, all the way to the closing ceremony and what happened to the Palace after it was all over. Among the most interesting things I found were a brief history of public toilet in London and the railway system (which was new at that time). The Great Exhibition was the first world fair ever held and even though it did not bring unity for all nations as the Prince Consort had optimistically hoped for, it did have a great impact on Britain. For one thing, we had Harrods today because of the profit Charles Harrod managed to get from the high influx of visitors to London at that time.

This was a very entertaining read. It was not too detailed (there were two chapters dedicated to describing the exhibits which I found quite exhaustive, though) and the writer had declared beforehand that this was not meant to be an academic book, but it was informative nonetheless. It made me hope that I were among the crowds fighting my way into the Crystal Palace or even better, among one of the season ticket holders privileged to attending the opening ceremony by the Queen.

By the way, if you wonder why the title was so, it was referring to the time when the price of tickets was brought down to one shilling to allow more people to visit the exhibition.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really satisfied my huge interest in Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition. It went into great detail about all aspects of the event, from the building of the venue, who was involved, how it progressed, what was diplayed, the worldwide participants and visitors it attracted, the economic and political problems that had to be overcome. Th e author did a fantastic job of covering all the bases with his research and relaying what he discovered. As an enthusiast, this book was perfect for me.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but enjoyable account of the planning, operation and aftermath of the 1851 Great Exhibition. I have always been fascinated by this event and was not disappointed by this book. It contains fascinating insights into the Exhibition's evolution from a rough idea to a thriving enterprise which brought the great, the good, the enterprising and the exotic together for a few remarkable months as seen through the eyes of individuals and their experiences. Well worth a read if you enjoy Exhibitions or Victorian/Industrial Revolution era history.