1900 House

by Mark McCrum, Matthew Sturgis

This title accompanies Channel 4's programme that reveals just how radically life has been transformed by a century of science and technology. This "living experiment" transports a family, with all their technological dependencies, back to 1900 to live for three months in a house restored to the exact specifications of the era. As the family struggle to adjust to these strange conditions in which electricity, plumbing, central heating, basic hygiene and all the other essentials that we now take for granted have not yet been discovered, the real difference science has made to our lives becomes amusingly clear. For the three months the family live in this 1900 house with gas lighting, coal fires, candlelight, carbolic soaps and an outside privy. They dress in starched collars, wash their clothes with a "dolly", haul coal up the stairs and use an earth closet instead of a flushing toilet. Revealing and entertaining, combining scientific discovery with surprising insights into everyday life, this book is an accessible approach to the history of science.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 1999

Reviews

[Felicity Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coffee-table sized book that accompanied the 1999 television programme The 1900 House.

With asides giving lots of actual historical facts from sources such as Cassell's Book of the Household and Mrs Beeton's cookbook, plenty of photographs of the house 'before and after' its transformation as well as diary extracts from the Bowler family who found themselves 'transported' back a century to live life as lived in 1900 this really is a fascinating, visually appealing read that does an amazing job in chronicling every day life in late Victorian Britain making it a great resource for both home and school use.

Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like the genre of TV where modern-day people get plopped into historically accurate settings to live their lives -- it's worth checking out this book (and series) because it was the first of its kind. The book itself is fairly boring -- mostly diary excerpts from the various participants, almost all of whom just complain the whole time. However, the chapter on how the producers took an existing home and made it back into a 1900 home is super interesting.

[Julene Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating as I saw the original series . It traces the experience of various house members via video diaries plus telling the story of their experiences over 3 months living the 1900 lifestyle.
The style is easy to read and little explanations are given in separate areas on the page. The photos are great! I'd definitely recommend this to anyone in conjunction with watching the series.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is well put together and a good behind the scenes look at the show. It raises so many questions, though: I want to know why the showmakers made the choices they did, especially in the initial staging and the overall conceit, why one way and not another?

Believe it or not, I’m now undecided about whether to watch the show. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll watch it!

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing look at a modern family struggling to survive in a realistically renovated Victorian era home. I've seen bits and pieces of the BBC version of their story, but the book actually dives into more detail.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the series and the book added to it greatly.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the first reenactment on TV and this is a fascinating look at how things didn’t quite work the first time. However learnt very little about the Victorians.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to run across this book in the library because I had really enjoyed the "1900 House" documentary, but what I didn't realize was how much I had either forgotten or how much was edited out of the actual documentary.

The Bowler family and 4 of their children agree to live in a house as it would have been in 1900. The information about getting the house ready was interesting, and the twin girls were fun to follow, but I found the rest of the family mostly obnoxious. Joyce, the mother, whines on and on and on and on about the lack of shampoo. Seriously--skin and haircare are all she ever seems to think about. The older daughter does nothing but whine after the first week has gone by, and the 9-year old son is only mentioned when he's throwing tantrums or otherwise being a brat. I thought it was quite notable that while the kids had friends who wrote them letters, Joyce certainly never mentions having any friends. Goodness knows I wouldn't be friends with someone so shallow.

The family fought a lot, complained, and it really seems to have been mostly the things that were added for the documentary that explained different aspects of the experiment. The book adds little snippets, but it's just way too much about people whining to be an enjoyable read.

[Tim Randolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have given this 4 stars but the parts that actually dealt with the family, most especially the mother and older daughter really dragged the book down. While their complaints illustrated how much more work were involved in keeping up a residence in that era, they complained so I grew to dislike them both and started skimming over their whining. I loved the chapter where they fixed the house up!