Victorian Resources

The Victorian Era, 1837-1901, corresponds to the time in history of Queen Victoria's reign in England. The period is loved for its high attention to morals. Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, inspired a time of modesty and proper decorum. The "Wild West" brought forth a trail blazing, gun-slinging culture in America and many notable events took place, including the Gold Rush of the 1840's, the Trail of Tears in 1838, and the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Many adult halloween costumes are inspired by the Victorian Era due to the many historic events and the vast culture at the time.

Literature was an important part of the Victorian Era. Reading was a leisure activity that many people enjoyed frequently. The novel became a leading form of literature throughout the 19th century and even pre-Victorian authors like, Jane Austen were still immensely popular. While many there were many authors, some had outstanding novels that would be read throughout centuries to come.

• Charles Dickens was probably one of the best known authors of the 20th century. He created sticking characters and intriguing plots that people enjoyed. Some of his more notable works included: Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and A Tale of Two Cities. 

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were poets whose romance was a classic love story in itself. Husband and wife were both famous poets of the Victoria Era and Robert Browning a playwright as well.

• Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, best known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll wrote the classics Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

• Robert Louis Stevenson was known for his short stories as well as novels. While his works are non-fiction some of his show details of his personal life. His more known works include: Treasure Island, Kidnaped, and A Child's Garden of Verses.

• While Bram Stoker has written numerous novels, he didn't realize fame until the cast success of Dracula. After Dracula he continued to write fantasy fiction, however, none of his other works became as well known.

Victorian Era art and architecture are closely related as they both are considered eclectic. Art in the late nineteenth century covered a wide range. Classicism, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, , and Post-Impressionism were all covered during this period. Artists like Monet and Dante Rosetti were accomplished and appreciated painters Architecture was also very dramatic and detailed. Like the art of the period, the architecture of time was elaborate, but varied in style.

• Gothic Revival was one of the first residential styles of architecture and began in the 1840's. It's recognized by the steep pitched roofs and pointed arched windows.

• The Italianate style home was built from 1860-1880. It's recognized by angled bay windows. Traditionally these homes were painted to resemble stone, which was expensive at the time.

• The Second Empire homes were known for their roofs. They were heavily decorated with dormer windows, had iron casting, and colored tile patterns.

• Queen Anne homes were the most prominent and detailed. They were popular between 1880 to 1910. The style of Queen Anne homes varied, but can be recognized by their large front porches and often times, second story balconies.

• The Stick Style homes were a cross between the Gothic and Queen Anne homes. They were popular between 1860-1890. These homes often had large over hanging second story porches.

Education vastly grew throughout the 1800's. In 1837 the first permanent women's college was established. At the time there were 120 men's colleges. Boston's Quincy Grammar School became the first school that separated children by grade in 1848. The US Department of Education was created in 1867 to help establish effective school systems. While education was going through some major changes children still attended grammar school in a one room schoolhouse. There was one teacher who taught all of the grades and the children didn't attend regularly. The boys were often needed to help their fathers in the fields and may only attend school for three or four months per year.

While medical knowledge was limited in the early part of the Victorian Era is grew immensely through the decades. Early on there were only around 100 medicines and most were herbal remedies. Homeopathy medicine became extremely popular and many doctors practiced it. Homeopathy hospitals and schools began opening. People were drawn to this type of medicine because even when it didn't work it didn't do any damage. Previous remedies, including blood-letting were very dangerous and rarely worked. During this time, women also entered the medical field and Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to earn a US medical degree.

Theater was a main form of entertainment throughout the Victorian Era. People rarely tired of Shakesphere and some of the more prominent actors, like Henry Irving, started out with roles in Shakespherean plays. Both dramatic performances and comedies were extremely popular. Traditionally, men performed entire plays using women's (adult costumes) to play the roles of women. However, the Victoria Era also saw a rise in women in theater. The US census reported between 1870 and 1880 the number of women who declared themselves actresses went from 780 to 4,652. Ellen Terry was a famous Shakespherean actress who went on to appear in film in the early 1900's. A most sought after actress, actor George Sutton Titheradge's last performace was at a benefit for her. While Shakesphere was popular, the Victorian Era was a great time for literature, playwrights included.

• Oscar Wilde was an Irish born playwright. His most notable play include: The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere's Fan, and A Woman of no Importance

• George Henry Boker was a famous American playwright. He wrote the romantic tragedy Francesca de Rimini about an Italian woman in the 14th century.

• Sir William S. Gilbert was a dramatic playwright who wrote 2 plays in 1871 which netted him a substantial income.

• Poet Robert Browning also wrote two dramatic sketches entitled, A Soul of Tragedy and In a Baloony.

• Uncle Tom's Cabin a anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe was turned into a play that was performed in costumes and black-faced.

Religion played a part in the daily lives of the American people as well. For most of the Victorian Era, Evangelicalism was the popular religion in American. It was a Protestant Christian movement that began in Great Britain. Evangelicals didn't differ from Christian ways, the simply followed the ways and beliefs of The New Testament. Transcendentalism was another popular form of religion that began in the New England area. Literary greats like Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson were transcendentalists as it was popular among writers, poets, and philosophers. These transcendentalists believed that all people had access to divine inspiration and they loved freedom and sought out the truth. There were a small amount of Catholics in American up until 1840. In the 1840's Irish Catholics began migrating. As with other religions the Roman Catholic population grew immensely throughout the Victorian Era. With population increasing from 14 million to 82 million people, by 1906 it became the largest religious domination in the country.