How to be a Victorian

Product Information

It was indicative of the widespread use of this apparatus for female hysteria, and of the Victorian understanding of the ‘illness’ in general, that most of these sets of apparatus came with a ‘vaginal attachment’. a b c Perkin, Harold (1969). The Origins of Modern English Society. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.280. ISBN 9780710045676.

on Victorian schools] "Punctuality and obedience were highly desired and valued traits, partly because the ability to follow instructions accurately and the self-control to handle boredom and repetitive exercises were thought to produce good factory workers. If many schools felt like a factory, especially towards the end of the century, it was deliberate. School was meant to be a training ground for life: a rigid hierarchy with strict rules and regulations. Instant submission to those in authority was required of everyone, from maidservant to office worker. The direct and physical lessons that corporal punishment in schools taught those who strayed even an iota from the rules was thought to be valuable preparation for the real world."Cooper, Anthony Ashley, seventh Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2018. doi: 10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.6210. Goodman skilfully creates a portrait of daily Victorian life with accessible, compelling, and deeply sensory prose' Erin Entrada Kelly a b c National Geographic (2007). Essential Visual History of the World. National Geographic Society. pp.290–292. ISBN 978-1-4262-0091-5. And yet who has not asked themselves at least once in a while how people in the Victorian era started their day, how they washed themselves, what they wore, what medicine they took, what childcare was like and many other questions pertaining to people’s everyday life at that time? In her fascinating book How to Be a Victorian Ruth Goodman gives a very detailed account of the minutiae of daily life in the Victorian era. She structures her overview of Victorian chores and pleasures by following a typical daily routine, i.e. her first chapter covers everything people did when they got up in the morning and her last chapter sees them to bed and also gives an account of Victorians’ sexual mores. Goodman is very well aware of the differences between social classes and of changes from the early Victorian period to the latter days of that era, and she is not only content with listing and commenting on daily routines but she also paints a picture of the important issues of the time – like, for instance, child labour, the problem of hunger, schooling, or the dangers of medical treatment. Even George Costanza would like that book as it has a little sub-chapter on toilet-paper as well. I'm a nut for British lit, so I was thrilled when I first heard about this book. Goodman has some credibility in this field because she spent months living in re-created Victorian conditions on a farm. Her experience and anecdotes livened up the book, which could get a little dry at times.

I will warn readers that this book is dense with historical details, and it took me a while to get through it. I learned a lot and thought it was interesting, but it was a slow read. a b c d Benians, E. A. (1959). The Cambridge History of the British Empire Vol. iii: The Empire – Commonwealth 1870–1919. Cambridge University Press. pp.1–16. ISBN 978-0521045124. Bowen, Desmond (1979). " Conscience of the Victorian State, edited by Peter Marsh". Canadian Journal of History. 14 (2): 318–320. doi: 10.3138/cjh.14.2.318. ISSN 0008-4107.She redeems herself in the last chapter of the book, nightime, sleep, bed, sex. She wasn't as forthcoming as on other subjects, but good enough. Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman, as the song goes. It was especially hard to be a Victorian woman. We think we know, and we certainly do – on many levels – understand the hardships that people underwent on a daily basis, from morning until night. But is this awareness not just one of academic, historic facts? Do we really appreciate or empathise with what our Victorian forbears endured? Child labour - a terrible stain on the Victorian era; until one recognises the struggle for food, money and heat. Industrialisation killed the wages of cottagers across traditional industries meaning children needed to work to help; and in turn people moved to towns to get better wages and more regular or even some employment; that in turn saw the machine age crave increased hours and more people to feed production that the world's largest empire required; including more children, women and men living near and working in or around the factories. a b c Wohl, Anthony S. (1978). The Victorian family: structure and stresses. London: Croom Helm. ISBN 9780856644382. Nationally recognized written examinations began not with schools but with the Navy in the eighteenth century. They were a resounding success The idea of a meritocracy spread. Exams became a requirement for joining the Indian Civil Service, then a requirement for becoming an army officer, and the idea spread. For instance no longer could anyone casually open a pharmacy - you had to become a qualified pharmacist to enter the profession, and university students leaving college had to sit exams. People with greater application and intelligence started to have more success.

In addition to quoting 19th century individuals, Ms. Goodman reports her own experiences in living a Victorian lifestyle. Like the section on laundry: Aspects of the Victorian book: the novel". British Library. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018 . Retrieved 23 October 2020. Horrible History ... for adults. Brimming with frank, witty and often gruesome observations, BBC star Ruth Goodman describes what Victorian life was really likeDrawing on Ruth's unique first-hand experience, gained from living on a Victorian farm for a year, this book will teach you everything you need to know about 19th century living. You ever heard such rot in your entire life? How did they come by a belief that was so obviously false? How could experiencing life as women or as men living with thousands of generations of wives, girlfriends and mistresses still have got people believing such an obvious myth? That sort of myth is usually the province of religion where no justification is necessary to belief anything no matter how strange, outlandish and contrary to all evidence.

a b c Soloway, Richard A. (2011). "Population and demographics". In Mitchell, Sally (ed.). Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp.617–618. ISBN 9780415669726. Blouet, Olwyn M. (2011). "Tennis". In Mitchell, Sally (ed.). Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p.791. ISBN 9780415669726. AnuradhaPetra X wrote: "Of course I knew what the "vaginal attachment" was all about. I just wanted the author to write about it and not go all mealy-mouthed when it came to anything to do with sex. Also the author discus..." I was definitely intrigued by the majority of topics presented. Goodman talks about clothing (for all sexes, stages of life and station of life), hats, food, going to the privy (outside and away from the home prior to indoor plumbing), medicine and addiction, school for children and the differences in girls and boys’ educations, fears of exercise for girls, bathing and how community baths were what created the leisure swimming pool, sports and the advent of spectators at rugby and football, and even sex. I said this was a thorough account. a b c Lewis, Christopher (2007). "Chapter 5: Energy and Entropy: The Birth of Thermodynamics". Heat and Thermodynamics: A Historical Perspective. United States of America: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33332-3.London Police Act 1839, Great Britain Parliament. Section XXXI, XXXIV, XXXV, XLII". Archived from the original on 24 April 2011 . Retrieved 23 January 2011. I hate that sort of coy evasion. I had an appointment with my GP recently. I'd guess she is mid/late 50s (slightly older than me), and the consultation was about contraception and menopause. She actually used the phrase "down there", rather than say cervix, vagina, labia, or whatever. Bizarre.