How to Be a Victorian
Book description
Ruth Goodman believes in getting her hands dirty. Drawing on her own adventures living in re-created Victorian conditions, Goodman serves as our bustling and fanciful guide to nineteenth-century life. Proceeding from daybreak to bedtime, this charming, illustrative work celebrates the ordinary lives of the most perennially fascinating era of British…
Why read it?
2 authors picked How to Be a Victorian as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I adore immersive, hands-on history. Gordan took me on an intimate, hour-by-hour tour of a Victorian day, from the morning wash routine to the five-minute hair-brushing ritual at bedtime. She tested the power of the natural bristle brush; I’ll take it on faith that one can go weeks without shampooing.
Ever wonder how Victorians cleaned their teeth before Colgate? Coal soot is the surprising answer. From what they ate to how they dressed, worked, and played, Gordon charts differences across social classes and down the century.
From Patrice's list on offbeat books about the Victorian Era.
Until I read this book, I never fully appreciated how rotten life would be like if I were a working-class person living in England in the 19th century: grueling work, inadequate clothing, contaminated milk, and no hope for improving my lot.
Goodman doesn’t complain; she gives (copious) facts. What an eye-opening book for people accustomed to books and movies that portray upper-class life of the period!
I came away grateful for freedom and social mobility.
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