Category: Victoria

The pipe style that was popular in Victorian England was the billiard pipe. It was a simple design with a slight forward tilt to the bowl. The simplicity was due to the pipe simply being thought of as a functional tool for smoking and the era’s interest in mass production. What did people smoke in […]

Victorian poetry was more important than Victorian prose fiction. Few Victorian women wrote novels. Victorian novels often focused on social relations. Victorian novels often featured Arthurian legend. What did Victorian novels focus on? The realistic Victorian novel focused on characters and themes such as the plight of the poor and social mobility that was being […]

Victorian Dressing Gown This Victorian era (1837-1901) dressing gown would’ve been part of a set of three. It would’ve had a matching nightgown and chemise to be worn underneath the corset. What kind of dresses were worn in the Victorian era? The fashion of the 19th century is renowned for its corsets, bonnets, top hats, […]

Victorian undergarments were white or unbleached beige and usually very plain without lace or embroidery. Colored and embroidered underthings were considered indecent because no one would ever see them! Natural fabrics were used for Victorian underwear: linen was the most popular, while cotton was cheaper. When did we start wearing knickers? How Did Knickers First […]

Today Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë (1818-1848) is regarded as a classic of English literature and as one of the most important works of the Victorian Age. Is Wuthering Heights Romantic era? Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a classic example of a novel from the Romantic Movement in literature, in which there is […]

Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Anne Brontë are three Victorian authors with whom you’re probably already somewhat familiar. You probably know Charlotte Brontë and her novel Jane Eyre. And yes, you’ve definitely heard of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Is Brontë a Victorian writer? One of the most famous Victorian women writers, and a prolific poet, […]

Queen Victoria adopted a small red Pomeranian in 1888, which caused that color to become fashionable by the end of the 19th century. Did Queen Victoria have a Pomeranian? Pomeranians were one of Queen Victoria’s favourite breed of dog. She acquired Turi in 1893. What kind of dog did Queen Victoria have? In the 1860s […]

The Victorians also transformed the idea of Christmas so that it became centred around the family. The preparation and eating of the feast, decorations and gift giving, entertainments and parlour games – all were essential to the celebration of the festival and were to be shared by the whole family. Was Christmas celebrated in the […]

As the recipe evolved with the invention of baking powder, it’s no surprise that the sponge cake was renamed in honour of its royal patron. The way Queen Victoria would have enjoyed her cake was what we have come to recognise as the definitive Victoria sponge cake today. Is the Victoria sandwich named after Queen […]

In Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll criticizes Victorian society by poking fun at authority figures and pointing out the hypocrisy of the rigid social hierarchy. In the backwards world she encounters, Alice, a child, seems more mature than the adults. She also struggles to make sense of their arbitrary rules. What do we learn […]