Series
Publication
Penguin (2014), Edition: Reprint, 464 pages
Original publication date
2013-03-01
Collections
Awards
NPR: Books We Love (2014)
Description
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, she celebrates the ordinary lives of the most perennially fascinating era of British history. From waking up to the rapping of a "knocker-upper man" on the window pane to lacing into a corset after a round of calisthenics, from slipping opium to the little ones to finally retiring to the bedroom for the ideal combination of "love, consideration, control and pleasure," the weird, wonderful, and somewhat gruesome intricacies of Victorian life are vividly rendered.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
As a social historian and TV presenter, Ruth Goodman has lived the life of the Victorians at times. She learned the skills, wore the clothing, ate the foods, and groomed herself in the way of the 19th century for weeks at a time. Here she presents the day to day life of the Victorians over a range
She takes us through a typical day; rising and washing up comes first. While the Victorians didn’t have showers, they weren’t filthy, stinky people. I was surprised by the methods that they used to clean their hair and skin; it was labor intensive but apparently effective. A thorough description of clothes worn is given; there were many layers, and by the end of the book we know how they were made, how they were cleaned, and how they felt to be worn. We learn how the meals were made and what they consisted of (usually not much, except for the highest classes, and sometimes not even then). Transportation, human waste disposal, how children were reared, what jobs they had, and what they did in their leisure time- what little there was of it for most of them.
It’s the ultimate resource for the historical novelist who sets their work in the 19th century. It’s fascinating to find out about the details of daily life- not who was king or what battle was won, but how most of the population lived. That Goodman tried out the various activities and concoctions- recipes for hair gel and toothpaste, for instance- let us know what it was really like. In many cases, what it was like was ‘not good’, but there were a large number of surprises. Great book.
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of economic classes and geographic areas. She takes us through a typical day; rising and washing up comes first. While the Victorians didn’t have showers, they weren’t filthy, stinky people. I was surprised by the methods that they used to clean their hair and skin; it was labor intensive but apparently effective. A thorough description of clothes worn is given; there were many layers, and by the end of the book we know how they were made, how they were cleaned, and how they felt to be worn. We learn how the meals were made and what they consisted of (usually not much, except for the highest classes, and sometimes not even then). Transportation, human waste disposal, how children were reared, what jobs they had, and what they did in their leisure time- what little there was of it for most of them.
It’s the ultimate resource for the historical novelist who sets their work in the 19th century. It’s fascinating to find out about the details of daily life- not who was king or what battle was won, but how most of the population lived. That Goodman tried out the various activities and concoctions- recipes for hair gel and toothpaste, for instance- let us know what it was really like. In many cases, what it was like was ‘not good’, but there were a large number of surprises. Great book.
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LibraryThing member etxgardener
This book should be required reading for all those people who are overly enamored with the costume dramas on British TV. Social historian, Ruth Goodman, shows how life in Victorian times rarely resembled the bucolic scenes shown on TV. In the main people in Victorian England had little education,
The book takes the reader through a typical Victorian day from getting up in a (usually) cold & dark room, to bathing, dressing, going to work and whatever leisure pursuits were available Ms Goodman, who is a consultant to the Victoria & Albert museum as ell as to several of the historical TV shows like Victorian Farm, knows her stuff and write about the practicalities of life, rarely discussed in history books. This is a fascinAting look at a period that has vanished, but wasn't really that long ago.
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worked long hours for little pay, lived in sub-standard housing and were hungry almost all the time. The only way their lives resembled that of the 1% of the day was when thy got sick. The rich could call upon a physician, the poor could not, but both got the same medicines - mostly opiates that did little or no good tin curing what ailed them.The book takes the reader through a typical Victorian day from getting up in a (usually) cold & dark room, to bathing, dressing, going to work and whatever leisure pursuits were available Ms Goodman, who is a consultant to the Victoria & Albert museum as ell as to several of the historical TV shows like Victorian Farm, knows her stuff and write about the practicalities of life, rarely discussed in history books. This is a fascinAting look at a period that has vanished, but wasn't really that long ago.
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LibraryThing member KirkLowery
A fascinating read tracing the development of domestic life during the Victorian era. The author not only does traditional historical research, but then actually lives a Victorian lifestyle to see how things work out in practice! While there are many things to praise about her book, my big
Highly recommended.
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take-away was how extensive and severe poverty, malnutrition and abuse were, even going into the 20th century in Britain. Our window into this era tends to be through the lens of the middle and upper classes. But the novels of Charles Dickens are not romantic distortions of the era, but reflect real conditions of the time.Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member 4hounds
Really fascinating. And the way she'd tried out a lot of this stuff really added to the reading experience. I loved her discussion of how clothing of different periods makes you move differently...the way you'd sit while wearing a corset, the way you'd handle scything...wow. It will make me read
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fiction from that period differently (and will possibly make me aware of errors in current fiction set in Victorian times). It makes me want to see the TV shows, too. Show Less
LibraryThing member snash
This book describes Victorian life in England from country to city and from poor to affluent. It organizes the event of everyday life from dawn to dusk including everything from work to leisure, from food to clothes, and from medicine to sex. Since the author has lived a Victorian life for various
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time spans, she can describe how it feels. Show Less
LibraryThing member mpbarker
Wonderful unromanticized view of daily life in Victorian England with tons of great little details about the "unmentionable" aspects of life.
LibraryThing member JudithProctor
An excellent book and very informative. It makes a real difference that Ruth has spent lots of time working with the household equipment of the period and spent long periods wearing the clothing. (I found the format of going through a typical day a little forced, but that's only a minor complaint)
LibraryThing member bobbieharv
I read this on my Kindle so didn't realize it was over 1,000 pages - probably would never have tackled it if I'd known, and now I understand why I decided it needed some good pruning.
The format was pleasing, taking the reader through a Victorian day, from awakening to toileting to dressing;
On balance, I found it tedious. Could have been a lot better.
The format was pleasing, taking the reader through a Victorian day, from awakening to toileting to dressing;
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through the meals and into the workday, concluding with dinner and bedtime. In between, however, there were too many long digressions into way too many layers of detail, and annoying intrusions about the author's Victorian reality show experiences. On balance, I found it tedious. Could have been a lot better.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
I really loved this for the "in my experience" stuff. Ruth Goodman has taken part in TV series about living in certain eras (though sometimes they generalise a bit and talk about stuff I remember from my youth as if people don't do those sort of things) and her description of the GAA sport handball
This book follows a day from getting up to going to bed, though it didn't include the tradition of married women being served breakfast in bed, while unmarried daughters were expected to rise for breakfast, still it's an interesting look at victorian times and how changes happened and how corsets actually provide a certain amount of back support.
I found it very interesting and gave me food for thought and some things I need to follow up on.
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as if it's an unknown is entertaining. But on the other hand her inclusion of the Irish Famine is interesting and welcome.This book follows a day from getting up to going to bed, though it didn't include the tradition of married women being served breakfast in bed, while unmarried daughters were expected to rise for breakfast, still it's an interesting look at victorian times and how changes happened and how corsets actually provide a certain amount of back support.
I found it very interesting and gave me food for thought and some things I need to follow up on.
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LibraryThing member comixminx
Very much enjoying already, only a quarter of the way through.
LibraryThing member Diana_Long_Thomas
Another book by Ruth Goodman. I have been wanting to read this one for awhile now, I just loved her in the various "Farm" series. I learned quite a bit on everyday life from this one. I was actually surprised at how much I didn't know about how people lived in this era, but I think it's because
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I've focused on the aristocracy and this book focuses on the middle and lower classes. I will admit the chapter on sport took a bit to get through, while I liked learning about football (soccer) the rest of it just didn't interest me. The best part is she lived like a Victorian for about a year while filming one Victorian Farm so she could give some insight on how things worked and how comfortable some of the clothing was. Show Less
LibraryThing member JenniferElizabeth2
Well researched, along with with the author's actual experience.
LibraryThing member lissabeth21
This was an enjoyable and incredibly readable non-fiction account of what real Victorian life was like for every level of British society.
LibraryThing member John_Warner
Having read a number of fictional books written during or about the Victorian Age, I was immediately drawn to this book when it was published. This Victorian scholar organizes her book by events occurring in the daily life of its Victorian citizenry. The book details a typical day from rising in
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the morning to going to bed at night for the various social classes, including bathing, dressing, meals, work, and recreation. As in many biology textbooks, the book ends with sexual behavior. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of fiction set in the Victorian period. Show Less
LibraryThing member A._E._Chandler
This book sits horizontally on top of the others on its shelf, because I take it down to reference so often. It’s a great combination of history and experimental archaeology, resulting in an intimate and accurate portrait of everyday Victorian life, and it’s a very engaging read.
LibraryThing member arosoff
If you enjoyed The Victorian House by Judith Flanders, this will also be right up your alley. It's a bit less source heavy than Flanders' work, but includes a lot of fun details about the author's hands-on work with Victorian methods and materials. It also extends beyond the walls of the house to
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include chapters on school, leisure, and the work day. Since it covers more topics, each chapter is less detailed than Flanders, but still contains a lot of interesting details about such esoterica as underwear, diapers, cosmetics, toileting, and, yes, sex. Show Less
LibraryThing member Matke
This is a fascinating overview of what daily life was like in the Victorian era. Author Ruth Goodman shows how different life could be depending on one’s economic class.
The book isn’t a scholarly history—no footnotes—but is obviously heavily researched. Goodman has briefly lived some of the
The book is organized as a review of a typical day, from waking and morning ablutions through bedtime and sleep (or sex). Since the scope of the subject is enormous, a serious student or truly interested reader should use this as a jumping off point; as a way to become quickly familiar with the tenor of a Victorian day, Goodman’s book is the best I’ve found. For me it was much better than Flanders’ Victorian House.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in the era, or any lovers of Victorian fiction.
The book isn’t a scholarly history—no footnotes—but is obviously heavily researched. Goodman has briefly lived some of the
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scenarios, and her reactions help us realize just how different life was then, and how physically taxing it was if you were anything other than upper class. The book is organized as a review of a typical day, from waking and morning ablutions through bedtime and sleep (or sex). Since the scope of the subject is enormous, a serious student or truly interested reader should use this as a jumping off point; as a way to become quickly familiar with the tenor of a Victorian day, Goodman’s book is the best I’ve found. For me it was much better than Flanders’ Victorian House.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in the era, or any lovers of Victorian fiction.
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LibraryThing member JessicaReadsThings
Wow. So much detail, but somehow it doesn't seem to be overwhelming or boring. I am eternally thankful not to be a Victorian, but I do find myself admiring them for casually accepting things (long work hours, decreased meal sizes and/or frequency, putting on only a couple layers of clothing) that
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we today would find immensely difficult to deal with. Add to that the fact that the author has actually lived as a Victorian, and you have an amazingly detailed and fascinating read that really brings history to life. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Really excellent nonfiction depiction of the everyday life of Britains in the age of Victoria. I found the author's personal commentary on her hands-on experience to be particularly compelling. On the whole, a delightful read on what could have been a dryly presented subject, covering a huge amount
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of material well. Show Less
LibraryThing member susandennis
This was absolutely fascinating. I read it in short chunks over many weeks and hated when I got to the end. Ruth Goodman knows her stuff and shares it all from how Victorians went to the bathroom to their schools and their breakfasts. I generally have very little to know interest in history and yet
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this book just grabbed and kept me. Very very cool read. Show Less
LibraryThing member dhelmen
An engrossing and enjoyable social history which covered all the topics I enjoy most and which are generally overlooked or spoken about in only the most general of terms about the upper classes such as food and clothing. Goodman's style is eminantly readable, enjoyable and informative.
LibraryThing member classyhomemaker
This was an excellent start to my 2015 reading! I love the idea of a "waking 'til sleeping" look at Victorian life in England. There were so many interesting tidbits and insights into how our world just wouldn't be what it is if it weren't for the enterprising Victorians. The book is lively and
I love how the author has so much personal experience with living the Victorian life. It sounds like she's had some very interesting employment. Some of my favorite parts include:
Interesting findings on her washing experiment (pages 15-16)
The way plaid shirts came to symbolize the manual laborer
That tiny waists were fashionable for men of the time and that they, like women, wore corsets to achieve the look!
Her hair care regimen on page 143---I might try it!
I also found the many cases of history repeating itself to be strangely satisfying. For instance, the English Victorians also struggled with schools focusing on standardized curriculum, rather than the individual needs of the student. Also, with all the talk about the rise of obesity---especially with the way the British like to get on us Americans about it---I found it rather ironic that only 2 out of 9 volunteers were considered physically fit enough to fight in the Boer War.
This will go into my permanent collection and I hope to find others by her soon!
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very readable and I found myself only skipping over a few pages about men's sports and later, a small bit about abortion.I love how the author has so much personal experience with living the Victorian life. It sounds like she's had some very interesting employment. Some of my favorite parts include:
Interesting findings on her washing experiment (pages 15-16)
The way plaid shirts came to symbolize the manual laborer
That tiny waists were fashionable for men of the time and that they, like women, wore corsets to achieve the look!
Her hair care regimen on page 143---I might try it!
I also found the many cases of history repeating itself to be strangely satisfying. For instance, the English Victorians also struggled with schools focusing on standardized curriculum, rather than the individual needs of the student. Also, with all the talk about the rise of obesity---especially with the way the British like to get on us Americans about it---I found it rather ironic that only 2 out of 9 volunteers were considered physically fit enough to fight in the Boer War.
This will go into my permanent collection and I hope to find others by her soon!
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780670921362
Physical description
7.74 inches