How to be a Victorian
- Downloads：4905
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-14 09:53:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ruth Goodman
- ISBN：067092136X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A delightful tour through the intimate details of life in Victorian England， told by a historian who has cheerfully endured them all。 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 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 here。 How to Be a Victorian is an enchanting manual for the insatiably curious。
Reviews
Kristin Strong
，
I only wish I had read this book ages ago， as the knowledge I gained would have enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of literature from the Victorian era。Ruth Goodman takes us through a day in the life of a British Victorian。 She includes many stages in the daily routine， from getting out of bed， through work and meals， school and dressing， til we're back in bed again （and yes， she covers beliefs and attitudes about sex， as well as who was doing it and with whom）。 The book is very thorough， a I only wish I had read this book ages ago， as the knowledge I gained would have enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of literature from the Victorian era。Ruth Goodman takes us through a day in the life of a British Victorian。 She includes many stages in the daily routine， from getting out of bed， through work and meals， school and dressing， til we're back in bed again （and yes， she covers beliefs and attitudes about sex， as well as who was doing it and with whom）。 The book is very thorough， as she distinguishes between the various classes in Victorian Britain， geographic regions in the kingdom， and the beginning， middle， and end of Victoria's long reign。 This is important， as， for example， the food people ate depended on where they lived （not just geographically here， but rural or urban dwellers， too） and how much they had to spend on it。 Children's school experiences depended on where they lived and on their families' economic position， and might vary from one year to the next -- or even from one month to the next， given the vagaries of the larger economy and circumstances in their neighborhoods。 This large perspective enables the reader to form an image of the great variety in Victorian society， from social classes to preferences in sport to how and where laundry was done （and by whom）。Goodman is a historian， and as such has not just studied the Victorian period， but has lived the Victorian life， to the extent possible today， as a consultant to various British museums and a television presenter。 She's worn the clothes， driven the wagons， done the work （inside and outside the home）， and prepared and eaten the foods。 This experience allows her to present not only the history of the time as it has been written and preserved in objects， but how it truly feels to live in the skin of a Victorian Briton。 And it allows us to compare our lives， made physically much easier by mod cons， with those of people who chased the dark with firelight， seem to have mostly shivered in their homes and workplaces in cold weather， and lacked the protections of consumer law and government regulations that we enjoy。 The book gave me a new appreciation for， say， how much work （and， again， whose work） went into those Dickensian dinners and entertainments that folks of all classes enjoy in his books。 Life was hard and sometimes brutal and I have a new respect for the people who lived it。 。。。more
Wilhelmina
，
3。5
Woodard Reviews
，
I started reading and just didn't want to stop。 I started reading and just didn't want to stop。 。。。more
Marybeth Peeples
，
Awe-inspiring！
Neelam
，
Enjoyed this as a bedtime audiobook。 Structured really well from the activities and routines of a Victorian from morning to night。 I would warn this isn’t intersectional in its take on what a Victorian one - very much the traditional take but entertaining nevertheless！
Katelyn
，
The title pretty much explains this book。 Great guide for learning more about the day-to-day life during the Victorian period from commoners to nobility。 Fascinating to learn what it was really like instead of the romanticized version we see so much of in pop culture。
Sylvia Abrams
，
An easy to read social history。 Goodman has organized the book according to segments of a day。 She includes examples from all levels of society and attempts to cover the entire Victorian era。
Marie Southwell
，
I am prepping for any possible time travel。
Reveiws by Kenneth
，
The writing is very descriptive and as such makes it easy to imagine and step into the scene。 At times， I lost myself to the storyline。
Jill Mantor
，
Very interesting I knew nothing of this era before reading How to be Victorian。 It describes the hunger and hardship so well and I realize how fortunate I am to be living it this era。
~Jo~
，
Ruth Goodman is amazing。 I will read or watch anything that she appears in。 I've been a fan since I watched her wonderful， in-depth documentary of her living on a makeshift Victorian farm， along with a couple of other presenters。 She lived like a Victorian would， and she went to great lengths to show her viewers a peek of what life may have been like。This book is just as good。 It gets a little heavy at times， especially in the clothing section， but that's great if you're interests lie in what th Ruth Goodman is amazing。 I will read or watch anything that she appears in。 I've been a fan since I watched her wonderful， in-depth documentary of her living on a makeshift Victorian farm， along with a couple of other presenters。 She lived like a Victorian would， and she went to great lengths to show her viewers a peek of what life may have been like。This book is just as good。 It gets a little heavy at times， especially in the clothing section， but that's great if you're interests lie in what the people wore during that period。 This is well written， and highly informative， and quite honestly， I enjoyed every chapter。 Goodman feeds our curiosity with how a person living in that period might go about their daily routine， from the moment their feet hit the cold floor in the morning， to the moment they retire to bed for the night， and their sexual ventures， or the dipping of the bread， as I like to call it。 It's all here， and I definitely have particular chapters that tickled my fancy more than others。 The corset。 It always fascinates me how those women could wear one， day in， day out。 I know one gets used to things， to a degree， but a hard boned piece of clothing around my torso is not something I could accept willingly。 I've wore a corset maybe twice， and on both occasions， I was relieved to rip it off。 Interestingly enough， according to a doctor in Victorian times， a corset was to be worn by a woman in order for her to be able to support her "delicate organs。" And yes， I eye rolled at this revelation。 Several times， in fact。 Victorian health。 The majority of people suffered from poor health and malnutrition， and spent the most part of their lives hungry， hardly ever being satisfied。 Children did not receive an adequate amount of vitamins， so in turn， this lead to many cases of scurvy and rickets。 Condoms were made from sheep guts。 Apparently， once they were used， they were rinsed out and left to dry， ready for the time the man demands it。 Yes， the MAN demands it。 According to Goodman， it was the man's perogative to decide when he wanted sex， be it day or night， his woman had to be ready and willing。 The woman was only let off if she was with child or menstruating。 Masturbation。 We all know men did it back then。 but for women， it was a taboo subject， and in some ways， it still is。 Yes， it's true。 Women can and do orgasm。 I enjoyed how Goodman included important topics like child labour and drug abuse， too。 It didn't feel like just a list of information from a text book。 Plus， there some photographs included， which added to the overall interest of the book。 I've since added three other Goodman books to my list which I can't wait to get to！ 。。。more
Mary Catelli
，
An overview of Victorian life。 Fit into a daily schedule， which is not always neat。Food， clothing， laundry， work from the earliest ages often resulting in a father so broken， education and its vagaries （many schools taught knitting）， how sewing patterns casually assumed that all readers will know all the basics of sewing and just need a vague guide， medicine， and more。Obviously an overview， and I hit a few things where I knew it was simplified to oversimplification， but that's obviously arguable An overview of Victorian life。 Fit into a daily schedule， which is not always neat。Food， clothing， laundry， work from the earliest ages often resulting in a father so broken， education and its vagaries （many schools taught knitting）， how sewing patterns casually assumed that all readers will know all the basics of sewing and just need a vague guide， medicine， and more。Obviously an overview， and I hit a few things where I knew it was simplified to oversimplification， but that's obviously arguable in a book of this scope。 。。。more
Matthew Stienberg
，
A fascinating look at daily life amongst all classes in Victorian Britain。 From the poorest laborer to the highest members of society we see how people cleaned， ate， drank and spent their increasingly plentiful leisure time。 A very well rounded exploration， and one definitely valuable to those seeking an understanding of the time period！
Tina Chandler
，
I read this after her appearance in the show Victorian Farm。 This went into more detail than she could apply on the show and it was extremely fascinating。 My mom had taught me to hablar wash laundry when I was young and seeing how the British did thks compared to using a American washboard was so cool！ she goes into every aspect of Victorian life and you will not regret reading it
Claire
，
Incredibly detailed look into what it was like to live in Victorian Britain。
Diana Macovei
，
Fascinating。 I was surprised to see how much the world has changed in such a short time span - many things for the better， other things not so much
Mel Kerr
，
Amazing。 Informative。 Brilliant。 Ruth has done a wonderful job and I can't wait to read How to be a Tudor next！ Amazing。 Informative。 Brilliant。 Ruth has done a wonderful job and I can't wait to read How to be a Tudor next！ 。。。more
Stefanie
，
What a fantastic way to understand a time period！ Goodman breaks up the book by describing a “typical” Victorian day throughout the period and in various parts of the UK: starting in the morning with things like what the Victorian experience of getting up， getting dressed and “going to the privy” was like， moving through the day with breakfast， lunch， exercise and work， and finishing up at night with leisure time， dinner and sex （the best for last eh？）。 She seems to be drawing mainly from diarie What a fantastic way to understand a time period！ Goodman breaks up the book by describing a “typical” Victorian day throughout the period and in various parts of the UK: starting in the morning with things like what the Victorian experience of getting up， getting dressed and “going to the privy” was like， moving through the day with breakfast， lunch， exercise and work， and finishing up at night with leisure time， dinner and sex （the best for last eh？）。 She seems to be drawing mainly from diaries and publications from the time period， as well as her personal experiences trying some of these things out。 You do get a sense she’s more of a fan of the Victorian approach than you or I would be; I think the only thing she mentioned not liking after trying it was one take on “the water cure” - essentially being wrapped in cold， wet blankets。 Who can blame her？？ I still don’t think I’d relish going without washing my hair for a week at a time or cooking on a giant range that takes hours to heat。 But it is nice to get a modern perspective on attempting to adopt Victorian practices。This is not an in-depth analysis and doesn’t attempt to be。 （For example if you’re looking for info on the non-white experience you’ll have to look elsewhere to see it addressed explicitly， though she does address class regularly。） Rather， it’s a window into understanding the range of what everyday experience might have felt like， written in an approachable and accessible style with plenty of section breaks within chapters。 I was able to read a little at a time and still keep the thread; this book was also a great “palate cleanser” when I needed it between reading works of fiction。Recommended as a reference for people who are writing fiction set in the period and people who prefer their history at the level of the mundane rather than epic。 。。。more
Voss McCulligan
，
This book was interesting， but the informative parts were overwhelming。
Hilary
，
Incredibly readable， not least because the author has lived as a Victorian and personally tried many of the techniques and recipes herself。 （If you've watched Victorian Farm， you'll have seen some。）Detailed and thoughtful， the book takes us through a Victorian day for various classes of people。 You'll learn etymology， history of sports & education， about laundry， bathing， eating， clothes， work， child labor， and way more。 Incredibly readable， not least because the author has lived as a Victorian and personally tried many of the techniques and recipes herself。 （If you've watched Victorian Farm， you'll have seen some。）Detailed and thoughtful， the book takes us through a Victorian day for various classes of people。 You'll learn etymology， history of sports & education， about laundry， bathing， eating， clothes， work， child labor， and way more。 。。。more
Rebekah Giese Witherspoon
，
Even a five-year-old could tack up a hem in preparation for her mother to sew it…。 Sewing was not an enforced or oppressive regime but often quite the opposite: a quiet and intimate break in an otherwise busy day when a mother could bestow all her attention upon her daughter and the two of them could tell stories and talk as they worked。I’m completely obsessed with the Victorian era and the people who lived it， and I love Victorian literature and period films。 This non-fiction account of what da Even a five-year-old could tack up a hem in preparation for her mother to sew it…。 Sewing was not an enforced or oppressive regime but often quite the opposite: a quiet and intimate break in an otherwise busy day when a mother could bestow all her attention upon her daughter and the two of them could tell stories and talk as they worked。I’m completely obsessed with the Victorian era and the people who lived it， and I love Victorian literature and period films。 This non-fiction account of what daily life was like for the common folk is fascinating and insightful。 The author has spent a lot of time immersing herself in the agricultural Victorian lifestyle and her firsthand experience really makes this book shine。Living in a barely heated Victorian house through a whole winter and engaging in the daily physical routine of Victorian domestic and farming life， I found that my appetite and tastes temporarily changed。 Foods that I would simply dismiss in my twenty-first-century lifestyle became delicious。 I was able to eat with enthusiasm the bread and dripping， the pig’s trotters and the plain suet pastry with a scrape of jam。 The notion of Mediterranean food seemed laughable and utterly unappealing。 My body was telling me in no uncertain terms that it needed plenty of carbohydrates and animal fats to sustain the Victorian lifestyle。 …did I put on pounds as a result of the additional carbohydrates and fat？ No。 Did I lose any weight with all the additional exercise and hard work？ No。 It seems that， given the opportunity， my body regulated my food intake to fit with what was required of it。Everything you ever wanted to know （or didn’t） about the daily life of the middle to lower classes is here， all the stuff you will never find in Victorian novels （because why would Dickens or Gaskell explain chamber pot options when they presume that you already know all about them？）。 Recommended as a fascinating accompaniment to Victorian literature， movies， and series。 。。。more
Annette Kane
，
Fascinating and comprehensive
A。L。
，
A really excellent， fascinating， deeply researched book。
Paul baker
，
The real thingAn amazing study of Victorian life style。 Ruth Goodman is a self made expert on a variety of aspects of living as somebody would in 19th Century Britain。 Her range of interests is vast and her knowledge is effortlessly communicated。 She is without frills and always gets down to the realities - how easy is it to cook on a range or to wash the household linen？ I was born in 1947 and so many things here rhymed with the way my grandparents were， how and what they they ate。 It was easy The real thingAn amazing study of Victorian life style。 Ruth Goodman is a self made expert on a variety of aspects of living as somebody would in 19th Century Britain。 Her range of interests is vast and her knowledge is effortlessly communicated。 She is without frills and always gets down to the realities - how easy is it to cook on a range or to wash the household linen？ I was born in 1947 and so many things here rhymed with the way my grandparents were， how and what they they ate。 It was easy to feel what is was like， almost within touching range。 I have smelt that old fashioned perfume and seen the imperative to always wear a hat or be half naked。 Much of what is described was completely unknown to me and filled the gaps。 The chapter on sex workers and sexual mores was fascinating but so were things about exactly what they were wearing in layer upon layer of clothing。 It’s a scientific look at life 150 years ago that is so well done it can’t fail to inspire an emotional response to being in touch with our not so distant forbears。 Thank you for so much。 。。。more
Marty
，
I love literature from this era so this was a must。 Well documented and arranged。 Lots of headings if you are only interested in some topics。
Ergative Absolutive
，
I enjoyed this so much that I immediately bought Goodman's other book， How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life。 This is a nice counterpart to Judith Flanders' work， because it explicitly acknowledges the variation across locations and social classes and time more clearly than Flanders does。 It is also flavoured by Goodman's experience doing living history， describing how she got on with Victorian bathing habits， or adopting working class diets and working class activity levels。 Goo I enjoyed this so much that I immediately bought Goodman's other book， How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life。 This is a nice counterpart to Judith Flanders' work， because it explicitly acknowledges the variation across locations and social classes and time more clearly than Flanders does。 It is also flavoured by Goodman's experience doing living history， describing how she got on with Victorian bathing habits， or adopting working class diets and working class activity levels。 Goodman displays a charming sort of protectiveness of the Victorian lifestyle---no， you didn't actually stink that much if you only bathed the way Victorians did， I've done it myself and no one noticed that I hadn't washed my hair in four months; no， most women didn't tight-lace their corsets and deform themselves and in fact many corsets were perfectly comfortable to wear---along with a clearsighted acknowledgement of how hard things were。 I think the degree of hunger that was prevalent among all but the wealthy was the most eye-opening for me。 I knew it was bad， but not how bad: people's growth was stunted not just relative to modern norms， but also relative to late medieval norms， because the food supply was so bad。 I think that it is less sophisticated than Judith Flanders' work， doing less cultural commentary and analysis than straightforward descriptions of lifestyle， but it is also improved by Goodman's personal experience having lived in this way for documentaries and other living history activities。 。。。more
Nancy Kelley
，
A proper antidote for anyone tempted to romanticize the past。
Oshun
，
It would be useful if I decide to write a story set in the Victorian era。 At the moment it did not hold my attention beyond about 50 pages。 I would recommend it， however， if one has a need for the information。
Malum
，
Fantastic overview of every day life in Victorian England。 Covers everything from home life and work to prostitution and homosexuality and everything in between。
Nienke
，
It took me ages to finish reading this book， but that does not mean I did not like it。 How to be a Victorian provides tons of information about the Victorian era and the lifestyle during that period。 It is well written and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in this particular part of history。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How to be a Victorian
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How to be a Victorian&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How to be a Victorian&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0