Victorian History

A smart, provocative account of the erotic current running just beneath the surface of a stuffy and stifling Victorian London.

In 1860s London, two loosely overlapping groups of bohemians - the Cannibal Club and the Aesthetes - challenged the buttoned-up Victorian propriety to promote erotic freedom and expression. Sensually attuned and politically radical, they were among the most influential thinkers and artists of the day, from Richard Burton to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris.

From the acclaimed biographer - the fascinating, little-known story of a Victorian-era murder that rocked literary London, leading Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, and Queen Victoria herself to wonder: Can a novel kill?

On April 26, 1871, a police constable walking one of London's remotest beats stumbled upon a brutalized young woman kneeling on a muddy road - gashes were cloven into her skull, her left cheek was slashed open and smashed in, her right eye was destroyed, and above it a chunk of the temporal bone had been bashed out. The policeman gaped in horror as the woman held out her hand before collapsing into the mud, muttering, "Let me die", and slipping into a coma. Five days later she died, her identity still unknown.

Step into the Victorian underworld of Angel Meadow, the vilest and most dangerous slum of the Industrial Revolution. In the shadow of the world's first cotton mill, 30,000 souls trapped by poverty are fighting for survival as the British Empire is built upon their backs.

The Napoleonic Wars radically altered the old, established European power dynamics, and in 1795, the British, now emerging as the globe’s naval superpower, assumed control of the Cape as part of the spoils of war. In doing so, they recognized the enormous strategic value of the Cape as global shipping routes were developing and expanding. Possession passed back and forth once or twice, but more or less from that point onward, the British established their presence at the Cape, which they held until the unification of South Africa in 1910.

From the Author of 'A Year in Victorian Edinburgh', a selection of true crimes, punishments and court cases from Edinburgh in the Victorian era, giving a mixture of humorous, harrowing and strange accounts of Victorian crime in this city. Edinburgh found fame as the seat of learning in the Victorian era, leading the way in knowledge and enlightenment. But what was the true picture of Victorian life; of people trapped in a cycle of poverty and crime, living in cramped conditions, with alcohol and laudanum abuse commonplace? By reading some of the real life court stories, prison reports and ...

The Day the Tripods Came is a gripping collection of interconnected tales that reimagines H.G. Wells' classic The War of the Worlds through the eyes of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. From a London clerk fleeing the devastation to an artilleryman's underground resistance, from a curate's crisis of faith to an astronomer's wife's scientific revelations, these stories weave a tapestry of human resilience in the face of cosmic horror. As Martian tripods lay waste to Victorian England, our heroes must confront not only the alien threat but also their own humanity. This ...

On Halloween night, 1828, in the West Port district of Edinburgh, Scotland, a woman sometimes known as Madgy Docherty was last seen in the company of William Burke and William Hare. Days later, police discovered her remains in the surgery of the prominent anatomist Dr. Robert Knox. Docherty was the final victim of the most atrocious murder spree of the century. Together with their accomplices, Burke and Hare would be accused of killing 16 people over the course of 12 months in order to sell the corpses as "subjects" for dissection.

When diplomatic efforts to introduce opium to the Chinese market failed, the British Parliament approved an alternative: war. There were two wars: one from 1839 to 1842, and another from 1856 to 1860. They are collectively known as the Opium Wars. The British, who were joined by French and supported by the Americans and Russians, clashed with Imperial China, which was ruled by the Qing dynasty.

The year is 1851. It's a time of radical change in Britain, when industrial miracles and artistic innovations rub shoulders with political unrest, poverty and disease. It's also a turbulent time in the private life of Charles Dickens, as he copes with a double bereavement and early signs that his marriage is falling apart. But this formative year will become perhaps the greatest turning point in Dickens' career, as he embraces his calling as a chronicler of ordinary people's lives and develops a new form of writing that will reveal just how interconnected the world is becoming.

In 1856 Paul Du Chaillu marched into the equatorial wilderness of West Africa determined to bag an animal that, according to legend, was nothing short of a monster. When he emerged three years later, the summation of his efforts only hinted at what he'd experienced in one of the most dangerous regions on earth. Armed with an astonishing collection of zoological specimens, Du Chaillu leapt from the physical challenges of the jungle straight into the center of the biggest issues of the time.

Number 4 Euston Square was a respectable boardinghouse, like many others in Victorian London. But beneath this ordinary veneer lurked a murderous darkness. On 8th May 1879, the corpse of former resident Matilda Hacker was uncovered in the coal cellar. The investigation that followed stripped bare the shadow-side of Victorian domesticity, throwing the lives of everyone within into an extraordinary maelstrom.

In this day and age, whatever we think we feel, you can be sure that the past has had a part to play in it. In Soft, Ferdinand Mount tells the millennium-long history of emotion through vivid snapshots, masterly storytelling and bizarre historical anecdotes. Revealing all the weird and wonderful ways people in the past expressed their grief and joy, Mount explores the shifting importance societies have placed on empathy for the misfortunes of others.

When the British voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the country's future was thrown into doubt. So, too, was its past. The story of British history is no longer a triumphalist narrative of expanding global empire, nor one of ever-closer integration with Europe. What is it now? In Island Stories, historian David Reynolds offers a multi-faceted new account of the last millennium to make sense of Britain's turbulent present.

From the author of 'Crime and Punishment in Victorian Edinburgh', a day by day account of Edinburgh life and events in the Victorian period, giving a unique insight into the social history of this city across all classes. Giving a snapshot into Victorian life in Edinburgh, this book will take you through all the events, both good and bad, of a typical year within this era. The year which has been chosen is 1869, a year in which Edinburgh was leading the way in scientific and medical research, greatly enhancing the lives of many; whilst poverty, crime and destitution still blighted the lives...

In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of her life and times. Her name was Mrs Anne Sykes. Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Strasdin spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within the album's pages. Piece by piece, she charts Anne's journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years.

Frankreich in der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts – es ist die Zeit von großen Veränderungen, die nach der Revolution von 1789 zu einer stürmischen wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung und einer tiefgreifenden sozialen Umschichtung führten. Gabriel Lambert ist ein Mann mit einer besonderen Fähigkeit und einem großen Wunsch: er kann die Feder grandios führen, er will unbedingt nach Paris. Henri de Faverne ist ein Mann mit zwei dunklen Geheimnissen – eines über seine Herkunft, das andere über seinen Reichtum. Welches ist die Beziehung zwischen diesen beiden Männern?

From a hunchbacked dwarf to a paranoid poet-assassin, a history of Victorian England as seen through the numerous assassination attempts on Queen Victoria while she ruled the British empire. During Queen Victoria’s 64 years on the British throne, no fewer than eight attempts were made on her life. Murphy follows each would-be assassin and the repercussions of their actions, illuminating daily life in Victorian England, the development of the monarchy under Queen Victoria, and the evolution of the attacks in light of changing social issues and technology.

It is generally accepted that Queen Victoria reigned but did not rule. This couldn’t be more wrong. In Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers, Anne Somerset masterfully traces Victoria’s political evolution, from headstrong teenager to seasoned octogenarian. This book demonstrates her passionate involvement in state affairs, and casts fresh light on her relationships with her ten prime ministers.

People all over the world are fascinated with royalty. And Queen Victoria herself, despite being gone for over 120 years, still holds us spellbound when we consider her life and legacy. She came to power during a time of great change. Technological change in the form of new inventions and rapid industrialization were taking place, as well as the great political changes that were occurring in governance.