1.

The definition of the Victorian age

The Victorian age is defined as the period when Queen Victoria ruled England: her reign over the country started in 1837 and lasted until her death in the year 1901.

2. England in the Victorian Age

Introduction The Victorian Age was mostly a time of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain. But besides from this, things such as poverty were still very present as Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanization stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. The large numbers of skilled and unskilled people looking for work kept wages down to a very low level for many people. Culture and the Victorians The Victorians had a very strict culture, in which any social mistake could mean that your reputation was ruined. That means you had to wear certain clothes depending on your wealth and family, and you had to be very careful to only have a relationship with someone of nearly the same wealth, or you would damage the honour of yourself and your family. One example is the way the Victorians defined a gentleman, as we know because of various writers from that time. A gentleman could not speak about himself, he should always try to do the actions that would embarrass him and others the least possible. In a way you could say that the Victorians did not have much freedom, because they had to behave the way the society and family wants them to. But, apart from the negative side of the Victorian culture, the era is also famous for its creativity. The Victorians made beautiful dresses and other clothes, and throughout the Victorian age, being modern became more and more important and complex. The aristocratic families were used to having dresses that had many layers to add subtle textures. Literature was another aspect of the Victorian culture that was considered important, which is quite evident if you look at the amount of great writers. William Thackeray, Charles Dickens, Emily and George Eliot, to name a few, are famous writers that lived in England during Queen Victorias reign. Daily Victorian life Families were usually large; in 1870 many families had five or six children. Each member of the family had their own role and children were taught to "know their place" and "be seen and not heard". They called their fathers 'sir'. Who did the house work in rich peoples houses? All households except the very poorest had servants to do their everyday work. Religion was very important to the Victorians. A great number of people went to church, at least once and probably twice, every Sunday.

At the beginning of the Victorian period, people relied on the foods that were in season and available locally or those which had been pickled or preserved. Later, when the railways were built, many new and fresh foods came to the towns and cities. The invention of the steam ship, and of transport refrigeration, meant that also meat, fish and fruit could be imported from overseas quite cheaply. Food was not to be kept in the homes for a long time, so meals were limited by the available local food supply or food which had been pickled or preserved. They did have a large amount of basic foods there: beef, mutton, pork, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, and many more were also available in those days. The daily work of a Victorian was Health and medicine in the Victorian Age In early Victorian times the very young were greatly at risk. Nationally, 50 per cent of all recorded deaths were of children aged five and under. Later in the Victorian Age it has been slightly lower, but the children were always at the mercy of diarrhoea, whooping cough, smallpox and measles, with measles being a major killer at this time. In rural areas there still persisted a general belief that 'fever' was forever in the air waiting to strike. Although age brought greater immunity, people were subjected to greater dangers at work, such as dust in the bakeries, quarries, mills and barns, as well as mishaps with mill and barn equipment, work implements and horses. For example a man could jump from a 'Rick' and get impaled on a pitchfork; a blacksmith could be kicked in the face by a horse and a child could burn to death in a cottage. Conclusion The Victorian Age was both a time of prosperity and peace, as it was of poverty and danger. A time of many social restrictions as well as funny games played in leisure time! Even though there were so many diseases, killing so many people, mostly children, the era will be remembered more for its previously stated positive aspects.