A Visitor’s Guide to Victorian England

As a longtime fan of PBS's Victorian mini series, this book was a wonderful read. This very enjoyable book covers everything you'd want to know about the life & times of Victorian England--author Michelle Higgs brings the sights, sounds, & SMELLS to life for her readers. A fantastic companion to those PBS mini dramas!.

Some interesting tidbits but this is not a serious history of the period

⭐️ 3.75 / 5 ⭐️

For the Victorian Enthusiast's 🥂

This one was most definitely educational, and not something you read for fun 😂 (unless you're a history buff). And while I am, in fact, a history buff, the execution of this one fell a little flat. I found the information really diverting, and it answered a lot of my questions about Victorian England, but the way it was presented was lacking for me. Maybe this is a sign that I need to pick up a fiction book since my recent reads have been non-fiction...Writing that feels like heresy 😂

Yes, definitely time for a fiction read! At the very least, this was an interesting and good beginner's guide to those who are wondering what it was like living in Victorian England.

Thank you to Pen & Sword for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

Book Breakdown:

Writing Quality: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Quality Research: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Enjoyment Level: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

「 Overall: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆」

The style of writing in this book is very easy to follow, which makes the subject more lively than it might have otherwise been. I love the resources included in the back of the book, too. Makes for excellent research reference material for people just beginning to dig into life in the Victorian era.

Great book, especially if you like Victorian England like I do or just the Victorian era. It gave advice on how they dressed, how they mourned, how they gave birth and etc., Loved reading about how they lived and did things in that time period. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers of #AVisitorsGuidetoVictorianEngland for the opportunity to read and review with my honest opinion.

This book is an overview of various aspects of life in Victorian England. It's written as if you're going to time travel back to visit England and need advice on how to fit in. The author covered various topics like temporary lodgings (inns, hotels, etc.), men's and women's clothing, food and drink (from street vendors, inns, etc.), transportation (taking the stagecoach, railway, etc.), shopping and making up clothes, hazards to the health (from food, disease, etc.), courting customs and marriage laws, sports and entertainment (theater, horse racing, etc.), and customs around mourning the dead, going to church, different holidays, and such. At the end, she also gave a timeline of significant events and examples of costs and of wages.

There were some quotes from people who lived during that time period (especially from the late 1800s). The author also referred to information found in other books about life in Victorian England. I've read many in-depth books about the period, so not a lot of this information was new to me. This book was more of a survey of a variety of topics about the time period and would be a good introduction to the subject.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed reading the book. Delved into how the different classes lived during Victorian England. And, states how one would spend monthly or yearly. Satisfying book!