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A Brief History of Life in Victorian Britain

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A Brief History of Life in Victorian Britain

By: Michael Paterson
Narrated by: Mark Meadows
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About this listen

How a nation grew into an empire and the birth of a modern society

The Victorian era has dominated the popular imagination like no other period, but these myths and stories also give a very distorted view of the 19th century. The early Victorians were much stranger than we usually imagine, and their world would have felt very different from our own. It was only during the long reign of the Queen that a modern society emerged in unexpected ways.

Using character portraits, events, and key moments, Paterson brings the real life of Victorian Britain alive - from the lifestyles of the aristocrats to the lowest ranks of the London slums. This includes the right way to use a fan, why morning visits were conducted in the afternoon, what the Victorian family ate, and how they enjoyed their free time, as well as the Victorian legacy today: convenience food, coffee bars, window shopping, mass media, and celebrity culture.

©2012 Michael Paterson (P)2012 Audible Ltd
20th Century Great Britain England Funny
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Critic reviews

"Out of the babble of voices, Michael Paterson has been able to extract the essence of London itself. Read this book and re-enter the labyrinth of a now-ancient city." (Peter Ackroyd)

What listeners say about A Brief History of Life in Victorian Britain

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  • Overall
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Delightful, sympathetic and well organised

The chapters are arranged thematically so that thd 64 years in question are treated alternatively from many perspectives.
Very enjoyable book from which I learned much.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Shows all aspects of Victoria life

A beautiful book that puts you in the shoes of the worker, the rising middle class and the aristocracy of Victorian Britain. You will learn about Victorian culture, economics, literature, technology and even war. You get a new understanding and appreciation of Victoria and her realm with this book.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very Interesting

I found this book very interesting with lots of information, quite a few nuggets too that were completely unknown to me before. I found it did not flow perfectly in places but the narrator was very good which I felt made up for this. Had the narrator not been as good I may have given up after early on.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

What Vicky knew.

A good historical work on Victorian Britain, clearly well researched, and very well read. My only problem was the book became stodgy in places. But still readable and enjoyable. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the Victorians or as a one of many source books for students.

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3 people found this helpful

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An interesting introduction into Victorian society

A very informative and enjoyable book. It is well read and well paced - would recommend as a start into exploring the victorian world.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A joy

For anyone interested in this era, this is a really good place to start. True, the style is a bit dry at times - this tries to be comprehensive after all - but never boring. The reader tries his best to give live to the dry text and generally succeeds, aided by the relatively simple language. A gem for the interested layman.

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7 people found this helpful

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Very enjoyable

I've got an interest in Victorian Britain and this book covers many facets is decent detail of how the Victorians used to live. One thing that stood out to me was the amount of wars that Britain had and the state of conditions that the soldiers needed to contend with. This book will definitely get a second read in the future although I will be reading Simon Schama's history of Britain first as I know this will be more in depth and cover a wider period.

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4 people found this helpful

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The history and facts

Great book, excellent history and very well narrated. it was extremely in depth in all things during this period

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A few inaccuracies

Overall it's a good audiobook outlining the Victorian Period.

However, early on in the book I noticed a few annoying inaccuracies eg: the author referring to Fanny Adams as a ''young woman cut up by her lover'' This is incorrect as it's well known that Fanny Adams was a 8 year old girl murdered by 29 year old bank clerk (not a lover!). Unfortunately, this glaring mistake made me doubt other facts. Narrator had a good voice though and on the whole this audiobook is ok.

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15 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Full of inaccuracies

If you're interested in history read something else. There are so many inaccuracies and glossings over in this book that it amounts to fiction in some parts .

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6 people found this helpful