The Victorian Era 1830-1901

The British Empire

Overview Named after Queen Victoria Broken into 3 periods-early (1830-1848), middle (1848-1870) and late (1870- 1901) The most dramatic and marked change in English history Cameras, photographs, electric lights, concrete, gasoline , sewing machines, ice cream, steel, bicycles, underground railway, steam engine, steamboats, chocolate, typewriters, x- rays, comic books- just to name a few!

English Class Structure Upper Class: Titled Aristocracy (Duke/Duchess, Marquess/Marchioness, Earl/Countess, Viscount/Viscountess, Baron/Baroness) Generations of landowners who collected rents and did not work. Socially and politically extremely powerful. Had access to best resources and facilities in the world. Middle Class: Rapidly expanding class. Made up of wealthy trade workers. This expansion of wealth caused tension between the upper and middle classes Working Class: The majority of Victorian people belong to this class. Poor with little if any access to resources or facilities. No child labor laws and very little employment regulations. A lot of exploitation.

The Early Period (1830-1848) 1830: The world’s first steam powered, public railway opens in Liverpool and Manchester. By 1850 all of England’s major cities are connected by rail. 1832: The reform parliament. Economic turmoil agitated working class, who wanted equal parliamentary representation. French revolution looms large in collective English mind Chartists: a group of people that advocated for political reforms such as secret balloting and extending voting rights further Economic and social difficulties ultimately prove too complicated for the reform parliament to solve

The Mid-Victorian Period (1848-1870) Writers including Charles Dickens continue to criticize the shortcomings of the Early Victorian social scene. England’s technological progress, together with its prosperity led to an enormous expansion of its influence around the globe. Export of people and goods triples during this period- creating the British Empire. Origin of Species (1859) Disputes about evolutionary science and religion are a reminder that beneath the placid, prosperous surface of the mid Victorian age there were serious conflicts and anxieties.

The Late Victorian Period (1870-1901) The wealth of England’s empire created the foundation for Britain’s economy. Growth in labor as a political and economic force. Vote is extended to some sections of the working class and trade unions created. By the 90’s Victorian values were largely in decay.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) As a child his family was plagued by financial insecurity. Ended up in poor lodging in London where his father was arrested and sent to debtors prison. Went to work to support family at shoe-blacking factory. Sent to school at 15- began as a journalist for The Morning Chronicle –published The Picwick Papers at 24 and never looked back-went on to publish countless novels Married Catherine Hoagarth in 1836-10 kids Did not consider himself a revolutionary although his works were chiefly concerned with social issues. Despite the bleakness of his view of society and the fierceness of his criticism of it , his novels always end with a sentimental assertion of the values of home and heart. The most beloved and distinctive novelist of the Victorian Era- Father of the novel

Great Expectations (1861) Dicken’s 13th and penultimate novel One of two Dicken’s novels narrated in the first person First published serially in the periodical All the Year Around from 1860-1861 He revised the ending after receiving criticism that the ending was too sad.