Victorian England

1. Victorian England A Brief Introduction

2. Why are we studying this? • We will soon read “The Strange Case of Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde,” by Robert Luis Stevenson • He wrote books like “Treasure Island” and “Kidnapped!” • It is important to understand the time when he wrote the book because that is also when the book is set, aka Victorian London • Pay attention to the SOCIAL factors and what they make you think about how Victorian London and the people in it LOOKS (SETTING AND CHARACTERS!)

3. The Beginning of the Victorian Period • The period roughly from 1830-1900. • Industrial Revolution: the developments that transformed Great Britain, between 1750 and 1830, from a largely rural population making a living almost entirely from agriculture to a town-centered society engaged increasingly in factory manufacture. • Queen Victoria becomes Queen 1837.

4. Rural -> Urban Society • As many women in rural Britain became redundant as fabric makers and their jobs disappear into the factories, they moved to the cities. • The cities offered a better chance of work and higher wages than the countryside, where many families were trapped in dire poverty and seasonal employment. • On the other hand, the countryside was healthier, as sanitation (sewers) and diseases were still a problem in the city.

5. Urban London • The Industrial Revolution gathered steam, and accelerated the migration of the population from country to city. The result of this movement was the development of horrifying slums and cramped row housing in the overcrowded cities. • The occupants of slums had no sanitation, no water supply, no paved streets, no schools, no law or order, no decent food or new clothing. Many now had to walk miles to mill or factory work, whereas before they had frequently lived in the house or near land where they did their work. • Usually worked 10-12 hour days, starting at 5 AM • Drank/Did drugs to escape the tough living/working conditions

6. Class in Victorian England • The class divisions on the railway were echoed throughout the land. In church the higher classes sat at the front in reserved pews and the lower classes at the back. In dress, the wives of wealthy industrialists were clothed in conspicuous finery as they were the social representatives of their soberly dressed husbands. • The new social class that emerged was the bourgeoisie middle class. An outward display of wealth through clothing and possessions showed to those who were still climbing the ladder that the former had reached the top.

7. Class System The classes of people were divided • Urban/Rural Poor – Often sick or injured, these people worked whatever jobs they could find, turned to theft or prostitution, or begged openly on the street • Working class - men and women who performed physical labor, paid daily or weekly wages • Middle class - men performed mental or "clean" work, paid monthly or annually • Upper class - did not work, income came from inherited land and investments

8. Incomes and Cost of Living • Aristocrats £30,000 a month • Merchants, bankers £10,000 • Middle-class (doctors, lawyers, clerks) £300-800 • Lower middle-class (head teachers, journalists, shopkeepers, etc.) £150-300 • Skilled workers (carpenters, typesetters,etc.) £75-100 • Sailors and domestic staff £40-75 • Laborers, soldiers £25 The Average monthly cost of living for a middle class worker was between 150-200 pounds per month. This paid for rent, a maid, and decent food/clothing.

9. What do you see? What’s similar/ different about the people in the picture?

10. How are the people in the photo on the top different from people on the bottom?