Book info

• Title Daily Life in Victorian London
• Author Lee Jackson
• Year 2011
• Genre History

This anthology has one simple goal: to give the reader a flavour of 'how life was lived' in Victorian London, through the words of the Victorians themselves. It is not a comprehensive study; but I have revisited an archive of ten years' reading and research — nineteenth century diaries, newspapers, magazines, memoirs, guidebooks — in an attempt to include as many diverse aspects of Victorian life as possible.

Thoughts

I’ve been reading this one on and off for about eighteen months. I think I picked it up after reading the Crimson Petal and the White, as I was inspired by the Victorian era. As the book is in small, neat chapters - an encyclopedia of Victorian anecdotes - it was very easy to pick up and put down again, fill in a spare moment here or there.

The content is made up of a collection of articles, letters and chapters from various places, all relating to matters of Victorian London. Set out alphabetically, we travel through all kinds of things from advertising through to what goes into London gin, as well as the practicalities of pawnbroking.

With a variety of different sources, your mileage really does vary on what you get. I didn’t enjoy them all, but for every one I didn’t there were four that I did. It’s not something I would sit and read all the way through in one sitting, and I’m not sure I learnt anything massive from it, but it’s a handy reference book to have on the virtual shelf.

Rating: 3 / 5