Victorian Ladies and Aristocrats
blindinglybeautifulsociopath: I sent this in before but do you have any references or resources for writing for an aristocrat and/or Victorian woman?
Hi! Sorry we are only just getting to you, we have a lot of asks at the moment and I think we are all busy in the outside world! :)
So great question I don’t know much about the Victorian era except what I’ve seen on tv.
Victorian Era
From 1837-1901 during the reign of Queen Victoria. Because this is such a large period of time fashions and the life of aristocrats will have changed dramatically over the time period. So I will provide links but look especially at the dates so it corresponds with when you want your novel to be set.
Great Social Divide
This was the time when industry was booming and the rich were becoming very rich. The poor were becoming poorer and poorer living in slums in the inner city with pollution rife and open sewers. During this time a lot of people moved from the country to the crowded towns.
Rise of the Victorian middle class
More women than men
There were more women than men (4% more). The 1851 census showed that the population of Great Britain was roughly 18 million; this meant that roughly 750,000 women would remain unmarried simply because there were not enough men. These women came to be referred to as “superfluous women” or “redundant women”, and many essays were published discussing what, precisely, ought to be done with them.[x]
Fashion
Fashion changed a lot during this period. One of the most interesting things is the ‘fashion rules’ for mourning in which a widow was expected to wear black for a certain period of time due to etiquette.
Victorian era: Fashion (This has drawings of what each layer looks like)
Just to finish
Horrible Histories- Work terrible work
Hope this helps!
-S
