Victorians
Gaslit London's denizens
Victorians are people who lived during the reign of Queen Victoria of Britain (1837–1901), or things characteristic of that era.
The term often evokes strict moral codes, elaborate manners, and repressed sexuality: Victorian prudishness, Victorian values.
Architecture and literature from the period are called Victorian.
As a noun, it typically refers to people of that time: The Victorians built railways across the empire.
The word can be affectionate or critical depending on context.
Thermal vapor motor
- telegraphElectrical message system
- locomotiveRailway pulling machine
- photographyCreating images from light
- anesthesiaInduced loss of feeling
antiseptic · telephone · typewriter · sewing machine · electricity · vaccination · Darwinism · evolution
Correctness of conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
- respectabilityMoral and social worthiness
- prudishnessExcessive moral strictness
- modestyAbsence of vanity
restraint · temperance · chastity · strait-laced · moralism · evangelical · puritanical · hypocrisy
Industrial production facilities
- smokestacksTall industrial exhaust pipes
- millsFactories or grinders
- coal minesUnderground fuel extraction sites
- railwaysFixed-track transport systems
steam power · textile mills · looms · mechanization · child labor · workhouses · slums · urbanization
Years 1801-1900
- Crystal PalaceIron-framed glass exhibition hall
- Great Exhibition1851 London industrial showcase
- penny-farthingAntique bicycle, giant front wheel
- gas lightingIllumination via burning fuel
horse-drawn carriages · Gothic Revival · top hats · crinolines · corsets · bustle · mourning dress · daguerreotype
Vast colonial domain
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- rajColonial period in India
- East India CompanyBritish colonial trading corporation
- dominionAuthority to rule
protectorate · colonies · annexation · expansion · Commonwealth · sovereignty · hegemony · subjugation
- Brontë sistersSibling authors from Haworth
- George EliotPseudonymous Victorian novelist
- Thomas HardyVictorian novelist and poet
- serialized novelsStories issued in successive installments
Oscar Wilde · Alfred Tennyson · Robert Browning · penny dreadfuls · gothic fiction · Sherlock Holmes · Oliver Twist · Jane Eyre
Rule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
- servantsHired household workers
- governessPrivate household teacher
courtship · chaperones · debutantes · society · respectability · upstairs downstairs · landed gentry · new money
steam engine
Thermal vapor motor
- telegraphElectrical message system
- locomotiveRailway pulling machine
- photographyCreating images from light
anesthesia · antiseptic · telephone · typewriter · sewing machine · electricity · vaccination · Darwinism · evolution · stereoscope
propriety
Correctness of conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
- respectabilityMoral and social worthiness
- prudishnessExcessive moral strictness
modesty · restraint · temperance · chastity · strait-laced · moralism · evangelical · puritanical · hypocrisy · double standards
factories
Industrial production facilities
- smokestacksTall industrial exhaust pipes
- millsFactories or grinders
- coal minesUnderground fuel extraction sites
railways · steam power · textile mills · looms · mechanization · child labor · workhouses · slums · urbanization · canals
nineteenth century
Years 1801-1900
- Crystal PalaceIron-framed glass exhibition hall
- Great Exhibition1851 London industrial showcase
- penny-farthingAntique bicycle, giant front wheel
gas lighting · horse-drawn carriages · Gothic Revival · top hats · crinolines · corsets · bustle · mourning dress · daguerreotype · music hall
British Empire
Vast colonial domain
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- rajColonial period in India
- East India CompanyBritish colonial trading corporation
dominion · protectorate · colonies · annexation · expansion · Commonwealth · sovereignty · hegemony · subjugation · rule
Charles Dickens
- Brontë sistersSibling authors from Haworth
- George EliotPseudonymous Victorian novelist
- Thomas HardyVictorian novelist and poet
Oscar Wilde · Alfred Tennyson · Robert Browning · serialized novels · penny dreadfuls · gothic fiction · Sherlock Holmes · Oliver Twist · Jane Eyre · Wuthering Heights
aristocracy
Rule by hereditary elite
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
- servantsHired household workers
governess · courtship · chaperones · debutantes · society · respectability · upstairs downstairs · landed gentry · new money · working class
Victoriansmoderns
Contemporary people
Elizabethans · Georgians · medievals · contemporaries · ancients
Victorianslibertines
Morally dissolute individuals
bohemians · hedonists · hippies · flappers · free spirits
Victoriansfuturists
Predictors of coming developments
postmodernists · digital natives · transhumanists · modernists · avant-garde
- Victorian novel1837-1901 British long-form fiction
- Victorian moralityRigid 1800s social standards
- Victorian houseOrnate 1800s dwelling style
- Victoria's SecretLingerie retail brand
- Victoria FallsMassive African waterfall
- Queen VictoriaLong-reigning British empress