Historical Connections to the Victorian Period

When Queen Victoria assumed the throne of the United Kingdom, she set out to improve moral order and decorum. With the help of several talented prime ministers, Queen Victoria expanded the British Empire across the globe, opening Britain to an era of unprecedented prosperity. As the upper class ceded much of their power and authority, social reform laws helped to increase a robust middle class. Advances in science and technology continued to alleviate physical labor, but they also began reshaping people's beliefs and understanding regarding religion and human nature.

Even though great strides were made in establishing rights and protection for women, children, the lower class, and other disadvantaged groups, many people still suffered greatly throughout the Victorian period. Britain did little to alleviate the potato famine in Ireland, and foreign territories across the globe were forcefully added as colonies to the British Empire. Much of Victorian literature embraced the Realism movement of portraying characters in realistic ways and examining actual problems faced by Victorian society. Some of these problems included the exploitation of child laborers, famine and starvation of the Irish population, and suffrage for women and working class men.