Victorian Nonfiction

Nonfiction writing played an important role in the Victorian era, a time when people set high expectations for society and strove to achieve progress. The social and economic conditions of the Victorian period influenced the topics of nonfiction compositions. In this topic, you will read three excerpts of Victorian nonfiction to examine the authors' commentary on industrialization and the institution of slavery as they existed in the 19th century. The three Victorian authors in this topic include Thomas Carlyle, Andrew Ure, and Mary Prince.

Essential Question

• What purposes for writing did Victorian authors of nonfiction literature have?