Victorian Nonfiction

Victorian writers composed nonfiction prose in order to persuade and comment on the conditions of their times. For example, Thomas Carlyle expressed alarm while recording his observations of the rise of industrialization and the resulting disappearance of the skilled craftsman. To the contrary, Andrew Ure saw potential for progress in the rise of factories and mills; he argued that the efficiency of machines can alleviate the burden of manual labor and create a stable economy.

Social conditions influenced nonfiction writing just as much as economic ones did. Mary Prince published her personal account as a slave in the British colonies in order to persuade Victorian society to abolish slavery. The first slave narrative by a black woman published in Britain, Prince's writing did much to reveal the truth of slavery to society and contributed to the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.