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amlibera's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a big Ruth Goodman fan - her fascination with the lived experience of a historical era is contagious and her research reveals surprising insights (like the fact that replacing beer with tea in the British diet actually lead to a less healthy diet since beer offered much needed calories and trace nutrients).
rosieclaverton's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not a great reader of non-fiction, but How to Be a Victorian was enjoyable and accessible from the first words. This fascinating book, taking us step-by-step through a Victorian day throughout the reign, brought to life the real struggles of nineteenth century living with anecdotes from Goodman's personal research.
An excellent book which I would highly recommend to any writer considering a work in the nineteenth century and any person with a modicum of interest in the Victorian era, because this will surely fuel it.
An excellent book which I would highly recommend to any writer considering a work in the nineteenth century and any person with a modicum of interest in the Victorian era, because this will surely fuel it.
alexisrt's review against another edition
4.0
If you enjoyed The Victorian House by Judith Flanders, this will also be right up your alley. It's a bit less source heavy than Flanders' work, but includes a lot of fun details about the author's hands-on work with Victorian methods and materials. It also extends beyond the walls of the house to include chapters on school, leisure, and the work day. Since it covers more topics, each chapter is less detailed than Flanders, but still contains a lot of interesting details about such esoterica as underwear, diapers, cosmetics, toileting, and, yes, sex.
karentipsy's review against another edition
4.0
I never really got into history when I was at school as I found it a bit boring, but I have come to realise that I do like history, on a smaller scale. This book is fascinating, and it's really interesting to see that some things have not changed as much as we might like to think
mam22nov's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating book; I didn't expect to enjoy this so much. Every detail of what your day-to-day life would be like is explored: your clothing, food, housing, personal habits, work and leisure time, etc. Innumerable and interesting details; I learned more about sewage between 1837 and 1900 than I will ever need to know. Everything is put in context so you understand why things were done a particular way, and how changes occurred over time. Interesting that some things were familiar to me because I had learned (or heard) them from my mother and her mother before her. One of the few books I could probably read and enjoy the second time around.
virginia__jane's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot say enough about this helpful resource and entertaining book!!! The author's personal experience and anecdotes delighted me to no end. She made so many boring topics like bathing and cooking incredibly interesting.