Reviews

This book was hard going. Whilst each of the five subjects was interesting, it look far too long to get through each one. The beard chapter was incredibly taxing. Just glad to have finished it.

circlesofflame's review against another edition

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2.0

This was such an odd book. It's narrative voice was trying to go for approachable with an edge of humour, but ended up sounding sneering and as if the author was looking down on the people she was discussing, with a negative focus on weight and body type and unnecessarily coarse language, with an odd narrative voice when talking about horrible things like rape not through quotes but seemingly the author's own opinion. There's a lot of supposition on the author's part that isn't backed up by historical sources too.

Many other reviewers have spoken about the inclusion of facts that are widely known about the people discussed in this book. My reading experience didn't suffer due to that - clearly I'm not as well-informed as others who have read this book - but I will say that some sections really dragged due to a wealth of unnecessary information or uninteresting avenues for discussion. I learnt more about things of which I wasn't aware, but it made me want to read more about certain things from a more balanced standpoint than the one communicated in this book.

I had such high hopes for this and was so excited to read it, but this one was a bit of a letdown for me.

amberrush's review against another edition

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4.0

I found this one of those books I could only read in small chunks, but enjoyed each chunk and was constantly learning something new about the victorian era. Discussing the elements of the time that are not covered in the usual books or written down, the books shows what it was like to live in Victorian England both as a wealthy person and a 'common woman'. Exploring stories such as Flora Hastings (the lady in waiting) mysterious stomach enlargement to the tribulations of Darwin's beard. Explaining the origins behind the saying 'sweet Fanny Adams' and its rather dark truth. In particular, I found the last two chapters the most interesting as well as parts of Darwin's chapter although each individual part was interesting and unique. The tale of Fanny Cornforth was jubilating in some areas while also highlighting the major inequalities that existed for women and class in which despite her keen acquaintance with Rosseti was simply buried in a common grave due to her fragility in later life. Exploring what it was like to be a person in the victorian era rather than just suggesting the facts that are repeated over and over again. A unique offering that delves deeper into the surface of an everchanging era. 4/5

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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4.5

This book is an absolute delight. Hughes is funny and sarcastic, and she makes these weird little stories come alive. I only picked this book up because a guardian angel librarian put it on a stand at my local library, and I'm a sucker for tiny historical stories that are very important to the people involved but don't have a huge impact on Capital H-History. The research done for this book was extensive, and I loved every single minute of it. Highly recommend.

mythandmiddlegrade's review against another edition

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3.0

3.75 stars

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