The Arsenic Century - How Victorian Britain was Poisoned at Home, Work and Play
Arsenic is rightly infamous as the poison of choice for Victorian murderers. Yet the great majority of fatalities from arsenic in the nineteenth century came not from intentional poisoning, but from accident. Kept in many homes for the purpose of poisoning rats, the white powder was easily mistaken for sugar or flour and often incorporated into the family dinner. It was also widely present in green dyes, used to tint everything from candles and candies to curtains, wallpaper, and clothing (it was arsenic in old lace that was the danger).
Squires in the Slums - Settlements and Missions in Late Victorian Britain
Settlements were a distinctive aspect of late-Victorian church life in which individual philanthropic Christians were encouraged to live and work in communities amongst the poor and set an example for the underprivileged through their own actions. Often overlooked by historians, settlements are of great value in understanding the values and culture of the 19th century. Settlement missions were first conceived when Samuel Barnett, the incumbent of St Jude's, Whitechapel, in the East End of London, sought to introduce them as a major aspect of Victorian church life.
Challenging a modern culture of skepticism, this book recovers the core conviction of Victorian liberal theory that human beings, with the help of the state, can achieve an objective moral perfection. Exposing century-long interpretive habits in nineteenth-century studies and political theory that still blind us to the merits of both perfectionism and statism, the book portrays Victorian liberals like John Stuart Mill, Matthew Arnold, and the American Transcendentalists as comprising a forgotten episode in the history of liberalism of vital importance today
Hatred and Civility - The Antisocial Life in Victorian England
To understand hatred today, start with the Victorians. This book explores the depths of loathing in Victorian fiction and society, highlighting numerous cultural contradictions. It shows that the fanatics and terrorists troubling us in the 21st century have many precursors in our supposedly moral ancestors.
This book will help modern readers envision the Victorian shopping experience by taking them inside the shops and up to the counters. Readers will learn how the shop was organized, what services and goods were available, and how goods made their way from the shop to the home. Graham's compelling account provides a vivid glimpse into a vital ”but largely unappreciated” aspect of Victorian life.
