Loads of good info in a readable package. Some inconsistencies, errors but not a concern. Entertaining and informative. Huzzah! ( )

The Victorian House: Domestic Life from Childbirth to Deathbed by Judith Flanders (2004) ( )

This book took me 5 months to read. I did enjoy it, but it was very focused--much more focused than I am. I read several other nonfiction books in breaks from this one. Flanders set up this book to examine the Victorian home by room--what activities went on in that room, who used it, what it looked like, fashions, trends, and the whys as to changing fashions and trends. Of course, most sources are upper middle to upper class, and she acknowledges this, tryin to find lesser known sources to look at working class rooms (spoiler: they had fewer rooms so used them for more things).

Flanders is quite adept at weaving from one room into a slightly different topic. For example, in "The Sickroom" she moves into and exhaustive examination of mourning wear. (So many rules for upper middle class and up women!)

I definitely feel like I learned a lot, and am looking forward to my next read of Victorian literature, as I think I will understand some things much more. I am also glad I finished this, it really was good. It was also rather exhausting. ( )

Completely indispensable if you want or need to know what it was like to live in Victorian England. ( )

Fascinating. I had no idea how difficult life was during the Victorian era. Things we take for granted - bathrooms, central heat and air, household appliances - did not exist as we know them. Historical fiction is so romanticized; the real thing was far from romantic. ( )