Victoria's Archives

The Victorian era, spanning the reign of Queen Victoria, was a period of profound social, political, and technological change in Britain. The literature of the time reflects the complexities of a society grappling with industrialisation, urbanisation, empire, and evolving class structures.

Victorian literature is known for its moral seriousness, social commentary, and detailed realism. Novelists such as Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Thomas Hardy examined the lives of both the privileged and the poor, highlighting issues like poverty, gender inequality, and the hypocrisies of Victorian respectability. At the same time, the era saw the rise of the domestic novel, the sensation novel, and Gothic revival, alongside children's literature and the beginnings of modern science fiction. The Victorian period also witnessed an expansion in publishing and literacy, making literature more widely accessible than ever before.

Victorian literature remains celebrated for its depth, diversity, and insight into a rapidly changing world.