“How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life”, by Ruth Goodman

480 pages, Liveright, ISBN-13: 978-1631491139

Ah, my dear old Barnes & Noble on Rochester Road in Rochester Michigan, what would I do without you? Oh sure, you have all of the modern and newly-published books I could ever want, but you also have a mega-selection of used and publisher overstock books that are simply treasures awaiting discovery – and that’s just what How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman is: a used book that I got for cheap that proved to be an interesting look back at a way of life (or I should rather say, ways of lives) that are not too removed from our own from an era that birthed us. And it is what it says it is: a dawn to dusk guide to life during the reign of Queen Victoria. This is a very well researched book with a lot of detail with chapters that take you from waking in the morning, personal hygiene, clothing and fashion, work, leisure, exercise, food, education, medical care, and bedtime (oh, and a little bit of sex thrown in, too). Goodman further breaks this down into an explanation of how these activities and daily rituals vary for the different social classes and both sexes and discusses the myriad social and economic changes across the period of dear old Vicky’s reign. But what truly makes this work informative is that it is written from the perspective of a person who has actually recreated the Victorian experience, as Goodman is also the presenter of the BBC television educational documentary series Victorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy and Edwardian Farm, amongst others. She hasn’t just researched it; she’s lived it. I found this book absolutely fascinating as it is all about the everyday things you wonder about but don’t get to learn from most history books. Goodman’s experience living as a Victorian on BBC reality shows has enriched this book immensely, as she has first-hand knowledge of what she is describing (did you know that corsets are surprisingly comfortable, although itchy, and that you had to learn to sit and move properly in a crinoline or bustle?). The tricks and etiquette of using chamber pots, how privies were kept clean and sweet smelling, dealing with menstruation, looking after babies, cooking on a coal range are all covered. I would recommend this book to anyone who finds the small details of the past as interesting as I do.