How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman

How to be a Victorian

by Ruth Goodman

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH THE BBC'S RUTH GOODMAN

We know what life was like for Victoria and Albert. But what was it like for a commoner - like you or me?

How did it feel to cook with coal and wash with tea leaves? Drink beer for breakfast and clean your teeth with cuttlefish? Catch the omnibus to work and do the laundry in your corset?

How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman is a radical new approach to history; a journey back in time more personal than anything before. Moving through the rhythm of the day, this astonishing guide illuminates the overlapping worlds of health, sex, fashion, food, school, work and play. Surviving everyday life came down to the gritty details, the small necessities and tricks of living and Ruth will show you how.

If you liked A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England or 1000 Years of Annoying the French, you will love this book.

*****
'Goodman skilfully creates a portrait of daily Victorian life with accessible, compelling, and deeply sensory prose' Erin Entrada Kelly

'We're lucky to have such a knowledgeable cicerone as Ruth Goodman . . . Revelatory' Alexandra Kimball

'Goodman's research is impeccable . . . taking the reader through an average day and presenting the oddities of life without condescension' Patricia Hagen

Reviewed by jamiereadthis on

4 of 5 stars

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Goodman steps back in time with a Mary Roach-esque enthusiasm, and I enjoyed the time travel. It’s one of the rare books that sheds the biases of looking back at the past. I greatly appreciate the fresh perspective— good and bad— on what I thought I knew about the Victorian era.

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  • 9 March, 2019: Reviewed