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The Victorians
£7.60
People, not abstract ideas, make history, and nowhere is this more revealed than in A. N. Wilson’s superb portrait of the Victorians, in which hundreds of different lives have been pieced together to tell a story – one which is still unfinished in our own day. The ‘global village’ is a Victorian village and many of the ideas we take for granted, for good or ill, originated with these extraordinary, self-confident people. What really animated their spirit, and how did they remake the world in their view? In an entertaining and often dramatic narrative, A. N. Wilson shows us remarkable people in the very act of creating the Victorian age.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Cornerstone Digital (30 Sept. 2011) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 3162 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 956 pages |
by Thespionic
I found this a difficult book to engage fully with, at times the prose had little flow and like another on here, I had to stop and re-read it on numerous occasions.
I’ve read ‘The Decline & Fall of the British Empire,’ by Piers Brendon, which covers many of the same subjects. I feel that Piers book is a far better book to read and understand and gets to grip with the subject matter far better too.
For me too many of the chapters actually tell you very little, too much titivation with little real substance. Sometimes he covers too many subjects instead of expanding on one or two. It is mildly interesting without making you want to get onto the next subject without delay’
I’ve read the best part of it; the rest will be read as a coffee table book as it is a good book for picking off the odd chapter without the need to read it hours on end, which I wasn’t particularly enjoying. For such a thick book I can member surprisingly little? Many subjects are woefully under – recorded – India & Africa for instance. There are some interesting stories of course but in the main I found it a very average read. I think you’d need to be a die-hard ‘Victorian freak ‘to truly encompass this book. I ran out of patience well before the end and knew I have to endure it rather than fully enjoy it.
by knut-thomas
Brilliant, and makes other Ripper books feel outdated and a bit silly.. Tried re reading Sugdens book again, but his admiration for Warren just made it impossible to continue.. A warning though, this book kills the lure and the myth of the Ripper.. So if you want to keep the feeling of mystery of the gaslights and fog of Whitechapel regarding the Ripper, stay away from this book he he, my comfort is that I can still find that mystery and magic of Victorian England in Sherlock holmes and books by Charles Dickens ????♂️
by Stephen Hazell-Smith
I am one sixth of the way through and so far everything seems to have been written from the perspective of a second rate Guardian columnist. All the usual endless stuff about the plight of the poor, the Irish, and the colonies mixed with a childish fascination for royalty and aristocracy. Almost nothing about the people who made things. I got to the chapter on the Great Exhibition and was hopeful this might change as here surely was the perfect invitation to bring to life the workshop of the world but instead, half way through Wilson drifts off into a discussion about Wordsworth! Will this book improve from here? Probably not.
by F. Hughes
Studious and yet not so academic as to be boring to the unacademic. Enterprising and yet not so adventurous so as to trouble afficionados of Ackroyd, but the equal of Kershaw and Beevor yet not quite as good as Starkey and miles adrift of Schama. Nevertheless this is a history book that cuts across the polemic boundaries of readership. Wilson is poacher turned gamkeeper in this one-off document which is more episodic than narrative – but it is well done – very well done indeed. This is one to take to bed for insomniacs and narcotics alike – a good book for me is one when I eventually have to put it down I take its narrative into sleep with me. If I’d the time I’d have read it at one sitting. There is much new stuff here particularly on Dickens and his political dictums. As you would expect Disraeli, Gladsone, Salisbury and Palmerston are the threads he anchors his narrative upon and yet I was startled to see how he carries the link throughout the book relying more on the second rank echelons of Carlisle, Browning, Darwin, Marx, Ruskin, Gen Gordon, Baden-Powell, homosexuality, disease and community entertainment. He deals with the big picture of Empire in fresh comprehensive detail, but in his attempts to define and examine the progression of the arts – he fails: but not miserably. But never mind, this is one of the best short dissertations I have ever read on the Victorian period. This is Victorianism rather than Victoriana.
by Marianne Daw
the Victorians is a most worthwhile read for people interested in history
by old crow
He traces the threads of the main themes of our lives today, making it effortless to follow back into this era. He uses humour not only to give a light touch but to underline and illustrate his points. This is not your usual run through the well visited milestones of the time, so be prepared to be surprised.
by Dr Gareth Hallett Davis
A larger format book than I expected but impeccably delivered and in excellent condition. Very happy.
by sarah francis
Great thank you.