The victorian age
1837 – 1901

Historical context

• the reign of queen Victoria (1837-1901)

• a series of important reforms:

  • Chartism - the Peoples Charter, 1838 –considered six point of Parliamentary reform eg. a secret for all men over 21

  • the First National Petition, 1839

  • the Second National Petition, 1842

  • the rise of Trade Unions

• the Crimean War

• the Indian Mutiny of 1857

• expansionism in Africa

• Britain had white colonies: Canada, Australia, New Zealand

• potatoe famine in Ireland

Social context

• the British economy:

  • was industrial and urban

  • Britain was rich in raw material: cotton and iron

  • the rise in production of

    • heavy industrial goods

    • ships

    • steam engines

    • machinery

  • improving railway system

  • production for export

• discrepancy between the rich and the poor

• organisation of the working classes – a Trade Union

Literary context

• the reading public was highly heterogenous

  • kinds of literature:

    • religious books

    • tracts

    • periodicals

      • had enormous influence on the mind of all classes

      • dealt with political and social issues

    • essays

    • verse

    • novels

• painting

  • the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

    • to paint only serious subjects

    • to paint everything entirely from life

    • obsessed with naturalistic detail

    • was formed in 1848 by painters

      • John Everett Millais

      • William Holman

      • Dante Gabriel Rossetti

  • Aestheticism

    • art for art’s sake

    • the cult of beauty