The Victorian era can broadly be defined as the time in which Queen Victoria reigned over Britain, from 1837 to 1901. This period saw the British Empire at its absolute peak, while industrialization rapidly transformed the wider world.
While this time period has been romanticized in hindsight, what was it really like for ordinary people? Let’s delve in and discover what it was like to actually live through this eventful era in world history.
The middle class expanded significantly.
While there were still rich people and poor people in Victorian England, a strong economy and cheap labor ensured that a middle class was able to flourish.
This meant that people in this social class had the means to flaunt their relative wealth by acquiring better clothes in more colors, toys for their kids, and family heirlooms like silverware and tea services. Some people in the middle class were even able to afford servants — a luxury previously only seen in the upper crust.