I enjoyed reading this overview of the Victorian period because it summarized very neatly all of the cultural background that you find in Victorian novels. Altick is a master of sentence structure and he pulls together complex ideas into easily understood synopses. ( )

Subtitled 'A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature' this is an excellent and (unsually for a book written by an academic) very readable look at the beliefs and ideas which influenced Victorian authors and readers. It's therefore more of a cultural history rather than a social history but invaluable for a reader who wants to really get to grips with Victorian literature. By way of evangelicalism, romanticism, utilitarianism and probably some other 'isms' that I've forgotten, Altick makes the case that the period of time we think of when someone says 'Victiorian' is actually the relatively short 20 years from 1850-1870 and that things were very different earlier and later in Queen Victoria's reign. I took lots of notes whilst I was reading but I found this so helpful that I think I want my own copy. I also appreciated that Altick seems to have a fairly balanced view of the ideaologies of the period and never completely dismisses or demonises a particular group. ( )

delited to find this on a charity shop shelf ~ now added to my own shelves alongside the jane austens! excellent resource filled with insights and foundations. ( )

Susanna suggests this as another book that ties Victorian culture into the literature.