1. Health professionals in the Victorian era were constantly innovating and suggesting new and interesting ways to fight illnesses.
2. Toxic arsenic was widely consumed by Victorians. Women believed it had qualities which made skin appear younger, and so it was a major ingredient in many cosmetics.
3. Many Victorians would specialise in collecting objects, from zoological and botanical to geological and archaeological.
4. In the Victorian era, people were fascinated by ancient Egypt. Many historians believe this was down to the parallels that could be drawn from their relationships with death.
5. The Victorian era has often been described by historians as the ‘Golden Years’ as it was a hugely important time for innovation. One innovation was the postage stamp!
6. As well as mourning loved ones, there was another, more practical reason, why so many Victorians wore a lot of black – it was all down to pollution.
7. Victorians were big advocates of spiritualism and believed in the afterlife. Public events involving hypnosis, séances and fortune telling were popular occasions during the era, and it was big money for the people performing these acts.
8. Queen Victoria wasn’t actually called Victoria – she was in fact named Alexandrina after her godfather, Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Victoria was a middle name which she shared with her mother.
9. If a lady was at home in the day she was expected to be properly dressed and prepared for visitors between the hours of 3pm and 5pm.
10. Gothic novels were at their peak. Some of the best were written in this era, think of Dracula and the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
