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Amazon.co.uk Review
AN Wilson’s The Victorians is the longest and liveliest of the books which have appeared in the wake of the centenary of Victoria’s death. As one might expect, Wilson, Evening Standard columnist, novelist, and polemical biographer, has an eye for colourful detail, cannot resist gossip about the great and good, and smells out cant and hypocrisy at 10 paces. Familiar tales are told about the sexual proclivities, religious hypocrisies and gargantuan economic and imperial appetites of the Victorians. But the book is more than an exercise in debunking. Wilson sees 19th century Britons as the harbingers of modernity: the first society to grapple with and agonise over the Darwinian struggle of social mobility and industrial growth. He documents in detail the relentless drive for getting on, sympathises with its victims--in the English towns, the Irish bogs and on the Indian plains – and warms to the critical commentary of the chief sages and seers of the era: Carlyle, Dickens, and Manning. The intellectual set-pieces of the time--the Gothic revival, religion versus science, Anglo-Catholicism--are particularly well-handled.
As well as being its strengths, the author’s prejudices are at times the book’s weaknesses. Apart from Victoria’s Prime Ministers and the Irish nationalist leader, Parnell, Wilson doesn’t much like the politicians of the period (or the political economists), and these aspects of Victorian history get rather short shrift. And the narrative occasionally jumps and jars as he tries to include everything and anything (Dostoyevsky and Wagner wander in at one stage). But there is much to amuse and instruct throughout, and, just as important, not a little to argue with as well.--Miles Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Rarely have author and subject been found in such deep and contented harmony... Wilson's tour de force' Robert McCrum, 'Books of the Year', Observer
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First Sentence
On 16 October 1834, two visitors arrived at the Palace of Westminster and asked to be shown the chamber of the House of Lords. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
On 16 October 1834, two visitors arrived at the Palace of Westminster and asked to be shown the chamber of the House of Lords. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A hefty book (620 pp), densely and fluently written and eminently readable. I liked the fact that Wilson's own opinions come through strongly. There are some fascinating nuggets here, some which make you laugh aloud, as in this gem from an American correspondent on the Boer War:
"To call the Boer forces an army was to add unwarranted elasticity to the word......[they] fought with guns and gunpowder but had no discipline, no drills, no forms, no standards and not even a roll call". Wilson adds that
'when one field cornet of the Kroonstad commando insisted on holding a morning roll call and rifle inspection, the men complained to a higher authority and he was told to stop harassing them'.
"To call the Boer forces an army was to add unwarranted elasticity to the word......[they] fought with guns and gunpowder but had no discipline, no drills, no forms, no standards and not even a roll call". Wilson adds that
'when one field cornet of the Kroonstad commando insisted on holding a morning roll call and rifle inspection, the men complained to a higher authority and he was told to stop harassing them'.
However, for my own taste there was far too much emphasis on politics and the political wrangling of the Church (or churches - High, Low, Broad, Puseyites etc) to the detriment of the social history, although given Wilson's fascination with the Church and his previous novels I suppose this is not surprising. I could also have done with detailed footnotes rather than just reference numbers to the bibliography, although I appreciate this would have made the book even longer.
Although more like a collection of essays in which Wilson rambles with many sidetracks and deviations over his huge subject, overall I enjoyed it and will doubtless re-read it in time.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Coming to this book wishing to learn more about the 19th century, I leave it with a sense of bewilderment. For all the sweeping scope of the book, ranging from the 1834 burning of the Palace of Westminster through the Boer War, there is little cohesion, with many important milestones going unexplained.
The Corn Laws are undefined; the Crimean War is handled without giving its causes or delineating the sequence of events; there is insufficient context of British rule in India given for the account of the 1857 Indian mutiny and the term "sepoy" is not defined.
Yet the range of material is tempting - Marx, pre-Raphaelites, Darwin, Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, etc.), Peel, Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli (but without identifying who stood for what). What a shame that Wilson did not infuse his learning with a touch of popular writing so that more readers could understand and benefit from it.
In a book awash with detail and minute political analysis, Wilson occasionally pulls out some surprises, as in the lovely couple of paragraphs about early photography. He also draws some interesting connections, e.g., that Local Government in England occurred simultaneously with the Siege of Paris (1871). But without a firmly mapped foundation these nuggets do not hold the book together.
A worthy book for those in the know, but not an accessible one for people seeking to increase their knowledge of the Victorians.
The Corn Laws are undefined; the Crimean War is handled without giving its causes or delineating the sequence of events; there is insufficient context of British rule in India given for the account of the 1857 Indian mutiny and the term "sepoy" is not defined.
Yet the range of material is tempting - Marx, pre-Raphaelites, Darwin, Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, etc.), Peel, Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli (but without identifying who stood for what). What a shame that Wilson did not infuse his learning with a touch of popular writing so that more readers could understand and benefit from it.
In a book awash with detail and minute political analysis, Wilson occasionally pulls out some surprises, as in the lovely couple of paragraphs about early photography. He also draws some interesting connections, e.g., that Local Government in England occurred simultaneously with the Siege of Paris (1871). But without a firmly mapped foundation these nuggets do not hold the book together.
A worthy book for those in the know, but not an accessible one for people seeking to increase their knowledge of the Victorians.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Over the course of Queen Victoria's reign, much of what we today regard as the very pillars of western society emerged in a form recognisable to our age - the middle classes, the two-party parliamentary system, the widespread education of children, an early form of welfare, systematic taxes and doubt about God. Also during this period, the stage was set for the world wars. Toward the end of Victoria's long reign, motor vehicles, incandescent light bulbs and telephony appeared. It truly was a period of extraordinary change, dominanted by some wonderfully eccentric and conflicted individuals (Darwin, Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Disraeli, Gladstone, the list goes on). The Victorians are therefore worthy of our interest.
How about this particular book? Well, much has been made of the emphasis Wilson gives to his own strongly-held opinions and religious interests. I must say, I think these criticisms have been overdone. Certainly Wilson knows the period and the characters (and his mind) well enough to have opinions, but I didn't get the sense that this crowded out the facts; it simply made it a more lively read.
Most people buying this book will probably be British (English, more particularly). For the non-English, be warned that in this story Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the foreign "possessions" of empire are mere staging posts. Having said that, Wilson is no apologist for the English of the period. He gives a fair and honest account of their flaws and barbarisms - from the Irish famine to the "war crimes and genocide" (Wilson's words) of Kitchener. As an example, the best that Wilson seems to make of Queen Victoria herself is to say that she became so reclusive and constitutionally pointless after Albert's death that she "helped to lead the monarchy into a position where it was not worth abolishing." Indeed.
I was fortunate enough to read the Folio Society re-print. Nice clear print on lovely thick paper. Having flicked the paperback in a bookshop, I can imagine it becoming a bit trying after 500 pages or so. Maybe try the illustrated re-issue [ASIN:0091796229 The Victorians]. If not, Jeremy Paxman's much lighter book (also called "The Victorians" [ASIN:1846077435 The Victorians]) is a nice companion, as is supplies pictures of many of the paintings to which Wilson refers.
How about this particular book? Well, much has been made of the emphasis Wilson gives to his own strongly-held opinions and religious interests. I must say, I think these criticisms have been overdone. Certainly Wilson knows the period and the characters (and his mind) well enough to have opinions, but I didn't get the sense that this crowded out the facts; it simply made it a more lively read.
Most people buying this book will probably be British (English, more particularly). For the non-English, be warned that in this story Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the foreign "possessions" of empire are mere staging posts. Having said that, Wilson is no apologist for the English of the period. He gives a fair and honest account of their flaws and barbarisms - from the Irish famine to the "war crimes and genocide" (Wilson's words) of Kitchener. As an example, the best that Wilson seems to make of Queen Victoria herself is to say that she became so reclusive and constitutionally pointless after Albert's death that she "helped to lead the monarchy into a position where it was not worth abolishing." Indeed.
I was fortunate enough to read the Folio Society re-print. Nice clear print on lovely thick paper. Having flicked the paperback in a bookshop, I can imagine it becoming a bit trying after 500 pages or so. Maybe try the illustrated re-issue [ASIN:0091796229 The Victorians]. If not, Jeremy Paxman's much lighter book (also called "The Victorians" [ASIN:1846077435 The Victorians]) is a nice companion, as is supplies pictures of many of the paintings to which Wilson refers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not the best book on the subject
The Victorian era is a massive subject and no single volume can hope to do much more than scratch the surface. Read more
Published 4 months ago by hdd
A broad sweep.
Not only is it very readable but it moves along nicely keeping the reader fully interested. There's a lot to take in, but it can be tackled in stages.
Published 7 months ago by Rap Howard
Wilsons best
This is A.N.Wilsons best book and it concentrates on the lives of victorians rather than on some vague social study. Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. J. Andrews
An Engaging and Comprehensive Compendium of Victorian History
Despite his not being a trained historian or academic, Wilson has pulled off an impressive compendium of Victorian history stretching from the 1830s to the 1900s. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Blueglasnost
David Mcmillan. Book review
A.N Wilson's book 'The Victorians' is a suberb book of popular history from the Victorian period,full of detail wit and and a eye for the unexpected, well worth buying. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by David Mcmillan
Wonderful writing
The Victorians
I've read a great deal of A.N.Wilson over the years and this is just the start of a wonderful collection. Read more
I've read a great deal of A.N.Wilson over the years and this is just the start of a wonderful collection. Read more
Published on 3 April 2009 by J. Henry
Getting to know our forebears
Being deep into my family's history and discovering all my Victorian era ancestors, I wanted to (no needed to) put meat on the bones of the times that they lived. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2008 by Glyn White
the pleasure of partisan writing
Loved every judgmental, partisan, random remark. Loved the sensation of the author picking illustrations out of a body of knowledge that runs far deeper. Loved its whimsicality. Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2008 by Alba
The Victorians
It's hard knowing to begin when talking about The Victorians by AN Wilson. The sheer scale of it is enormous... and it's a big book in more ways than one. Read more
Published on 9 July 2008 by Other Stories
The Curate's Egg
A.N Wilson, industrious polymath, has delivered a detailed history of the Victorian era. The scope is huge: we have chapters on the rise of the private school, spiritualism, the... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2007 by G. G. Durante
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