Not everything was dreary during the Victorian era.

Sometimes Victorians get a bad rap for being dour and dull. Not so. These people were creative and we still enjoy today many of their great ideas…

Literature

Novels took off during the nineteenth century, many of which became classics and are still enjoyed today…this includes my all-time favorite book, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Other great novelists of the day were Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy and Bram Stoker.

Inventions

With the birth of the industrial revolution, the creative minds of the era were thinking well outside the box. Many new conveniences and necessities were invented during these years such as the telephone, radio, toilet, train, vacuum cleaner, photography and sewing machines.

London

The population of London grew from about 1 million people in 1800 to nearly 6.7 million in 1900. Granted, most of those people lived in poverty, but the sheer numbers made London the largest city in the world for much of that time period.

The Tube

If you visit London today, no doubt you'll be getting around on the underground. You can thank a Victorian for that feat. The first London underground tunnels were constructed in 1863. Currently there are 270 stations with over 250 miles of track. The tube carries over 3 million passengers every day.

Parties

Victorians knew how to party. From dinner soirees to full out balls, Victorians loved to get together for entertainment…and not much was outside the realm of what they'd do for entertainment. A common event was a "mummy unwrapping" party where guests would gather and would indeed unwrap a mummy. I know…right?

There are pros and cons to living in any era. I wonder what bloggers will say about the twenty-first century in a few hundred years???

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