Richly illustrated with artwork and contemporary cartoons, this is a fascinating and engaging account of a neglected aspect of Victorian life.

It was a paradox of 19th-century Britain that while work was the bedrock upon which the Victorian vision of progress and improvement was constructed, the years between 1837 and 1901 also saw the greatest upsurge in leisure pursuits hitherto witnessed. This book deals with the pleasures and pastimes enjoyed by the Victorians, setting the various activities enjoyed into the context of the growth of leisure time and changes in occupational structure, as well as the increasing concentration of people in urban society. It reveals how a more structured approach to leisure came about throughout the period, with the creation of parks, libraries, art galleries and museums. Greater literacy widened horizons, while technological change also had its effect in making available cheap books, newspapers and musical instruments.

An energetic and exhilarating account of the Victorian entertainment industry, its extraordinary success and enduring impact The Victorians invented mass entertainment. As the nineteenth century’s growing industrialized class acquired the funds and the free time to pursue leisure activities, their every whim was satisfied by entrepreneurs building new venues for popular amusement. Contrary to their reputation as dour, buttoned-up prudes, the Victorians reveled in these newly created ‘palaces of pleasure’. In this vivid, captivating book, Lee Jackson charts the rise of well-known institutions such as gin palaces, music halls, seaside resorts and football clubs, as well as the more peculiar attractions of the pleasure garden and international exposition, ranging from parachuting monkeys and human zoos to theme park thrill rides. He explores how vibrant mass entertainment came to dominate leisure time and how the attempts of religious groups and secular improvers to curb ‘immorality’ in the pub, variety theater and dance hall faltered in the face of commercial success. The Victorians’ unbounded love of leisure created a nationally significant and influential economic force: the modern entertainment industry.

Journey through Britain’s food history and discover the fascinating, gruesome and wonderful culinary traditions of the Victorians.

Contrary to our perception of the centrality of the churches in English life in the nineteenth century, the disappointing results of the 1851 Religious Census led religious leaders to seek a variety of ways to increase religious allegiance as the century progressed. The apparent apathy and lack of interest in formal religion on the part of the working classes was particularly galling, and the various denominations tried hard to attract them through evangelical missions as well as social and charitable ventures which sometimes competed with religious concerns, to the latter’s detriment. This book traces the motivations, concerns and efforts of the churches, particularly in the period between 1870 and 1920, and the ambivalent responses of ordinary people. The Education Act of 1870 led to the churches losing their hold on the education of the young, a consequence foreseen by many church leaders, but unable to be prevented. By 1920 it was apparent that the churches’ optimism regarding an increased role with a war-weary population would not be fulfilled. The focus is on the city of Leeds, representative of the industrialised urban areas with burgeoning populations which proved to be such a challenge to the churches, at the same time stimulating them to ever-greater efforts.

The British led the way in holidaymaking. This four-volume primary resource collection brings together a diverse range of texts on the various forms of transport used by tourists, the destinations they visited, the role of entertainments and accommodation and how these affected the way that tourism evolved over two centuries.Volume 1: Travel and Destinations Texts in this volume draw on accounts by early travellers, from short factual lists to longer subjective descriptions. Documents show how eagerly new forms of transport were adopted and how they gave rise to different leisure activities and new destinations. Methods of travel covered include: early road travel by horse or wagon, river travel via sail and steamships, railways, the safety bicycle, motorized transport (charabancs, coaches, buses, cars and bicycles) and finally, air travel.

The book phenomenon of `Club Government' in the mid-nineteenth century, when many of the functions of government were alleged to have taken place behind closed doors, in the secretive clubs of London's St. James's district, has not been adequately historicized. Despite `Club Government' being referenced in most major political histories of the period, it is a topic which has never before enjoyed a full-length study. Making use of previously-sealed club archives, and adopting a broad range of analytical techniques, this work of political history, social history, sociology and quantitative approaches to history seeks to deepen our understanding of the distinctive and novel ways in which British political culture evolved in this period. The book concludes that historians have hugely underestimated the extent of club influence on `high politics' in Westminster, and though the reputation of clubs for intervening in elections was exaggerated, the culture and secrecy involved in gentleman's clubs had a huge impact on Britain and the British Empire.