Interesting and intriguing guide to the times - it however somewhat assumes the reader is 'familiar' with what Victorian times look like via the media (like the streets, vehicles, clothing - you need a snapshot of those in your head to be able to really put the tidbits of this book into context). Still, rather informative, and I really liked the angle it took to showcase the times through correspondence and/or account receipts from the times. It's far from fictional though there is an amount of world-building to the pages as no one alive today knows the Victorian world first-hand, right?

Victorian England was not an easy place or time to live for most people, but this guide engages readers without being too maudlin by encouraging them to imagine a trip there--what to bring, how to get oriented, what to expect in cities and towns. This would be a great resource for the classroom or for writers who are creating historical fiction.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I’ve taught literature from the Victorian era for a decade and have students do a research paper on some aspect of Victorian life. This book will be a great addition to our research resources!

This is a great source of information about life in Victorian England, from dress to habits. Recommended for anyone interested in the era and for the classroom.

Another great book on Victorian England. Queen Victoria may have lived a lavish and amazing life the citizens under her did not. They were poor and lived in horrible condiitons. Highly recommend that you read this.

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

If only time machines were a real thing, I’d be packed and all set for a trip to Victorian England with this well-written and humorous travel guide at my side! Written in a manner identical to normal travel guides for contemporary settings, this has all of the information one would need to travel to Victorian England during this time, including prices, lodgings, rules for gratuity, and shopping guides with the extra flavor of what to expect during that time period that we only read about in things like Horrible Histories books. Want to know what the preferred insect powder is to combat bed bugs? Want to know how many handkerchiefs one would need to dodge the awful smells? How about how to spot the numerous types of pick-pockets and other thieves? It’s all here!

“HAVE YOU EVER IMAGINED what it would be like to visit the Victorian era? How would you find the best seat on an omnibus, deal with unwanted insects and vermin, get in and out of a vehicle while wearing a crinoline, and avoid catching an infectious disease? Michelle Higgs answers all these questions, and reveals the minutiae of Victorian daily life. Drawing on a wide range of sources, this book blends accurate historical details with compelling stories to bring the period to life. A must-read for seasoned social history fans, costume drama lovers, history students and anyone with an interest in the nineteenth century.”

This is yet another solid offering from Pen and Sword, a UK-based publisher which rarely lets me down. If you want solid history books for great value and a moderate, but not exhaustive size – they are a good choice. I think about half of my reviews since I really started blogging on here are by them, and that says a lot as to how much I like them.

I enjoyed this a lot because it takes material most already likely know about or can surmise, and dresses it up in a manner you don’t see a lot with these types of books. If you are worried about yet another dry history book, full of dates and boring asides, this isn’t it. Using things like excepts from first-hand sources of people that traveled to these places in that time period, Michelle Higgs weaves this information with top notch-wit to create something special. You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, I bet you’ll start feeling itchy after reading certain parts of the book – but above all, you will gain an appreciation for many modern conveniences.

I really did enjoy this book and it made me feel like I was really visiting Victorian England. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history.

Great book, especially if you like Victorian England like I do or just the Victorian era. It gave advice on how they dressed, how they mourned, how they gave birth and etc., Loved reading about how they lived and did things in the time period. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers of #AVisitorsGuidetoVictorianEngland for the opportunity to read and review with my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of A Visitor’s Guide to Victorian England. I love the Victorian era so I was excited to read this. Overall it was very engaging and fun. I appreciate the details that were included about all aspects of Victorian life. Now that I am educated in what type of food stalls to eat at, which shops to avoid, and to travel via locomotive, I feel that I can more clearly envision the daily life that the different characters I read about.

This certainly was a very interesting book. It made me gasp in some parts and shake my head in others. It is difficult to,imagine how people lived over 100 years ago. Make one grateful for today’s modern conveniences that is for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a writer of historical non-fiction, I found this book informative, useful and enthralling. Some good tips in here. Recommended.

If you like victorian england then this book is definitely for you!!! Clear and concise but never boring, absolutely loved exploring it!

What fun! A guidebook to Victorian England! Interspersed with period diary entries and quotes, this book is written as though the 1800's is a place the reader could actually go visit anytime. This guide covers just about everything you'd need to know in order to get by in Victorian England, from fashion to health to getting a good deal on lodging. It makes you feel a little bit like a time traveller!

Some portions of the guide were broad overviews (the pros and cons of taking a stagecoach) while others were incredibly specific (directions and menu prices for a specific restaurant in London). It became rather dry, but that's sort of how guidebooks are. Most importantly, I desperately wanted pictures. This visitor felt a little lost. Some things were thoroughly discussed, but assumed the reader already knew the definitions of the words, making them hard to imagine. This was especially noticeable in the clothing department.

If there's only one thing to take away from this guide, it's that Victorians had a sketchy notion of hygiene and safety. The food sounds especially suspect. Don't think I'll be making the trip to the 19th century anytime soon! Or if I do, I'll pack my own lunch.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book and found it easy to read. It wasn’t my usual type of book (I prefer fiction) so I was worried it would be boring and difficult to get through, but once I started reading I had no problem.

I loved hearing all the history of Victorian England. This book answered a lot of questions I’ve had while reading some fiction books set in this era. If I was going to attempt writing a Victorian fiction book this would probably be helpful to refer to. I loved the part in the back that tells how much things cost, what wages were and how much their money is worth I've always wondered about that.

I think the only thing I wish was different with this book is that they have pictures of some of the things they’re talking about although I just looked them up online so.... that wasn’t even a big deal.
Thank you Netgalley for the copy of the book.

Much smellier and messier time period, but entertaining read! It's the history that history misses. I love reading about various other time periods and have always regretted not studying further social history, which was always my favorite aspect of history. This is a fun read for armchair historians and anyone else interested in how people lived in the 19th century. Nice research Ms. Higgs!

I love this series because I always learn something new and have lot of fun in reading it.
This "Visitor's Guide" is no exception as it's well written, witty, informative and highly entertaining
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book is an overview of various aspects of life in Victorian England. It's written as if you're going to time travel back to visit England and need advice on how to fit in. The author covered various topics like temporary lodgings (inns, hotels, etc.), men's and women's clothing, food and drink (from street vendors, inns, etc.), transportation (taking the stagecoach, railway, etc.), shopping and making up clothes, hazards to the health (from food, disease, etc.), courting customs and marriage laws, sports and entertainment (theater, horse racing, etc.), and customs around mourning the dead, going to church, different holidays, and such. At the end, she also gave a timeline of significant events and examples of costs and of wages.

There were some quotes from people who lived during that time period (especially from the late 1800s). The author also referred to information found in other books about life in Victorian England. I've read many in-depth books about the period, so not a lot of this information was new to me. This book was more of a survey of a variety of topics about the time period and would be a good introduction to the subject.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pen and Sword for granting my request for this book.

5 stars- a really informative, detailed and intriguing guide of Victorian England for visitors, it was so compelling and so interesting to know what it was like back then and how places to stay were like, to currency and much more, it was so interesting to read i loved this, if you love Victorian History or want to know more about Victorian England you must read this!

Review of A Visitor’s Guide to Victorian England

I love history and found this book a thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable read. The unique style of writing felt like you were really stepping back into history and were living the experience. I found the book merged accurate historical details with compelling stories to bring alive the actual details of Victorian daily life. Definitely recommend for those interested in Victorian life.

This is a disorganized mess in which the writer assumes that the reader is a white, middle-class person who already knows a great deal about Victorian England. The author's tone is judgmental and uneven, and the book really could use an overhaul by a developmental editor. Give this one a miss.