CHILDHOOD AND DEATH IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND by Sarah Seaton

There were lots of ways for children to die in Victorian England. Accidents, murder, sickness, work, poorhouse, workhouse, infirmary, mining, factories, and lots of other ways. It appears that no one cared much at all for children under age 18 in that time period. Children probably were a "dime a dozen" since everyone had multiple children and there were always 5 more children to step up to take the place of a dead child. There was always an inquest held at a local place of lodging, but the deaths were frequently filed as accidental deaths. It is good that there are more regulations regarding child labor, poorhouses, and workhouses in this century. Invariably a great deal of corruption occurred involving children, Many thanks to #netgalley for the complimentary copy of #childhoodanddeathinvictorianengland I was under no obligation to post a review.

I was prepared for a grim read. But the sheer horror of childhood death caused by the Industrial Revolution (e.g. child labour down the mines, in the mills and on sea), poverty, illness and neglect was so chilling that at times I had to stop reading. Exploitation and cruelty were rife and a child’s life not worth much.
Interesting and shocking as the stories were, their historical context was scarce, so they were just that: stand-alone, disjointed lists of snippets of children’s fates, copied and pasted from various websites. The “conclusion”, sadly, was just a list of platitudes of middle-grade standard writing.
Just scraped into three stars, because the title page art was so compelling.

I love history, particularly history from this period. It may be shocking to many people, but a lot of people approached childhood mortality with apathy, but childhood death was very commonplace. I really liked how the author presented the facts in a clear, concise manner but also managed to make it a very intriguing read. I did find some parts of the book to be sloppy and haphazard, but this is a fairly quick read and a must read for anyone interested in this era in history.

Interesting but grim

This is a non-fiction title, focusing on Victorian social history

This book provides a great deal of information on cases of death or injury in Victorian children. The author has clearly spent much time on research.

The book is divided into five chapters.
The first covers industrial and work relates incidents. Much information is gathered from Parliamentary enquiries into the condition of children in work. Together with inquest and court reports, a picture emerges of bullying, abuse, neglect and harsh conditions, especially for the orphan. Business owners prioritised profit, with the barest nod towards safety.

Chapter two moves on the accidents. Drowning and road accidents were common. The most heavily featured is burning and scalding. The cramped living conditions meant children were close to fires and hot water in the home. The need for both parents to work outside of the home, left children without adult supervision.

Chapter three looks at the effect poverty and disease had on the life expectancy of children. Poor or absent healthcare, little understanding of disease transmission, dirty water, poor housing and insufficient food, all played a role. Chapter four covers murder and manslaughter. The descriptions of injuries inflicted and disposal of bodies are authentic, but very challenging.

The final chapter on new-born and early infant deaths covers deaths caused by parental ignorance, desperate attempts to conceal unwanted pregnancy and the malicious, self-serving acts of "baby farmers".

I found this book a hard read. The grim details of abuse, injury and death are not for the fainthearted. I read it in one session, but I would recommend reading small sections as it is unrelenting. It also felt somewhat repetitive, as case report after case report were included. I found it difficult to tell where one story ended and the next began. Although, I have to say the printed page seems much clearer than the e-book that I read.

Those with an interest in social history or genealogy would find this interesting. However, as the author states, most of the content can be found online and this book adds only a little additional context.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All views expressed are my own.

I am interested in Victorian history but this was honestly not great. The author explaining in the introduction that she did most of her research "on the internet" was not a good sign, and this book was mediocre. The topic is interesting, but it reads like a catalogue: the chapters start with banalities, such as reminding the readers that children were expected to work, or that medicine was not as advanced as nowadays, and then goes on to list dozens of deaths: Ann who died aged 3, Elizabeth who died aged 18 months, Jeremiah who died aged 11... The circumstances of their deaths are well-described (too well and in gruesome details at times), but there is no reflection on why so many children died, or why so many parents were living in such poverty that malnutrition was a common cause of death. It is very descriptive and lacks depths - not to mention the writing is at best clumsy, and at times makes very little sense.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc

Honestly, I spent most often time reading this book with my jaw down. Every page was more horrifying than the last, and I found myself putting it down after every 10 pages or so just to remind myself that everything mentioned in this book isn’t common practice (in most places) modern day.

The author is an amazing writer, and the resources such as graphs, tables, letters, and newspaper articles spread throughout the book was really interesting. Hearing about these things posthumously is one thing, but looking at the deaths as they were recorded in the 1800s? Bone chilling.

I’m so glad I got my wish of this book granted, and I highly highly recommend it. My only criticism is the book is just a combination of facts, there is little commentary or anything else. It reads like an in depth death roll, which is pretty cool to be honest.

This book is fascinating and horrifying at the same time. The blasé attitude Victorians had to losing children, naturally or unnaturally, is baffling. This book has a lot of good information but the writing is terrible. I will preface saying this is an uncorrected proof but even so, the book is written in a stream of consciousness style writing I hated while reading Marcel Proust and did not enjoy here either.

It is clear the author did a lot of research but the composition seems haphazard and at times incredibly disorganized. She will have an entire chapter devoted to specific topics but then sprinkle in more of that same topic in a different chapter. It felt very "oh by the way and this one!" throughout the book. At times there were just lists of deaths.

The other thing I found puzzling about this book is that the author outlines in the introduction that a lot of these kids would go unremembered without this book due to lack of information and paper trails. Considering this is being touted as nonfiction, the author has some dialogue between characters, and not vague generalities, back to back conversations. Where did this information come from? Not to mention did not make a lot of sense.

I think with a lot of severe editing and some more historic insight surrounding some of these instances, perhaps gathered from professors, librarians and other experts on the Victorian Era, this would be a 4 or 5 star book. Unfortunately, the fascinating subject matter does not overcome the terrible formatting of this book.

My thanks to Pen and Sword and Goodreads for an ARC of this book.

CHILDHOOD AND DEATH IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND by Sarah Seaton was published on August 8th 2017 by Pen and Sword History.

In CHILDHOOD AND DEATH IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND, Sarah Seaton recounts the short lives and ultimate deaths of numerous children from poor and rich families. Surviving past childhood was a feat in itself in the Victorian era—many children died from what are today preventable diseases. Others died in accidents either around the home or at work. And still others were murdered. Seaton focuses on recorded instances and newspaper articles concerning childhood deaths. She also shares information of inquests and court proceedings of deaths that were not natural.

Seaton divides the book into five chapters. The first chapter focuses on children who died while at work. During the Victorian era, children as young as four took jobs in coal mines, textile factories, and as chimney sweeps. May children died on the job in tragic accidents while others were murdered by their employers. The second chapter focuses on accidents such as death by accidental drowning, fire, or being run over by a runaway wagon. The third chapter focuses on children who dies from poor health and others who were murdered through malnutrition or drug overdoses. The fourth chapter focuses on the murders of children and the fifth focuses on the deaths of newborn children—many of whom were unwanted.

CHILDHOOD AND DEATH IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND is a fascinating but also depressing read. It is clear that there was not much value placed on lives back in the Victorian era—especially on the lives of poor or unwanted children. There are several cases mentioned through the novel of people getting away with infanticide or the murder of a child. There are those who were punished for their crimes, but the punishment hardly seems enough for the crime. While I would recommend CHILDHOOD AND DEATH IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND to anyone interested in the Victorian era and the lives of children, I would not recommend the book to a casual reader.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A good, factual account of what life was like for children in the Victorian era. Interesting and well
researched true accounts which are harrowing to read about this in day and age... it’s quite hard to believe this was normal life for our ancestors! However, I wasn’t gripped throughout and found it a bit of a difficult read. I wish there was more of a story and flow rather than just dates and bombarded with facts, however it is evident how much research and hard work has gone in to writing this.

Not for me but educational read nonetheless!

My thanks to Pen and Sword, Sarah Seaton and Netgalley.
To be honest? I'm appalled. Don't get me wrong, because I could NOT stop reading this.
I do wish though that I had given it a pass. This was extremely disturbing. I was in a rage for most of it. That passed to sadness, then numbness.
How does this happen? Why does it continue to happen? How does our hearts become so numb? Poverty. War. Famine. Even in peace.

Childhood and Death in Victorian England
by Sarah Seaton includes four chapters on industrial mishaps, accidents, poverty and health, murder, and early childhood death. I found this a rather quick read with newspaper recounts, and some photos from the period. At times, the chapters are gruesome, which is to expected based on the topic. The focus on humanity really stands out. For example, in the chapter on accidents, a story about young children (8, 5, and 3) being left alone and one catching the house on fire is more problematic based on the neighbor who completely refuses to help when one child goes to ask for help. Not only do readers get a glimpse into childhood death but we also see how children were treated by adults. The book is clearly well-researched and has the feel of an accessible academic text. I quite enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting my wish and giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't put the book down and finished it one day. It was so through and obviously well researched. There were also articles and pictures that accompanied it throughout. The author does a compelling job of sharing the stories of these children and at the end comparing to our situation today.

As you read through the book you may find yourself thinking how could parents allow that - but you have to remember the times and if you don't - Sarah does a very good job of explanation. Well done!

Such a tough topic and book to read and yet illuminating and informative. The Victorian era is my favourite to learn about and this is eye opening. The author's focus is on the years 1800-1901 England. She discusses the reasons children died at such a high rates in fires, drownings, workplace injuries, scaldings, accidental opium ingestion, suffocation and neglect. Though attitudes then were different, people are people and where they are, there are problems and always will be.

Do know that about halfway through the book there is a warning about the following section as it describes deliberate death by others' hands including the most infamous barbaric baby farmer who is said to have killed 400 precious babies. I had no idea that the first case of child cruelty was prosecuted under the animal act before there was one for children! Dead children were often taken into the courtroom for people to see. The author describes ragged schools, fostering, mining, chimney sweeping, the fate of illegitimate babies and working on ships where making one tiny mistake could cost a life through beatings and other forms of torture. In Wales I once went on a mining tour and was reminded of that while reading about the horrors of the workplace environment where children as young as FOUR worked and the average age was ten, no breaks for meals (had to eat while working), abused and exhausted, sometimes alone for hours on end with only a candle for company. Children were poisoned by green wallpaper (arsenic) and caught clothes on fire from being too close without fireguards. Life was hazardous for children.

This book is not for everyone but is extremely important and fascinating from a social perspective. Thankfully many of our laws have improved things to a point but our children still suffer from poverty, hunger and neglect. Some things never change.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the eARC of this thought-provoking book.