I was in the library a week or so ago and I noticed a book, How to Be a Victorian (2014). Well, I had to pick that one up. It is sub-titled, A Dawn-to-dusk Guide to Victorian Life. It is written by Ruth Goodman, a reenactor from Great Britain. She is a consultant for the Victoria and Albert Museum and was involved in a TV series called Victorian Farm.

I am about half way through the book and I have found it fascinating. Yes, it is written by a Brit so some of it does not apply to us Yanks. However, frequently she mentions specific situations that apply to “America”. The Victorian period starts in the late 1830's and goes to the turn of the century so it does not all apply to our time period. The early stuff is fine, since an older person in the 1860's would be aware of the earlier part of the century. The late 1800's stuff obviously does not apply to us, but I still found it interesting.

I think just naming the chapters will probably give you a good idea of what the book covers.

Chapter 1 Getting Up
Chapter 2 Getting Dressed
Chapter 3 A Trip to the Privy
Chapter 4 Personal Grooming
Chapter 5 Morning Exercise
Chapter 6 Breakfast
Chapter 7 The Main Business of the Day (this is as far as I have got so far)

I believe this is a valuable book for us 1860's reenactors. There is plenty of stuff here for you to try. In many cases, the author tried several period concoctions or methods of doing things and then gave her opinion of what worked best. She is trying to make it easier to live the life of a Victorian. It depends how much you want to immerse yourself into the time period. At the least, there would be some words that you could slip into conversations, like “miasma”.

Submitted by, Craig DeCrane