THE VICTORIAN ERA

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a time of rapid change and thanks to the Industrial Revolution it saw the country evolve from a mostly rural environment to an urban, industrialised one. Almost every aspect of life changed over the course of these sixty years including politics, attitudes to women, health, science and manufacturing. The Industrial Revolution definitely changed life in the Victorian era. Technological advances in the development of machines and steam engines lead to an increase in mass production and improved productivity. The building of railways, canals and roads meant that raw materials and goods could be transported more quickly and cheaply than ever before. Living standards were said to have improved due to an increase in wages, although towns were becoming so overcrowded that many families lived in squalor. Chronic hunger and malnutrition were common for many, a situation that didn’t improve until the end of the century. 

Indeed, the Victorian period was a time of contradiction, often referred to as "the Victorian compromise": on the one hand there was the progress brought about by the Industrial Revolution, the rising wealth of the upper and middle classes and the expanding power of  Britain and its empire; on the other hand there was the poverty, disease, deprivation and injustice faced by the working classes. Read here.