All Victorians Were Stinky Little Freaks

Cracked Spines

This week, Sarah and Amelia meet at different ends of the sleepiness spectrum to discuss the fantastic worldbuilding and historical resource that is The Victorian City by Judith Flanders. We talk about sewage seepage, watercress sellers, the infernal din of the city, and a couple of kinky Victorians who left detailed diaries behind. Amelia picks a fight with Victorian street sellers and accurately remembers all the members of the British royal family. Sarah has traumatic flashbacks to reading Bleak House and immediately forgets basic facts from her history degree. We both are very tasteful and respectful and not at all ghoulish about Queen Elizabeth's death.
Media discussed:
The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders
"Stuff vs Theory" by Judith Flanders

"Class and Gender in Victorian England: The Diaries of Arthur J. Munby and Hannah Cullwick" by Leonore Davidoff, originally published in Feminist Studies: Spring, 1979, Vol. 5, Issue 1.
Support the show