# data[].attributes.body
This is my works cited for this project.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

# data[].attributes.body
Queen Victoria passes away and it ends the Victorian era in January 1901.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The death of Queen Victoria on January 22, 1901, ends an era in which most of her British subjects know no other monarch. Her 63-year reign, the longest in British history, saw the growth of an empire on which the sun never set. Victoria restored dignity to the English monarchy and ensured its survival as a ceremonial political institution.

Born in 1819, she came to the throne after the death of her uncle, King William IV, in 1837. As a young woman ascending to the throne, her future husband described her "as one whose extreme obstinacy was constantly at war with her good nature." Her first prime minister, Lord Melbourne, became her close friend and adviser, and she succeeded in blocking his replacement by Tory leader Sir Robert Peel in 1839. Two years later, however, an election resulted in a Tory majority in the House of Commons, and Victoria was compelled to accept Peel as prime minister. Never again would she interfere so directly in the politics of democratic Britain.

In 1839, her first cousin Albert, a German prince, came to visit the English court at Windsor, and Victoria proposed to him five days after his arrival. Prince Albert accepted, and in February 1840 they were married. He soon became the dominant influence in her life and served as her private secretary. Among his greatest achievements as royal consort was his organization of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first world's fair, in the Crystal Palace in London. He also steered her support away from the Whigs to the conservative Tories; she later was a vocal supporter of Benjamin Disraeli, leader of the Conservative Party.

Victoria and Albert built royal residences at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and became increasingly detached from London. They had nine children, including Victoria, later the empress of Germany, and the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. In 1861, Albert died, and Victoria's grief was such that she did not appear in public for three years. She never entirely got over the loss, and until the end of her life she had her maids nightly lay out Albert's clothes for the next day and in the morning replace the water in the basin in his room.

Disraeli coaxed her out of seclusion, and she was impressed by his efforts to strengthen and expand the British Empire. In 1876, he had her made "empress of India," a title which pleased her and made her a symbol of imperial unity. During the last few decades of her life, her popularity, which had suffered during her long public absence, increased greatly. She never embraced the social and technological advances of the 19th century but accepted the changes and worked hard to fulfill her ceremonial duties as head of state. When she died, she had 37 surviving great-grandchildren, and their marriages with other monarchies gave her the name the "grandmother of Europe."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Queen Victoria dies - Jan 22, 1901 - HISTORY.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The death of Queen Victoria on January 22, 1901, ends an era in which most of her British subjects know no other monarch. Her 63-year reign, the longest in British history, saw the growth of an empire on which the sun never set.

# data[].attributes.body
This page describes what a epigram is.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Form of the epigram

This is a very short, highly polished poem. In English, verse epigrams virtually always use rhyme; they often take the form of a couplet or quatrain (four-line stanza). Epigrams are often collected together into groups or series.

Characteristics of the epigram

An epigram is marked by conciseness. Every word is chosen for impact. Most epigrams make a single point. They often contain a surprising twist of some kind.

In ancient Greece, the epigram was frequently used for praise or compliment, as in this example:

Diodorus did not sculpture this satyr, he put him to sleep.
The silver holds sleeping life: one poke and you'll wake him up.
On a silver relief of a satyr, by Plato, trans. Gillian Spraggs

In Roman times the epigram became strongly associated with satire. A popular form of epigram is the brief satirical portrait. Here is a modern example:

From gallery to gallery you pass
And point your camera into every case,
Yet look at nothing. Tell me, what satisfactions
Derive from spurning things for their reflections?
To a Tourist in the V&A, by Gillian Spraggs

Another kind of satirical epigram reflects, usually ironically, on wickedness, stupidity or false values. In the epigram that follows, the poet and artist William Blake expresses his contempt for the fashions in art that dominated after the end of the Renaissance (the 'Age of Raphael'):

Degrade first the Arts if you'd Mankind Degrade.
Hire Idiots to Paint with cold light & hot shade:
Give high Price for the worst, leave the best in disgrace,
And with Labours of Ignorance fill every place.
Advice of the Popes who succeeded the Age of Raphael, by William Blake (about 1808)

Blake is using irony: his own beliefs and values are opposite to those recommended in this epigram. This is the unexpected twist in this poem. It is common for the twist in an epigram to have an ironic flavour.

Advice on writing your own epigram

If a museum object, or a style of art, should prompt you to some crisp reflections, or watching museum visitors inclines you towards satire, consider writing an epigram, or a series of epigrams.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
epigram; forms of verse; verse; poetry; poetry forms; creative writing project; gillian spraggs ; william blake; plato; creative writing in museums; learning resource

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Form of the epigram This is a very short, highly polished poem. In English, verse epigrams virtually always use rhyme; they often take the form of a couplet or quatrain (four-line stanza). Epigrams are often collected together into groups or series. Characteristics of the epigram An epigram is marked by conciseness.

# data[].attributes.body
This link is a biography all about a famous author that lived in the Victorian era.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Author Oscar Wilde was known for his acclaimed works including ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest,’ as well as his brilliant wit, flamboyant style and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality.

# data[].attributes.body
This video is a timeline of Oscar Wilde's eccentric life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Oscar Wilde: An Aesthetic Life | Cool History

# data[].attributes.body
This page is about the artistic movement that took place during the Victorian era.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by Dr. Rebecca Jeffrey Easby

The Aesthetic Movement, also known as "art for art's sake," permeated British culture during the latter part of the 19th century, as well as spreading to other countries such as the United States. Based on the idea that beauty was the most important element in life, writers, artists and designers sought to create works that were admired simply for their beauty rather than any narrative or moral function. This was, of course, a slap in the face to the tradition of art, which held that art needed to teach a lesson or provide a morally uplifting message. The movement blossomed into a cult devoted to the creation of beauty in all avenues of life from art and literature, to home decorating, to fashion, and embracing a new simplicity of style.

In literature, aestheticism was championed by Oscar Wilde and the poet Algernon Swinburne. Skepticism about their ideas can be seen in the vast amount of satirical material related to the two authors that appeared during the time. Gilbert and Sullivan, masters of the comic operetta, unfavorably critiqued aesthetic sensibilities in Patience (1881). The magazine Punch was filled with cartoons depicting languishing young men and swooning maidens wearing aesthetic clothing. One of the most famous of these, The Six-Mark Tea-Pot by George Du Maurier (left) published in 1880, was supposedly based on a comment made by Wilde. In it, a young couple dressed in the height of aesthetic fashion and standing in an interior filled with items popularized by the Aesthetes-an Asian screen, peacock feathers, and oriental blue and white porcelain-comically vow to "live up" to their latest acquisition.

In the visual arts, the concept of art for arts sake was widely influential. Many of the later paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, such as Monna Vanna (above), are simply portraits of beautiful women that are pleasing to the eye, rather than related to some literary story as in earlier Pre-Raphaelite paintings. A similar approach can be seen in much of the work of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, whose The Golden Stairs (1880) captures the aesthetic mood in its presentation of a long line of beautiful women walking down a staircase, devoid of any specific narrative content. The designer William Morris, another disciple of Rossetti, created beautiful designs for household textiles, wallpaper, and furniture to surround his clients with beauty.

Most famous of the aesthetic artists was the American James Abbott McNeill Whistler. His early painting Symphony in White #1: The White Girl (left) caused a sensation when it was exhibited after being rejected from both the Salon in Paris (the official annual exhibition) and the annual exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. The simplistic representation of a woman in a white dress, standing in front of a white curtain was too unique for Victorian audiences, who tried desperately to connect the painting to some literary source-a connection Whistler himself always denied. The artist went on to create a series of paintings, the titles of which generally have some musical connection, which were simply intended to create a sense of mood and beauty. The most infamous of these, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (1875, Detroit Institute of Arts), appeared in an exhibition at London's Grovesnor Gallery, a venue for avant garde art, in 1877 and provoked the famous accusation from the critic John Ruskin that the artist was "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." The ensuing libel trial between Whistler and Ruskin in 1878 was really a referendum on the question of whether or not art required more substance than just beauty. Finding in favor of Whistler, the jury upheld the basic principles of the Aesthetic Movement, but ultimately caused the artist's bankruptcy by awarding him only one farthing in damages. In The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, a collection of essays published in 1890, Whistler himself pointed out the biggest problem for the aesthetic artist was that "the vast majority of English folk cannot and will not consider a picture as a picture, apart from any story which it may be supposed to tell."

No story or moral message

The Aesthetic Movement provided a challenge to the Victorian public when it declared that art was divorced from any moral or narrative content. In an era when art was supposed to tell a story, the idea that a simple expression of mood or something merely beautiful to look at could be considered a work of art was a radical idea. However, in its assertion that a work of art can be divorced from narrative, the ideas of the Aesthetic Movement are an important stepping-stone in the road towards Modern Art.

Want to join the conversation?

What were the after-affects of the Pre-Raphaelite's actions? How did this influence society immediately? How did it influence society so greatly over time? Why was "art for art's sake" and beauty without context such a controversial idea?

Answer Button navigates to signup page* Comment Button navigates to signup page

(4 votes)

Upvote

Button opens signup modal

Downvote

Button opens signup modal

Flag

Button opens signup modal

Loading...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Aesthetic Movement (article) | Khan Academy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

# data[].attributes.body
This article describes the social classes in the Victorian era.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What was the change in the Victorian society in England after the Industrial Revolution? Read on..

How was the Victorian society structure?

The Victorian society was divided into nobility Upper Class, Middle Class, and the Working Class. The Victorian Upper Class consisted of the Aristocrats, Nobles, Dukes, other wealthy families working in the Victorian courts.

The Upper Class was in a powerful position giving them authority, better living conditions, and other facilities. Read more about the nobility titles in Victorian Britain.

The hereditary aristocratic families by the early 19th century had taken a keen interest in the industrial sector. Due to the changing nature of the basic standard of living of the people, the traditional families were now slowing disappearing and instead, a new combination of nobles and the steadily growing wealthy class comprised of the Upper Section of the society.

Life of Victorian Upper Class

The Upper Class was by inheritance a Royal Class. Many Aristocrats did not work as for centuries together their families had been gathering enough money for each generation to live a luxurious life. However, there were a number of aristocrats who managed large industries like mining or shipping, etc.

In terms of education also those belonging to the rich families got the best tutors to provide education. The fact that they represented the royal class gave these people an advantage at everything.

They could buy expensive clothes imported from Europe, or afford other riches of life that was beyond the scope of others.

Victorians Middle-class life

The Middle class was the next in social ranking. The Victorian period was very prosperous for the middle class. Middle-class people also owned and managed vast business empires. The middle-class population at the very start of the Victorian era was limited to a few.

The Industrial Revolution in the mid-century of the era brought about drastic changes in the standard of living of the Victorian Middle-Class people. These revolutions opened the doors for more job opportunities and earn a decent living. This, in turn, had a positive impact on the education of children.

Victorian Working class

The lowest among the social hierarchy were the working class. This class remained aloof to the political progress of the country and was hostile to the other two classes. This working class was further categorised as the skilled workers and the unskilled workers.

Due to the revolution, the industrial workers got jobs thus improving their living conditions. However, the unskilled workers who were placed below the skilled one remained unemployed and were vulnerable to the exploitation.

The working class was the worst affected class in the Victorian times. Lack of money resulted in a negligible food supply. For some working families, the living conditions were so pathetic that they required their children to work in order to bring home some extra income to survive.

The death of their father meant that there is no income to the family and they eventually were forced to live on streets or some public housing. There were some families which would reside in a single room just to have a shelter over their head. The conditions were so brutal for the working class that at times children were forced to work away from their parents.

Status of the Women in Victorian society

Industrial Revolution attributed to the change in the status of women. According to the traditional family pattern, the women were supposed to look after the household chores and take care of children while the men would earn money. There was a strong presence of male dominance in the society. Women were to obey what men told them to do.

The revolution gave women an opportunity to work and earn money, thus changing the old beliefs. Working women not only shared the burden of earning money but it also gave them a sense of security.

Their lives were no longer restricted to the house and children. The segregation of large families into nuclear ones also added to the change in the women's lives.

Child Labor in Victorian society

Child labor was rampant throughout the Victorian period. A major reason attributing to it was the fact that the families did not earn much and the food prices had increased for certain duration. This made it difficult for the earning members to earn enough to buy food and satisfy the requirements of the family.

Also, the family structure comprised of grandparents, parents, children, aunts, uncles etc. The number of family members living together was burdensome. Thus, parents were forced to send their children to work and bring some more money. However, despite working for long hours, the children were underpaid and as such their living conditions hardly improved.

Victorian era society: Politics

The English government under the rule of Queen Victoria was a monarchy which also comprised of a Parliament. The Parliament was a Bicameral legislature which consisted of The House of Lords and The House of Commons. The said houses would meet separately and passed a bill as law by majority votes.

However, for the bill to passed, it was necessary that both the houses accent to it. The members of the House of Lords not elected by public voting and Lord Chancellor was appointed to supervise its activities. On the other hand, the members of the House of Commons were elected by public voting.

In the initial years of the Victorian period, there were two strong political parties, The Whigs and the Tories (Conservatives). These were the first political parties in England who dominated the political field throughout the Victorian reign.

The Whigs were in favor of growth of the Parliament and wanted to restrict the royal power. Towards the end of 1850, the Whigs became Liberals. They were of the opinion that Parliament should all the decisions and all men should have a right to vote and elect members.

In 1858, Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister of England resigned from his post after the Orsini plot against Napolean III, the French emperor fell out. Tories, the other dominant party was in favor of monarchy.

Many rich officials belonging to high posts were members of this party. Their view about voting was exactly opposite to that of the Whigs. Tories believed that only those men who were rich and owned large plots of land should have the right to vote.

How do we know about Victorian society?

Victorian era was not too long ago and the printing press was already invented. As a result of that, we have several authors and their popular books that describe life in Victorian society accurately.

Works of popular authors like Charles Dickens and Bronte sisters has already produced several popular plays and have been turned into movies and TV series.

Besides that, several Victorian painters and artists have their work carefully preserved in museums. These also depict the landscapes, battles and life in general in Victorian society.

Several buildings constructed during Victorian era are still standing tall and are masterpieces of beauty and elegance. London still has several of Victorian structures intact.

Museums in London like V&A museum, Tate modern have several artifacts that show the art and fashion in Victorian England.

Many railway tracks, train stations are from the Victorian era.

All these aspects make research about Victorian society much easier.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Victorian society social structure. Various classes and their lives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Victorian era Society Facts: Upper Class, Middle Class, Working Class, Child Labour, Women's Role. Evidences from Victorian times

# data[].attributes.body
These women demonstrate what was trendy in the late Victorian Period.

# data[].attributes.body
This page is all about the timeline of fashion trends in the Victorian era.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Victorian Fashion History for Women from 1860 to 1900

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fashion and Costume History in the Late Victorian Era. Development of the Silhouette from mid Victorian Crinolines and Bustles to S bends

# data[].attributes.body
This website discusses the various ways that people that lived in the Victorian period's most popular pastimes.

# data[].attributes.body
These customs are all about Victorian funerals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many Victorian funeral customs started when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, died of typhoid in 1861. She mourned him for the rest of her life, dressing in full mourning for the first three years after his death (her entire court did the same). Her style of mourning was copied the world over, especially in England, and it ushered in a period of elaborate, ritualized behavior after death - including mourning periods, styles of dress, and extravagant funeral and burial arrangements.

Here's how your Victorian ancestors mourned their dead:

1. In both Europe and America in the 19th century, the deceased were always carried out of the house feet first so they wouldn't look back into the house and beckon to someone else, who would have to go along with them.

2. When a family member died, you closed the curtains and covered the mirrors so that - yikes! - the deceased's image didn't get trapped in the looking glass.

3. If you saw yourself in the mirror of a house where someone had just died, some thought that you might also die.

4. People stopped the clocks in the house at the time of death so they wouldn't have further bad luck.

5. A widow in Victorian England was expected to stay in mourning for more than two years. For the first year and one day, she wore only dull black clothing without jewelry and a black cape that was her "weeping veil." The clothing became slightly more adorned and a little less crepe-covered as time went on; in a later stage of mourning, a woman could wear purple or gray.

6. What style, material, and color a widow wore - and for how long - depended on whether she was mourning a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, etc., and how long it had been since they died.

7. Men could continue working after a loved one died, but women were expected to be isolated at home.

8. It was common to take a photograph of the deceased as a remembrance, especially babies and children, and often with the rest of the family in the photo, which was called a "memento mori." Sometimes pupils were painted over the closed eyelids so that the eyes looked open.

9. Another type of memento mori was a lock of the deceased's hair, which was arranged artfully and preserved in a locket.

10. Funerals became grand, expensive affairs, and many lower-class people saved up money so that if their children, in those times of high child mortality, did not survive, they could provide an appropriate funeral.

11. Victorian England is when funeral directors first came into the picture. They arranged huge processions in which black horses pulled a hearse with a glass viewing coffin (again with the yikes!). Mourners were hired to follow the hearse looking despondent, and there were ostrich feathers.

12. Many elaborate headstones and mausoleums that we still see in older cemeteries date from this period. Middle-class families often took outings to these graveyards on weekends.

13. There were even coffins set up with tubes and mirrors so that gravediggers could peer into the coffin and look for movement.

Times and traditions have evolved since Victorian times, but our culture still retains bits of traditions from earlier times. For instance, we still use the expression "saved by the bell." In Victorian England, the deceased were sometimes buried with a rope in their hand, which was attached to a bell outside of the grave. If the person in the coffin found him or herself alive, he or she could ring the bell for help!

-Leslie Lang
Discover your family story. Start free trial.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
13 Fascinating Victorian Funeral Customs - Ancestry Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many Victorian funeral customs started when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, died of typhoid in 1861. She mourned him for the rest of her life, dressing in full mourning for the first three years after his death (her entire court did the same).

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains how people acted and interacted with each other in the Victorian Period.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Throughout the Victorian era, merely walking down the street would be a very different situation than what you would see in today's times. There was a lot of value placed on having proper etiquette regardless of whether you were lower or upper class. All people were held to a very high standard of requiring classy etiquette in their day to day lives.

Victorian conversation etiquettes

One of the biggest differences you may notice while walking down the street during the Victorian era would be how quiet it is. During this time, it was considered rude to speak loudly or in any way that might draw attention to yourself. Therefore, all conversation was relatively low in volume.

Victorian dining etiquettes

The dining experience held the same standard of having quiet conversation. But one rare thing you may observe in the Victorian era is that all of the ladies would be seated before the men. It was very rude for any man to sit down before all of the ladies had been seated. Therefore, you may see them standing for a brief period of time.

The men who wore gloves were required to remove them before being seated. However, the women would not remove theirs until after they had been seated. Therefore, the picture you might see would be a group of men standing and removing their gloves while ladies were already seated and removing theirs at that time.

Victorian manners for women

The ladies were also taught to be very respectful to men, as men were taught to treat women with extreme care. It would have been considered rude to use a man's Christian name in the everyday regular speech.

This name is what we consider to be referred to as the first name. Therefore, they would always refer to them with a salutation such as Mr. and then their Last Name. It was a sign of respect and gratitude and was not meant as a way of being degrading or trying to show the inferiority of women.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Victorian Etiquettes and Manners for Men and Women

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Throughout the Victorian era, merely walking down the street would be a very different situation than what you would see in today's times. There was a lot of value placed on having proper etiquette regardless of whether you were lower or upper class.

# data[].attributes.body
This article describes the rules of marriage in the Victorian Era.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Victorian period is also regarded as the era of Romanticism. In those days, courtship was considered to be a tradition and was very popular. Queen Victoria and her family were the idols of the Victorian society, even in the case of courtship. The society had laid down some stringent rules for courting and these had to be followed.

Social rules in the victorian era

The primary method of knowing prospective suitors were Balls and dances. Society would know young Victorian ladies through a ball or dance. This was called "coming out" and was an indication that a young woman was interested in finding potential suitors.

During Victorian era, a couple which dated would normally get married. After marriage, the property of the woman was automatically transferred to her husband. The Victorian girls, from the very beginning, were well trained and groomed to become the perfect wives and mothers.

A woman was never permitted to go out alone and meet a gentleman. She was always accompanied by some elderly person and it was necessary for the girl to take her mother's permission before going out. Thus, some or the other kind of supervision was ensured when the couples were meeting.

A woman was never allowed to go out at night with a gentleman. There were many rules in respect of dating which were to be complied with.

Some of the rules of victorian courting

1. A single woman never addressed a gentleman without an introduction.

2. No impure conversations were held in front of single women.

3. A woman could not receive a man at home if she was alone. Another family member had to be present in the room.

4. There was no physical contact between the woman and the gentleman until marriage.

5. Victorian etiquette for men courting dictated that a man could offer the girl his hand if the road was uneven. That was the only touch, which was accepted between a man and a woman, who was not engaged to him.

6. A woman was allowed some liberties, however. She could flirt with her fan, as this behavior was within the protocol of accepted behavior.

7. An unmarried girl would never date a man at the night. A man could not stay for long in a girl's home. This was considered extremely impolite.

8. Even if the girl entered the stage of courtship, she could never walk with the gentleman.

9. Women were restrained to ride alone in the closed carriage with a man, expect for a close relative.

10. The girl should not be invited by any gentleman at his place.

11. If engaged, the gentleman could not turn back to see any other girl.

12. Even after an engagement, the couple was not allowed to have sexual behavior.

13. In the relationship, intelligence was not at all required, neither any interest in the politics.

Victorian era marriage customs
Step 1 - courtship
The Victorian people were very cautious about courtships. The dating would firstly begin when the couple would speak to one another. The next step was to go out for a walk and then lastly by keeping company. The upper class socialized at social events while the lowers classes socialized at events like Sunday Service or Church suppers.
Step 2 - engagement
After the couple had developed mutual affection, the next step to strengthen their relation was marriage. The second stage of the courtship was engagement. After getting engaged, the couple could get hold hands in public, go for walks alone, and take unchaperoned rides.

The engaged couple was allowed to meet behind closed doors but had to be dutifully separated by nightfall. The men while dating a woman were discreet to never break an engagement as it tarnished the woman's reputation.
Step 3 - marriage
In Victorian courtships, marriage was the final stage. However, marriage between two persons was permitted so long the couple intending to marry belonged to the same class. After marriage, the woman played the role of a dutiful wife and mother. The dating during the Victorian period was thus very different from what it is today.

Victorian courtship gifts

As you might expect, there were many rules regarding courtship during the Victorian era.

A lady who maintained the rigid strictures of Victorian society wasn't allowed to accept lavish or expensive gifts at the hands of a gentleman not related or engaged to her.

According to one etiquette expert of the 1870s - 1890s, Professor Thomas E. Hill, there were four items she could accept from a gentleman while still maintaining propriety.
Books, confectionery, flowers, sheet music.
Usually, gentlemen were not supposed to give gifts to ladies unless that lady was their fiancée or a relative. Even then, as per Mrs. Houghton:

"A costly gift from a gentleman to a young lady would be indelicate, as having the appearance of a bribe upon her affections."

Instead, etiquette demanded that a gentleman gifts flowers, fruit, or candy. These gifts were perishable and therefore left no obligation upon the lady receiving them.

Christmas gifts

Extract from 1879 edition of Harper's Bazaar

"Gentlemen do not care for the pretty trifles and decorations that delight ladies; and as for real necessities, they are apt to go and buy anything that is a convenience just as soon as it is discovered."

However, as a general rule, smoking caps, sleeping caps, and house slippers were popular gifts for gentlemen relations, as were handkerchiefs and tobacco pouches.

Books about courtship etiquettes

Several books were published explaining the rules of etiquette to both genders. Here are names of some of those:

Godey's Lady Book, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, Manners for Men by Mrs. C.E. Humphry, The Laws of Etiquette: or, short rules and reflections for conduct in society, by a gentleman, and Manners and Social Usages.

These books explained several rules for social behavior and those in the Victorian times closely practiced them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Victorian era courtship rules and marriage facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Victorian period is also regarded as the era of Romanticism. In those days, courtship was considered to be a tradition and was very popular. Queen Victoria and her family were the idols of the Victorian society, even in the case of courtship.

# data[].attributes.body
This article sums up most of the events that happen in the Victorian Period.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about who the Victorian Era was named after, the queen herself.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Queen Victoria was queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901-the second longest reign of any other British monarch in history.

# data[].attributes.body
This video gives a timeline of the Victoria era.

# data[].attributes.body
This image illustrates a view of the Victorian Era.