The Victorin Period

The Victorian Era, that spanned the duration of Queen Victoria’s rule from 1837 to 1901, was characterized by the expanding horizons of education and literacy, as well as by an increased desire of the population to question religion and politics.
During this period of time, publications such as Marx and Engles’ Communist Manifesto in 1848 and Darwin’s Origin of the Species in 1859, acted as catalysts for political and religious controversy. These new perceptions of government and science, signaled a complete turn around from the idealism of the Romantics to a more empirical worldview. The Victorian era was also to be a time of great economic growth, technological discovery, and industrialization. Many writers responded to both the wonders of this Industrial Revolution, but also to the troubles brought about by an industrialized society. During this period, the influence of literature became more prevalent in society, as reading evolved into a social pastime owing to the increasing rate of literacy. At the beginning of this era in 1837, it is estimated that approximately half of the adult male population was literate to a certain degree. Due to new practices such as compulsory education and technological advances in printing techniques resulted in widely available reading materials, standard literacy was more or less universal by the end of the century.