I should have been Victorian

I’ve started reading historic&regency romantic novels in my early teens (no added pressure for future boyfriends, obviously 🙂 ). I’ve read hundreds of books, but I found myself attracted to the historic ones more. When I moved to the UK, I was quite knowledgeable of the way the British aristocracy had to behave in the 19th century. From what I’ve discovered while being here, I liked it even more and more. I think I’ve seen around 10 documentaries about the Victorian era last year and I admire the way so many Victorians were, innovative and driven.

picture from a trip to Manchester

Well, all those regency romantic novels had their impact in my development in an adult, as much as reading Sci-Fi or other type of novels would have. For example, my idea of a perfect family life would be quite familiar to the Victorians.

The dresses are another characteristic that I admire from that period. They were so feminine, even without a large cleavage, comparing to the Georgian period. We dressed up for a Pride and prejudice event last year and hubby liked it too.

I like a lot the sidesaddle horseback riding, it looks royal, with the riding dress so pretty on a side. There still are some classes of sidesaddle horseback riding. As I can’t ride in the standard way, it’s better to start with something easier.

The Victorian buildings have so much character and beautiful embellishments. The fireplaces, with all the handmade tiles and lots of colours, the wallpaper, the decorations, all is charming. Not only the houses had that extra charm, but the public buildings too, like the train stations, city halls.

I’ve been to a Victorian Christmas weekend at Speke and I was smitten with all the decorations, extravagant and beautiful at the same time. A lot of the Christmas traditions have their roots in that period, mostly in the way Queen Victoria and Prince Albert celebrated Christmas. The Christmas cards, mince pies we all love (the old recipe, from 13th century had meat in it, it was modified and made it a dessert) and even the Christmas tree, all are Victorian.

Another thing I like is how involved the Victorian nobility (and new entrepreneurs) was in the welfare of the working class and not only by implementing reforms. New cities were built, with concern about the lifestyle of the workers, like Port Sunlight, that is one of my favourite places in the UK.
Birkenhead Park was the first public founded park for working class people, to have a place where to enjoy more healthy activities and less drinking in the pub.

In the late Victorian period Octavia Hill and her friends started the National Trust. The initial purpose of NT was to make accessible the countryside for working class people, by preserving it from future development. RSPB was founded in the same period, late 19th century and The Vegetarian Society in 1847.