I enjoy research, but finding reliable information can eat a lot of time. So, I've compiled a list of sources that I am finding useful while writing my Victorian Romance series. Please share any helpful resources you may have discovered.
English Titles in the 18th and 19th Centuries by Jo Beverley. Do you know how your characters should address one another? Are you clear about peerage ranks? What about courtesy titles? Jo Beverley's article on this subject is an excellent resource for what can quickly become confusing for writers of Regency and Victorian Romance. https://www.jobev.com/title.html
Routledge's Manual of Etiquette
Perhaps your protagonists are rule-breakers, but they must still know the rules. If not, they can consult this Victorian etiquette: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12426/pg12426.html
Dictionary of Victorian London by Jackson Lee.
This website has a wealth of information about Victorian London.http://www.victorianlondon.org/
Charle's Booth's Poverty Map
Where should your characters live in Victorian London? It depends on whether they are upper or lower class. Where do they shop? Work? Which areas of London had the highest crime rates in the 19th century? Booth's color-coded map and corresponding notes provide invaluable details about life in Victorian London. https://booth.lse.ac.uk/map/14/-0.1174/51.5064/100/0
Charles Dickens London Map is another tool that helps situate the fiction writer in Victorian London. Click on yellow dots to discover areas featured in Dickens's novels and find which characters lived, worked, or visited those places. https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/charles-dickens-london-map.html
Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets (Podcast)
Victorian society may have created a lot of shame around the subjects of sex and sexuality, but Victorian men and women experienced the same emotions and desires as all humans. Of course, they had to be more secretive about theirs. Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets gives listeners a more realistic picture of Victorian England. https://www.audible.com/pd/Stephen-Frys-Victorian-Secrets-Podcast/B08DF7FCXM
Ladies Who London Podcast
Not specifically about Victorian London, but I love this podcast, which is both entertaining and informative. You'll learn a lot of valuable details about London's history and architecture and hear interesting stories involving eccentric Londoners from the past. If your stories are set in London, then this one is for you.
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