Product Description

The Victorian era was a time of extraordinary prosperity and development in Britain. Britain was a world leader in steam engines, iron and steel production, cotton and woollen mills and international trade; an explosion of power and pride that was celebrated in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Adam Hart-Davis, who presented ‘What the Victorians Did for Us’ in a highly acclaimed television series, is a renaissance man - brilliant at elucidating and explaining. This is a celebration of Victorian achievements and a reflection of the fact that we still live in a Victorian world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91856 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's tempting to think that the high-tech world we live in today was built in the 20th century. But as What the Victorians Did for Us establishes, the groundwork was laid by "the speed merchants, inventors, pioneers and products" of Victorian Britain. Having told us What the Romans Did For Us (central heating and straight roads for two), Adam Hart-Davis is now doing the same for the Victorians in his new BBC2 series. This companion piece is bubbling over with his enthusiasm for the people, the places and especially the inventions of this fertile century. These were the people who removed the scourge of cholera from UK cities--in the process constructing the first modern sewage systems. They drove railways across the nation--making it a truly United Kingdom and standardising clocks across the country for the first time. And before Queen Victoria's death in 1901 they were extracting magic from the very air--developing the telephone, telegraph and X-rays. But if their story is one of enormous engineering tasks, such as London's sewage system and Underground--they were creators of small wonders too. New rubber processes brought snooker tables and tennis balls to the sport-loving British; they developed the first chilled drinks. And while they were building the largest empire the world had ever seen, an enterprising businessman called Thomas Cook was inventing the package holiday.

The book divides into chapters on transport and speed; the emergence of modern science and medicine; the building of Empire; the growth of leisure, holidays and the theatre; the development of modern sports such as football, rugby and tennis; and the emergence of social mobility and the self-made millionaire. Such an industrious era had its misses too--an early ice- cream maker that required hours of manual pumping never caught on, nor did ivory false teeth that had to be held in place by painful and unreliable springs. But Hart-Davis romps through successes and failures with equal energy and glee. A consummate storyteller, he brings back to life a generation of Britons setting out on a journey of discovery--and for whom all things seemed possible.--John Rennie

About the Author
Adam Hart-Davis was educated at Eton and Oxford. He is best known for presenting on BBC2 'What the Romans Did for Us' and 'Local Heroes'. He also presents science programmes on Radio 4 and is a photographer whose pictures have appeared in hundreds of books and magazines.

Customer Reviews

Prepare to be amazed, intrigued and inspired!
This is just the most beautifully put together book on the Victorians that I have seen in a very long time. The colour plates are simply gorgeous and the writing of Adam Hart-Davis is totally inspiring as always!
If anyone can take you back and put you in the Victorian times, it's Adam - his enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for the subject just shines through on every page.
This is definitely the book to buy if you want to see just what impact the Victorians had and still have on things we take for granted every day.

An excellent introduction to the period
This is a great read for anyone who likes to dabble in history. You can just pick it up and read a short piece, a whole chapter, or start at the beginning. Since I bought this book, I have reread sections on science and inventions as I always find a new fact which amazes me. The book is well written, accessible and contains many interesting snippets of information about characters who were not particularly famous so they add interest. Mary Danning, the fossil finder, and the start of Brand names add to the Victorian period. It's a great book to show all the new inventions and legacies left by the Victorians, and quite an easy read.

In a nutshell
You want to know the basic panorama of the Victorian Age?
Buy this! It helped me doing my acessments for university and despite it doesn't have that ammount of data that an encyclo9pedia has it goes straight to where it matters and depicts it with amazing photos and artwork. Real interesting even if you weren't acquainted with...WHAT THE VICTORIANS DID FOR US!