Literature is one of the fundamental forms of entertainment that has existed throughout human history. The first piece of literary fiction that we have, The Epic of Gilgamesh, dates back to 2100 B.C., more than 4,000 years ago.
Throughout the course of history, the term “golden age” has been applied to various periods. However, there is no doubt that the Victorian Era is among one of the most important times in literary history.
But, just why is this era so iconic?
The Foundations of Modern Literature
It was during the Victorian Age that the foundations for modern literature were truly laid down. Of course, there were writers, and quite successful ones at that, that came before and played a huge role. Jane Austen, for example, single-handedly created the romance genre, and pretty much established all of the modern tropes that are still being used to this day.
However, in her time, Austen was one of a kind. During the Victorian age, modern writing techniques that are common today were just being invented and embraced by the hit writers of the time. For example, where would the dark psychological thriller be without the works of Dostoevsky.
One of Russia’s great literary figures, Dostoevsky was a raconteur, a provocateur, a dissident, and a prisoner. After serving time in Siberia, the man returned to his home, where he wrote some of the most influential works of all time. Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov are the two he is most remembered for. However, Dostoevsky was quite prolific, and was even one of the first to write about gambling.
In his pseudo-biographical novelette, The Gambler, Dostoevsky tackles the theme of roulette, the impact the game has had on his own life. Most people today are familiar with roulette thanks to the online casino Netherlands websites, which are growing in popularity. But, during Dostoevsky’s era, the game was still relatively new, and books about it, or gambling in general, were rarely published.
The Rise of Genre Fiction
The Victorian era is named for the English queen who happened to be on the throne at the time. Queen Victoria presided over the British Empire during its most prosperous period. It is no wonder that during this time, writers became so prolific in the country. Different writers would imbue stories with their own personal interests, which led to the development of genre fiction.
Of them, the most obvious one to discuss is science fiction, which today has become one of the most popular genres to write in. It all started in the early 1800s, when a young woman decided to tell a campfire story while on a retreat with her husband and friends. That woman’s name was Mary Shelley, and the story she told would later be written and titled Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus.
Inspired by Frankenstein, writers like Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Allan Poe would write their own stories, contributing to early sci-fi. Speaking of Edgar Allan Poe, he played a key role in the popularisation of the detective genre. His character, Auguste Dupin served as a huge inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle, who later codified the trope of the genius detective with his Sherlock Holmes stories and novels, a must-read for any fan of mystery fiction.
Horror and fantasy were also hugely popular during this era, with ghost stories and tales of the supernatural particularly getting a lot of attention. The adventure genre also grew popular, thanks to books like Treasure Island and King Solomon’s Mines.
The Poets of the Era
The Victorian Era was a great time for literature, particularly the novel. Indeed, it was largely during the Victorian Era that the novel became a popular and respected medium for telling stories. But, it wasn’t just the novel that greatly advanced in the Victorian era. The period is also well-remembered for the poets that thrived during this time.
The Victorian era’s prosperity was powered by industrialisation. While many saw the advancement of technology as a good thing, there were those who were worried about the implications. Some yearned for a simpler, more romantic time. These people were rightly called romantics, and they spawned an entire movement in art and poetry.
Among the most popular romantics was Percy Bysshe Shelley, the husband of Mary Shelley, who we brought up previously. Though Mary largely outshone her husband in history, Percy was a hugely influential poet, whose poems are still quoted to this day. For example, if you’ve ever heard the phrase “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,” you’ve heard a Percy Shelley verse.
Of course, we can’t talk about the romantics without bringing up Lord Byron, the embodiment of what it means to be a romantic poet. His heroes, like him, were angsty, full of anguish, and incredibly anti-heroic. So popular did this trope become that “Byronic hero” is now a term commonly used by writers, critics, and professors of English Literature.
Non-fiction’s Importance
We said before that the advancements in the Victorian era were largely powered by industrialisation. But, industrialisation led to the spread of information. Researchers and scientists also had easy access to their topics of interest, which made it easier to come to conclusions. It is, therefore, not surprising that a lot of scientific fields thrived during the Victorian era.
For example, research in biology was huge. After all, it was during the Victorian era that one of the most important scientific books of all time, if not the most important, was written during this era. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species posits the idea that life on the planet changes and adapts to the environment, which led him to develop the theory of evolution, which holds significant importance in biological, medical, and pharmaceutical research to this day.
All of the natural sciences thrived during the era. However, it was also an era when the social sciences developed. History became a lot more scrutinised, which forced historians to stick to the facts, and therefore, come to more accurate conclusions. Psychology was on the cusp of revolution, which would eventually lead to the modern schools of psychotherapy and mental treatment. Some of the books on social sciences that came out during this era are still important today.
