Page 18 - All About History 55 - 2017 UK

The WriTTen Word

THE A VictoriAn A gentlemAnly
Profession
Anatomy noVelist In Victorian Britain, publishing any kind
WHAT’S REALLY IN A NAME?
of literary work was reserved for men.
of However, this did not deter many female
UNITED KINGDOM, 1837-1901 male pseudonyms. For example, Emily
authors who simply published under
Brontë’s Wuthering Heights was originally
published by an ‘Ellis Bell’, while George
Eliot is still better known by her pen
insPirAtion name than as Mary Anne Evans.

WHAT IS PROSE WITHOUT
A MARVELLOUS IDEA?
Queen Victoria’s reign saw huge PAPer And
population growth, improvements mAnuscriPts
in technology and changing
worldviews, along with great PAPER CAME AT
poverty. There were also fascinations A PREMIUM
with death and macabre themes as
Until the mid 1800s,
well as romantic, modern fairy tales
the process of making
— plenty of inspiration abounded for
paper was done by hand.
the canny author.
But advances during the
Industrial Revolution
mechanised procedures
that allowed output to
increase. However,
paper remained an
expensive luxury.
seriAl stories
GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT
THEY WANT
Novels were often
published in three parts
to maximise profits and
also make reading more Pen And ink
affordable for people.
There were also popular PLUCK A FANCY
series that featured in FEATHER
papers and periodicals, Despite the typewriter
making writing a being a Victorian
very time-consuming invention, most writing
occupation as authors was penned by hand.
needed to meet demand. The Victorians used
quill pens — long
feathers from large
birds such as swans
that were treated and
sharpened. Later on,
metal nibs were also
used with quills.

the writing desk
An uPPer-clAss Writing, as a pastime or vocation
TAKE A SEAT
VocAtion of the upper classes, was
almost ceremonial. It was an
IN A QUEST TO BECOME AN AUTHOR, FIRST LEARN TO WRITE intellectual and studious activity
Literacy rates were on the rise during the Victorian period. People could for which no ordinary table was
commonly read — giving the writers their audience — but not write. sufficient. Different types of
Instead, most writers were from the upper classes often benefited as desks evolved with the fashions,
usually consisting of a slanted
much from the freedom to pursue their craft as the education that
© Kevin McGivern inherited wealth gave them. The era’s most iconic author, Charles cubbyholes for inkwells, quills
fold-down top and plenty of
Dickens, was the exception to the rule, working in a factory aged 12
and other paraphernalia.
while his family languished in debtor’s prison.
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