The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837

until her death, on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities
and national self-confidence for Britain.[1]Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms
of sensibilities and political concerns to the passage of theReform Act 1832. Within the fields
of social history and literature, Victorianism refers to the study of late-Victorian attitudes and
culture with a focus on the highly moralistic, straitlaced language and behaviour of Victorian
morality. The era followed theGeorgian period and preceded the Edwardian period. The later half
of the Victorian age roughly coincided with the first portion of the Belle poque era of continental
Europe.
Culturally there was a transition away from the rationalism of the Georgian period and
toward romanticism and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and arts.[2] In
international relations the era was a long period of peace, known as the Pax Britannica, and
economic, colonial, and industrial consolidation, temporarily disrupted by the Crimean War in
1854. The end of the period saw the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal
with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual political reform, industrial reform and the
widening of the voting franchise.
Two especially important figures in this period of British history are the prime ministers Benjamin
Disraeli and William Gladstone, whose contrasting views changed the course of history. Disraeli,
favoured by the queen, was a gregarious Tory. His rival Gladstone, a Liberal distrusted by the
Queen, served more terms and oversaw much of the overall legislative development of the era.
During the early part of the era, the House of Commons was headed by the two parties,
the Whigs and theConservatives.Victoria became queen in 1837 at age 18. Her long reign until
1901 was generally characterised mostly by peace and prosperity. There were no great wars.
Britain reached the zenith of its economic, political, diplomatic and cultural power. The era saw
the expansion of the second British Empire. Historians have characterized the mid-Victorian era,
(18501870) as Britain's 'Golden Years.'.[6
The Victorian era was a time of unprecedented demographic increase in Britain. The population
rose from 13.9 million in 1831 to 32.5 million in 1901. Two major factors affecting population
growth are fertility rates and mortality rates. Britain was the first country to undergo
the Demographic transition and the Agricultural andIndustrial Revolutions.
Gothic Revival architecture became increasingly significant during the period, leading to
the Battle of the Stylesbetween Gothic and Classical ideals. Comparison common to the period,
as expressed in Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution: A History and Charles Dickens' Great
Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. Gothic was also supported by critic John Ruskin,
The middle of the 19th century saw The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World's Fair, which
showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was the Crystal Palace, a
modular glass and iron structure the first of its kind. It was condemned by Ruskin as the very
model of mechanical dehumanisation in design, but later came to be presented as the prototype
of Modern architecture. The emergence of photography,
Popular forms of entertainment varied by social class. Victorian Britain, like the periods before it,
was interested in literature (see Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charlotte Bront and her
sisters, Robert Louis Stevenson and William Makepeace Thackeray), theatre and the arts