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European History: 1600s-1800s

Everyday Life in Victorian England

Everyday Life in Victorian England
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.91

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    housekeeper, sociable, engraving, social, london, supervise, remain, member, responsible, parlor, attend, laundry, caption, ordinary, schedule, gossip
     content words:    Household Management, Victorian England

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Everyday Life in Victorian England
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     Caption: Wood engraving from "The Book of Household Management" showing a children's nursemaid on the left. London, 1901
 
2     What was an ordinary day like back in Victorian England? More than anything else, the answer depended on what social class a person belonged to. Let's take a look at the daily routine of some women of the era. One woman is a member of the upper class; she is the lady of the house. The second woman lives in the same house and works as a housekeeper. The third woman also lives and works in the same house, and she is the children's nurse.
 
3     Upon rising, the lady of the house chooses the first of several outfits that she will wear that day. She will remain in her chambers until she is ready to call for her servant to help her dress.
 
4     She is in charge of the household and the children, but with servants to attend to the work, she can take care of her own responsibilities when it suits her.
 
5     In the afternoon, she visits the home of a neighbor. She stays for a short, sociable chat of perhaps one-half hour, or if her neighbor is not at home, she leaves a calling card.

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