19th Century Context
Crime and Violence
Heavily influenced by poverty
Crime was seen as a moral problem that could be redeemed through the bible
High class ladies feared going outside after dark
75% of all recorded crime was petty theft. Only 10% of crimes were violent and murder was relatively rare
Large amounts of people in one area made it easy for people to pickpocket
Victorian gentleman
A lot of importance was placed on reputation
A gentleman was not required to work
They had more rights than women and were considered the heads of their household
Physical appearance was especially important. They had to be well presented with not a hair out of place
Darwin's Theory of Evolution
London Life
Poison and Drugs
Victorian people did not understand his theory despite it being written in a way that majority of people could understand
The Church criticised him for his findings
There were other people who wrote about evolution before him but he was the first to have solid evidence
People felt that they had to choose between science or religion
Pollution was caused by burning cheap soft coal which caused pea soup fog (green fog)
Poor visibility caused lots of traffic incidents and lights had to be on all day to help prevent this
Increase in crime (since people were hidden by the fog) and in disease
Dangerous for pedestrians. Some poeple fell and drowned in the Thames
Lot's of people immigrated from all over the world
30% of the population were living on or below the bread line
Going to the chemist was free but going to the doctors was expensive
People could buy a wide array of drugs without a prescription.
Opium was a very popular recreational drug with different coatings depending on your wealth. (Gold coating-very rich, silver coat-rich, varnish-poor)
Poisons like cyanide, arsenic and strychnine were easily available and widely used for murder
Doctors and Sawbones
Most medicines were botanical
Bleeding and leeching were still popular
Lots of medical breakthroughs were made in the late 19th century
Saws were used to take off diseased limbs
High risk of infection from surgery meant that amputation was the safest option
Robert Stevenson's Life
36 years old when he wrote 'Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde'
Illness featured a lot in his life. For example he was ill so often as a child that he was home-schooled by a private tutor
He travelled a lot during uni (where he studied law) and this is where he found his sense of adventure and love for writing
Supernatural
Queen Victoria and Albert were involved in seances
In the 1830's and 1840's people believed that 'mesmerism' could heal by manipulating invisible flows between bodies
Belief in the supernatural grew after 2 sisters in New York were being haunted by a man who was murdered in the house they lived in
Sigmund Freud
Believed we are made up of our id, ego, and superego
He was an Austrian neurologist who believed that our unconscious spoke to us through our dreams
Working Class
Children as young as 5 were put to work
People worked very long hours with terrible pay
There were no workers rights for a large portion of the 19th century but that slowly began to change later on
Whole villages would be built around factories and factories and everyone who lived there would work in that factory