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In historical fiction it is important to be accurate and the only way to do so is to research the era. What is highly recommended by many writers is to write your story first. While writing your story, mark the parts that you’re not sure are correct and then do the research after you are done. This is to prevent you from doing unnecessary research that may not be relevant to your work. You want to spend your time wisely! Or you can just research as you go, it’s really whatever works for you since there isn’t a “wrong” way to research.

To begin, the Victorian era of the British history (and that of the British Empire) formally begins in 1837, which was the year Victoria became Queen and ends in 1901 – the year of her death. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities and political concerns to the passage of the Reform Act 1832. [1]

Names

1000 Most Popular Victorian Names

Victorian Era Names, A Writer’s Guide

Victorian Darlings - British Baby Names

Society & Life

Victorian Society

The Victorians: Life and Death

The Victorian Working Life

A Woman’s Place in 19th Century Victorian History

Victorian Occupations: Life and Labor in the Victorian Period

Flirting and Courting Rituals of The Victorian Era

Victorian Working Women

Victorian Life

Glimpses of Victorian Life

Victorian Rituals & Traditions

Victorian Etiquette

Etiquette, Manners and Morals

Almanac - Etiquette and Manners Victorian Era

Victorian Britain - Children at Work

Children in the Victorian Age

Collège Sainte-Barbe - Children in the Victorian Age

University of Victoria - Victorian Childhood

Museum of London - What Was Life Like for Children?

Victoria and Albert Museum - Victorian Children (PDF)

University of Strathclyde - Victorian Children

Daily Life in the Victorian Era

How the Mid-Victorians Worked, Ate and Died

How did the Victorians mourn?

The House of Mourning - Victorian Mourning & Funeral Customs in the 1890s

Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain

Etiquette of a Victorian Lady

Going to School in Victorian Times

History of Working Class Mothers in Victorian England

Life of the Victorian Woman

The Working Class and The Poor

Victorian Women’s Work

Needlework, Knitting and Crohet

Victorian Etiquette - Births and Christenings

Victorian Ballroom Dancing Etiquette

Ballroom Manners and Etiquette

How Prudish were the Victorians really?

Gresham College - The Victorians: Gender and Sexuality

Victorian and Albert Museum - Sex & Sexuality in the 19th Century

Why were the Victorians so crazy about public spaces, like parks?

Victorian Homes and Gardens

The Shops and Shopkeepers

Victorian Christmas

The History of British Winters

Top Ten Pet Peeves, or Horse-Related Mistakes to Avoid in your Story

Marriage in the Victorian Era

Victorian Wedding Guide

Husbands and Wives in the Victorian Era

Victorian Technology

History - Victorian Technology

Gresham College - The Victorians: Religion and Science

Household Management and Servants of the Victorian Era

BBC News - Servants: A Life below Stairs

Life as a Servant in Victorian England

What Servants would you find in a Victorian household?

The Servant’s Quarters in 19th Century Houses Like Downton Abbey

Victorian Domestic Servant  Hierarchy and Wages

Australian National University - The Victorian Merchant-Elite and the Chinese Question (PDF)

Project MUSE - The Chinese in Britain, 1800-Present: Economy, Transnationalism, Identity

Untold London - The Chinese In Limehouse 1900 - 1940

JSTOR - The Journal of Negro History: Black Ideals of Womanhood in the Late Victorian Era

H‑Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online - Black Victorians

Wikipedia - Black British

History Today - Black People in Britain: The Eighteenth Century

University College London - Black Londoners 1800-1900

The Guardian - The Black Victorians: Astonishing Portraits Unseen for 120 Years

BBC News - Short History of Immigration: The 1800s

Commerce

British Money

Wages and Cost of Living in the Victorian Era

Pricing and Money

Victorian Money

Cost of Living in Victorian England

How Much Is That - Calculating Prices Throughout the Years

Entertainment & Food

Victorian Menu - Cooking and Recipes

A Time Traveler’s Guide to Victorian Era Tea Etiquette (PDF)

The Victorian Pantry

Victorian Era Food Recipes

Victorians Food Facts - Cookbook

Food, Recipes and Tea

Victorian Tea Time Recipes - Sandwich and Cheese Straws

Victorian Era Recipes

Victorian Food, Party & Recipes

Victorian Dinner Parties

19th Century Food and Drink

Victorian Cooking: Upperclass Dinner

eHow - Weekly Meals Eaten in the Victorian Era

Victorian Dinner Parties

What did the Victorians have for breakfast?

Victorian Ladies Who Lunch, Or: Luncheon Places and Tea Rooms for Ladies

History Magazine - What Time is Dinner?

What the Poor Ate

The Arts in Victorian Britain

Victorian Art, Literature and Music 

Music, Theater, and Popular Entertainment in Victorian Britain

Victorian Entertainments - We Are Amused

19th Century Hobbies and Daily Activities

Victorian Pastimes and Sports

Victorian Fun and Games & Other Pastimes

19th Century British and Irish Authors

Gresham College - The Victorians: Art and Culture

What is up with the depictions of half naked Victorian era women fencing in artworks?

Hygiene, Health & Medicine

Health and Hygiene in the Nineteenth Century

Victorian Diseases and Medicine

Health & Medicine in the 19th Century

19th Century Diseases

Victorian Health

Five Horrible Diseases You Might Have Caught in Victorian England

Alcohol and Alcoholism in Victorian England

A Look Back at Old-Time Medicines

Victorian London’s Drug Culture

Victorian - Medical Breakthroughs

Victorian Hospitals

Victorian - Baths and Washhouses

Medicine and Health in Victorian Times

The Victorian Revolution in Surgery

Victorian Science and Medicine

Victorian Health and Medicine

Women’s Health

Questions about Victorian Women Menstruation

Victorian View on Menstruation

Reusable Menstrual Products

Childbirth and Birth Control in the 19th Century

British Maternal Mortality in the 19th and early 20th Centuries

The Historical Horror of Childbirth

Contraception: Past, Present and Future Factsheet

History of Contraception in America, 19th Century Artifacts

UCLA School of Public Health - Anesthesia and Queen Victoria

Science Museum - John Snow (1813-58)

Science Museum - Chloroform

University of Liverpool - The Demography of Victorian England and Wales (PDF)

Gresham College - The Victorians: Life and Death

Colton History Society - Village History in Staffordshire, England (Victorian Health)

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment -  Do you have anything about an asthmatic in the Victorian era?

Science Museum - Nerve Tonics

The Pennington Edition - Victorian Remedies

Fashion

Dressing the Victorian Woman

Victorian Hats

Victorian Jewelry

Victorian Hairstyles & Headdresses

Hair of the Nineteenth Century

How to Dress for Travel in 1852

Victorian Men’s Clothing

How to Dress Like a Victorian Man from the 1860s

How to Dress Victorian

Victorian Era Fashion

Royal Fashion

Victorian Fashion

Boy’s 1860s Fashions

Dressing the Victorian Girl of the 1890s

Victoria’s Real Secret – The Victorians Knew Underwear

How to Undress a Victorian Lady in Your Next Historical Romance

Early Victorian Undergarments; Part 1, luxurious silk hose, colorful stockings, & socks

Early Victorian Undergarments; Part 2, Chemises and camisoles

Early Victorian Undergarments; Part 3, Pantalettes, pantalets, drawers, and bloomers

Victorian Ladies Shoes & Boots

Victorian Swimwear

Victorian Men and Woman Swim Wear

Dialogue

Victorian Language

The Language of Flowers

Victorian London - Words and Expressions

A Dictionary of Victorian Slang (1909)

Victorian Slang

19th Century Swears

Victorian Slang - Lower Class and Underworld

Cliches and Saying of the Victorian Era

The Dictionary of Victorian London

Justice & Crimes

How Safe Was Victorian London?

Crime and the Victorian Household

Danger inside the Train: Crime on Victorian Railways

Railway Mania

How Widespread Were Concerns About Prostitution?

Fallen Women

The Great Social Evil: Victorian Prostitution

University of Massachusetts at Boston - The Great Social Evil: Victorian Prostitution

BBC History - Child Prostitutes: How the age of consent was raised to 16

University of Minnesota - Victorian Era: There are Two Kinds of Women…

University of London - The Real Rippers Street: Pathology, Policing, and Prostitution in Victorian London

University of Brighton - The Fetishization and Objectification of the Female Body in Victorian Culture

University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law - Homosexuality and the Law in England

Sexual Violence in Nineteenth Century England

Victorian Poisoners

Crime and the Victorians

Victorian Crime

Victorian Crime & Punishment

Victorian Women Criminals’ Records Show Harsh Justice of 19th Century

Sentences and Punishments

Types of Punishments - Hanging

Types of Punishments - Imprisonment

Victorian Children in Trouble with the Law

Child Prisoners in Victorian Times

Victorian Crime

Victorian-era Serial Killers

The Development of a Police Force

The Metropolitan Police

A Work-Life History of Policemen in Victorian and Edwardian England (PDF)

How The Victorians Cracked Crime

Tracking a 19th-Century Serial Killer

the exhausted

“I can’t sleep.”

“I can’t keep my eyes open.”

“Can you help me back to bed?”

“I’m okay. I’m not even that tired.”

“I don’t remember the last time I slept.”

“I can’t sleep, yet. There’s too much to do.” 

“I don’t want to sleep. I keep having nightmares.”

“I promise I’ll sleep in a bit, just let me finish this, first.”

“Can you help me lie down? I can’t move, I’m too tired.”

“I can’t even think straight anymore… maybe I need to sleep.”

“Of course I want to relax. But, we don’t all get what we want.”

“I’m so tired I can’t do anything, but I’m not tired enough to sleep…”

the concerned

“You keep yawning.”

“Go. Sleep. That’s not a request.”

“If you’re that tired, just take a nap.”

“You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were this tired?”

“Those are some bad bags under your eyes.”

“You don’t have to push so hard. It’s okay to rest.”

“You can barely keep your eyes open, go lie down.”

“I haven’t seen you sleeping in a long time, what’s up?”

“I just had to stop you from toppling over. You’re not okay.”

“With everything you’ve been through lately, of course you’re tired.”

“I heard you thrashing around last night. Nightmares? Is that why you’re so tired?”

“You know, you keep fretting over everyone else, but you won’t even take a second to relax, yourself.”

misc

(doze) : one muse falls asleep on the other’s shoulder

(tuck) : one muse finds the other passed out onto the bed, and tucks them in

(collapsed) : one muse finds the other passed out on the floor from exhaustion

(carry) : one muse finds the other after they’ve fallen asleep on a chair / couch, and carries them to bed 

(cover) : one muse finds the other asleep somewhere other than bed and covers them with a blanket / their jacket

(assist) : one muse finds the other so tired they’re having trouble standing and helps them walk somewhere to lie down

I made these as a way to compile all the geographical vocabulary that I thought was useful and interesting for writers. Some descriptors share categories, and some are simplified, but for the most part everything is in its proper place. Not all the words are as useable as others, and some might take tricky wording to pull off, but I hope these prove useful to all you writers out there!

also included some aimed at cohabitating couples

“Did we leave the stove on?”

“Did you remember to unplug that?”

“Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

“Do you wanna just order pizza tonight?”

“You’re slowing down the internet, again.”

“I washed dishes last night. It’s your turn.”

“Seriously? You ate them all? Without me?”

“Do you have to have your music that loud?”

“Oh, don’t give me that! It had my name on it!”

“Scootch over, you’re hogging the whole couch.”

“You made dinner? Thanks, it smells really good.“

“Touch my chips and you’re gonna meet the lord.”

“My Netflix password, I get to decide what we watch.”

“If you touch that thermostat one more time, I swear…”

“Oh, yeah, light’s been burnt out for, like, a week, now.”

“Put down the broom and go to bed, you’re exhausted.”

“I just pulled all these out of the couch. Care to explain?”

“I swear, this place is haunted. The lights keep flickering.”

“No. You can’t solve every household issue with duct-tape.”

“Was that the sound of a pipe bursting? Please, tell me no.”

“You can’t just hoard (trash item). You’re like a dragon of garbage.”

“Well, I would’ve liked to sleep, but SOMEONE hogged the bed last night.”

“Our neighbors keep eyeing our little garden. I think they’re jealous. Good.”

“So, don’t panic, but you know how they say you shouldn’t microwave metal…?”

“Excuse you, you don’t need a pillow. I’m right here, and perfectly pillow-shaped!”

“Did you really write ‘REDRUM’ on the mirror? You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Hey, I know you’ve had a rough day, so I made a quick stop and picked up your favorite snack.”

“Sorry I didn’t warn you that I sleepwalk. Didn’t mean to become your sleep paralysis demon.”

“Yeah, I’d love to do the yardwork… if it could stop snowing/raining/storming for more than ten seconds.”

“I was going to throw out the milk, but it’s been in there so long, it gained sentience and I’m scared to get near it.”

“Since things keep breaking, I think we have a household ghost. And I’m gonna name him Steve. Steve, you’re a dick.”

“Apparently, you can duct tape a person to a wall. We have duct tape. We have a wall. Are you seeing where I’m going with this?”

#1. Types of swords

Cavalry swords, two-handed swords, and cutlasses - these swords are used commonly for hacking and slashing - so they are swung in arcs or from side to side, not thrust forward.

Rapiers and small swords are one-handed weapons that are thin and light, but often quite long. They are used for thrusting and slicing, but as you can imagine they aren't much use in actual battle, but commonly used for sparring.

The third type is a mixture of the two - but less commonly found.

#2. Terminology

Fainting/Feinting - A false attack intended to create an opening for the real attack.

Parrying - When a swordsman uses his blade to deflect his opponent’s blade when he is being attacked.

Advance - A short forward movement

Fuller - A groove down the side of the sword to release suction when stabbed into a person's body.

Hilt - The base of the sword near your hands that isn't the blade

Pivot - Turning 180 degrees while keeping a foot planted

False edge - the "back" of the sword that isn't sharp and what you don't usually fight with.

#3. Common myths

A secret move that leads to victory - There is rarely such a "secret" move. Like chess, swordfighting is won through strategy and careful thinking, as well as physical prowess, not sEcRetT mOveS.

The Dramatic PauseTM - Nope, doesn't happen in real life. No one actually glares at each other in the middle of a swordfighting match when their priority should be, yknow, surviving.

#4. The Learning Curve of swordfighting

Unlike an ordinary learning curve where you slowly get better at something, in swordfighting, an untrained novice is much better than someone practising for a few months. This is because their actions are almost always wild and unpredictable. When a student receives training, their skill will actually decline over the next few months, because they will be trying to fight by the rules and are naturally not good at it. It takes at least two years to become a good swordsperson.

#5. The actual swordfighting itself

Footwork - Forward and back, in a line, in a semi-circle, a pivot. The basic goal of footwork is to give you a balanced center from which you can lunge, advance, retreat, attack, and parry. It also helps maintain the appropriate distance from your opponent and percieve.

Timing - How fast/slow is your opponent? How fast is your reaction time?

Every fighter has a different style. Some may naturally be inclined to use a certain move over and over, and have weakpoints in say, their reaction time. It is important that your character has a proper swordfighting style.

Predictability - How good are your characters/opponents at anticipating and learn each others fighting style? That determines the outcome of the fight!

Rapier, c. 1650, Cleveland Museum of Art: Medieval Art

The rapier was a sword worn with civilian dress and used in duels. The term rapier derives from a 16th-century French word rapière, which in turn derived from the Spanish espada ropera, or “dress sword.” The rapier was a light weapon with a straight double-edged and pointed blade that, with the development of the art of fencing in the 1500s and 1600s, gradually became narrower and lighter, and thus suitable for thrusts only. With the new technique of swordplay emphasizing the point of the blade, sword guards became more complex to protect the duelist’s unarmored hand. These elaborate guards were frequently decorated by various techniques—chiseling, bluing, russeting, and damascening. Size: Diameter: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.); Overall: 105.6 cm (41 9/16 in.); Blade: 99.5 cm (39 3/16 in.); Quillions: 29.6 cm (11 5/8 in.) Medium: steel, pierced and chiseled, leather and wood grip

they/them

choose your fighter - nonbinary pirate

they/them

the tape is off! let the scar treatment begin.

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