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Why I Keep Coming Back to the Victorian Era

by Kellyn Roth |
May 23, 2018

Today’s post is going to be rather brief with some quick announcements. First, I was privileged to participate in this year’s Indie eCon! Be sure to follow the link to find out more about it. There’s a lot of amazing and informative blog posts going up on all different genres – and how to write them!

I wrote a blog post about the Georgian, Regency, and Victoria eras. Right now the formatting makes it a bit hard to read, but hopefully that will edit itself or some such.

In that post, I mentioned that the Victorian era is my specialty. Well, that’s pretty much true! Though I don’t know that it’s my favorite era of all time (I also love Edwardian and the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s), it’s definitely one of the best! But why do I write Victorian fiction?


Here are my top five reasons for writing Victorian fiction.

  1. The morals.

    • I’m not legalistic in my personal beliefs, but … there’s something fascinating about the strict propriety of this era.
    • I don’t know why, but it just pulls me in! All the nuances of the rules and regulations that governed proper society are fascinating.
    • (Also, this was an issue of overcorrection, not of complete idiocy. They did have some points!)
  2. The fashions.

    • What? I’m the only one who really wants to try on a corset!
    • You have to admit that the ladies manages to look elegant in a ridiculous way, though, with their sweeping gowns and funny hats.
    • And I will ignore the fact that they were heavy, hot, tight, and scratchy.
  3. The changes.

    • Even in a society ruled by severe, old-fashioned rules, big changes were coming … in fact, many were already there!
    • Railroads, slavery, suffragettes, mills! #hottopics
  4. All the stereotypes.

    • Each generation following has come up with their stereotypes about the Victorian era, and now there’s quite a bundle!
    • It’s fun to sort through them and play with them.
    • Also, racism and oppression was not the only thing that happened in the last ten centuries.
    • *glares at my current history book which gives chapters and chapters to racial stuff and like a paragraph to literal wars* I wanted to learn about all of history? Racism = terrible … but wars = important to learn about, too???
  5. Dickens, Bronte, and BBC.

    • All the authors and all the miniseries have made me want to write in this era!
    • Honestly, if your favorite books and movies were set in an era, you’d want to write about it, too!

One last thing before you go! I’ve decided to extend the beta-reading deadline for Once a Stratton to June 30th. If that deadline makes it easier for you, then I would love to see you sign up!

The first batch of beta emails will go out tomorrow and another Sunday. For that reason, the form will be closed Saturday evening. (If you’re running late, I might open it up for you. I’m that nice kinda person. 😉 )

And … that’s it! I’m working up some exciting stuff about a blog launch, a graduation party, and more, so stay tuned!

TTFN!

~Kellyn Roth~

p.s.

Sometimes Kell needs to take a break from asking questions because she is badly stressed out and period-ish. *all propriety shatters* *Georgiana Farjon faints* *only I get that reference* *but it cracks me up anyway*

What do you think of my thoughts?

25 Responses

  1. To each author, their own genre. ? I personally love writing fantasy-adventure stuff, and I hope to say truthfully and without sounding like I’m bragging that I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

  2. As an aspiring Civil War reenactor, I’ve worn a corset often. And yeah, it gets hot, and there are a LOT of layers that take forever to put on, but it’s not too bad 😀 Pop over to my house and I’ll let you try my things on. 😉 😛

    1. *slightly jealous* 😉 I’ll do that next time I’m in the area! 😛 I’d love to do some reenacting sometime, but I doubt that will happen.

  3. I seriously considered buying a corset at one point. People still make them; you can get Victorian-looking ones for cosplay, but you can also get more modern versions for everyday (or non-cosplay) wear. Apparently, they help with period cramps, not to mention posture. (I didn’t end up buying one, because they’re expensive and I’m generally broke, but y’know.)
    Also, I sympathize with stupid history books that need to get their priorities straight.

    1. Haha, that’s funny! I didn’t know they still made one. I’d want to find a really old-fashioned one myself – like exact replica or even an old relic. 😛
      YES, right?! C’mon, just give me the facts!

      1. I wouldn’t go for an old one, but an exact replica could be interesting.
        Exactly! Or if you’re going to go on tangents, at least make them interesting!

  4. I feel very similar about the Victorian Era! It’s so fascinating, and the rules make it more so rather than taking away from it! It is also a lot easier, I feel, to portray a Christian society in the Victorian times, than the modern one.

    1. YES, exactly! The morals of the era give you a base to build the story on, kinda? Like, you don’t have to convince the characters that something’s wrong AND that they need to turn back from it – they already know it’s wrong. 😉

    1. SAME! I don’t care about some momentary discomfort – not like I’ll be wearing it all the time – but I definitely want to know what it’s like!

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