4 Dark (And Deadly) Facts About the Victorians

Grim details about the Victorians …

A photograph of Queen Victoria with her family by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, 1861 (Wikimedia Commons)

The Victorian era holds a special place in the hearts of many British people.

This fascinating chapter of our history featured an industrial boom, fantastic literature, progressive political reforms, and one of the most famous monarchs in British history.

But, despite all the advances, the Victorian era was still pretty horrific, especially for the poor. Cramped slums, grotesque living conditions, and staggering levels of inequality were commonplace.

So, if you want to dig into the dark underbelly of nineteenth-century Britain, you’ve certainly come to the right place …

1. Gangs Dug Up Bodies and Sold Them For Profit

An engraving of grave robbers by G. B. Standfust, c. nineteenth century (Wikimedia Commons)

By the dawn of the Victorian era, robbing graves and selling the bodies was a well-established part of the black market.

It was a lucrative profession, with body snatchers making considerably more money than they would with a typical manual job. The snatchers normally operated in gangs during the night. They would dig up graves, strip the…