Alcohol in Victorian England

Since its discovery, alcohol has long been synonymous with parties and general rowdiness. It should come as no surprise that the same holds true during the Victorian Era in England. The Victorian era was a time of peace and prosperity for much of Britain, the emergence of industrialism and the further development of British colonies led to a middle-class to distinguish itself. Naturally leisurely activities emerged and the British people soon found themselves new and exciting ways to enjoy the prosperity of Britain. Perhaps the most prominent leisurely activity was the consumption of alcohol at not only drinking halls but also sporting events and casual meals. As drinking became more prevalent those who disapproved of the rowdy drunkards started to form coalitions. Britain soon underwent a temperance movement that looked to stop public drunkenness and general misconduct under the influence of alcohol. Eventually this would lead to a teetotalism movement that wanted to ban alcohol entirely.

This paper will examine Peter Baileys’ Leisure and Class in Victorian England, Lilian Lewis Shimans’ Crusade Against Drink in Victorian England, Mike J. Huggins “More Sinful Pleasures? Leisure, Respectability and the Male middle Classes in Victorian England”, David W. Gutzkes’ “Gentrifying the British Public House”, John Bensons’ “Drink, Death and Bankruptcy: Retailing and Respectability in Late Victorian and Edwardian England”, and finally Brian Harrisons’ Drink and the Victorians: The Temperance Question in England . This paper will attempt to compare these historians’ accounts about the role of drink in Victorian England and from it, find the similarities and discrepancies in their respective accounts.

Mike J. Huggins’ article is centered...

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... in England, 1815-1872 (Michigan: Keele University Press, 1994)

Shiman, Lilian Lewis. Crusade Against Drink in Victorian England (New York: St.Martin’s Press, 1988)

Bailey, Peter. Leisure and Class in Victorian England ( Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978)

Huggins, Mike J. “More Sinful Pleasures? Leisure, Respectability, and the Male Middle Classes in Victorian England.” Journal of Social History, vol 33, no.3 (Spring 2000) http://www.jstor.org/stable/3789212

Benson, John. “Drink, Death and Bankruptcy: Retailing and Respectability in Late Victorian and Edwardian England.”Vol 32, no.1 (June 2007)

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/mdh/2007/00000032/00000001/art00006

Getzke, David W. “Gentrifying the British Public House, 1896-1914” International and Working Class Labour. No.45 ( Spring 1994)

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27672124