Igati praktiline teatmik 19. sajandi Inglismaa veidrate tavade ja olude kohta. Lisaks mõõtühikutele ja rahasüsteemile võib siit leida ka esoteerilisemat värki nagu õigusemõistmine, hügieen (või selle puudumine), toitumine, riietus ja seks (või selle puudumine). Mitut alkoholi sisaldavat jõulusööki riskisime möödunud pühade aegu oma pere peal katsetada ja see oli küll vaeva väärt.

Daniel Pooli raamat on mõeldud USA publikule, aga mandrieurooplaste jaoks jätkub seal ka piisavalt üllatusi. Paistab, et mõne lugeja jaoks tundus tulemus kuivavõitu, aga mina sain küll mitmes kohas naerda.

This was a hoot.

This is the book I needed to read for a while, just to grok all of that stuff I was reading in Austen and Trollope and know what they were talking about--like money and dances and social rules.

I even read the glossary (which is half the book almost) straight through. At times, that was a chore, though, so I can't recommend that approach.

However, if you love classic 18th century lit and wonder "why are they asking her for the first two dances?" and "what's the big deal about being presented?" and "what the frack is a warden doing out of prison?"--then you should read this.

Again, maybe not straight through, but definitely fun.

It also made me want to read more classics.

A fun collection of facts and details about 19th-century life. It's actually pretty helpful for understanding some of the perplexing details which are rattled off in Austen or Trollope as quite commonplace and which 21st-century readers have never heard of. It's a worthwhile investment for anyone who plans to do a lot of Victorian Brit reading.

Chock-full of fascinating facts, and essential for anyone needing detailed information about the complexities of the era. Actors, writers, researchers, and 1800's-philes will find this a handy Victorian-to-English dictionary.

An interesting look into what life was like in England in the 19th Century. It makes me appreciate what life is like now here in the United States.

Nineteenth Century England was a rather unhealthy place run by people who disdained anything remotely resembling productivity. If these people were able to build and keep an empire for so long, what does that say about the rest of the world?

What is a lord chancellor? What, exactly, was a pound worth? How much weight was a “stone”? Is a peer a hereditary or bestowed title? Which of society members constitutes a peerage? Give up?

This is a comprehensive—at times almost staggeringly so—look at what life was like for the highborn and lowborn living in 19th-century England. It’s mainly a sort of glossary about those parts of novels written during this time that might baffle modern day readers but which would have been obvious to people living in those times.

Here, the ins and outs of 19th-century society, its mores, practices, titles, weather, privileges, rights, laws, etc., are explored in detail while using clear, comprehensible language for the layman. (However, the passages about the movements of Parliament, the House of Commons and other political parties tend to be rather dry and not as entertaining or as easy to follow as other parts of the book.)

Whether you're a reader who wants more insight about that Anthony Trollope novel you’re reading, a history student or merely curious about this period (what made London fog that sulphurous color anyway?), this book is a marvelous find and would make a great gift for the Austen-obsessed scholar.

This is a must for lovers of 19th century English literature. It is a great guide to help you through those tidbits and terms that leave the reader confused when Austen talks of whist or Dickens starts into money exchanges. A necessary reference for avid readers.

Great for that European History reader in you! Also excellent read if you need to teach the European History at any point....you too can answer all those students questions. It didn't get five stars because I didn't like the way it was organized.

I had to buy this book as soon as I saw that it addressed that mysterious game of whist-- what are the rules, what is the goal, can I play?-- and I am still reading it-- it is, however, proving a handy reference for questions which arise as I reread Jane Austen.

Not what I had been expecting when I first picked it up, but still enjoyable for anyone interested in a very detailed outlining of mainly 19th century life in England. I loved all the literary context he gave throughout the book and will be using it in future as a reference guide.

I like what I read so far in this book; however, I haven't yet finished it, and unfortunately must move on to something else. For me, this is less a book to read from cover to cover and more of a reference to use when reading 19th C. English fiction. Or, dare I say it, a book to keep in the bathroom to read a little at a time.

i found this book interesting, and loved the author's humor. i would've given it more stars if not for knowing 3/4 of the stuff in it. too much regency to late victorian reading. but some info i was pleasantly surprised by.