Charles Dickens used the early 1800s as the backdrop for Great Expectations and Pip as a youngster; however, as the
century progressed, so did the Industrial Revolution with its rapid changes. You will be researching a particular topic
related to the 1800s in Britain, as well as later reforms that brought about change. For example, if your topic was
transportation, you would research the transportation in the early 1800s and then the later inventions that brought about
changes.
TOPIC
INFORMATION TO INCLUDE
1. Childhood/Education
General ideas about children; raising techniques; city vs.
rural; poor vs. wealthy; Types of schools (Dame Schools, Ragged Schools,
Public Schools); Treatment of students; Teachers; poor vs. wealthy; rural
vs. city
2. Health
Misconceptions, Hygiene – public and private, health remedies
Life expectancy – poor vs. wealthy
3. Disease
Hospitals, Cholera, tuberculosis, doctors, treatments
Access to healthcare – poor vs. wealthy
4. Social Classes
Describe different levels; factors that determined class;
movement between;
treatment of classes; marriage/courting customs
5. London/ City Life
Poverty; Size; Population; How London grew during this period;
jobs; housing; poor vs. wealthy; Entertainment, avg. family size
6. Rural Life
Poverty; jobs; population; housing; avg. family size; wealthy
vs. poor, entertainment
7. Morals/Ethics/Values
Values and ethics; work ethic; Gambling; Temperance
(Drinking); Etiquette; idea of prosperity; human dignity
8. People: Charles Dickens:
Biographical sketch; Life as a writer; Influence in Victorian
Era/Contributions; publishing industry – copyright laws, methods of
publishing books/magazines
9. Prisons/Courts/Police
Types of crime; Children and crime; Types of punishment;
Conditions of the prisons; Newgate Prison; Marshalsea Prison
Criminals in Australia
10. Women’s Roles
Mother; Governess; Teacher; Seamstress; Married Women’s
Property Act; First Alimony/Divorce; Women’s rights
11. Religion
Overview of Religion during the Victorian Age, John Henry
Newman, The Oxford Movement, Salvation Army, YMCA
12. The Industrial Revolution
History/Explanation of and Its Influence in England and
World
13. Child labor in England
(include kinds of jobs from the early period and later period;
apprenticeships, working conditions, laws to control child
labor)
14. Major Events
Expansion of the British Empire; diplomacy, military force
Social Reform movements