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What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew

By Clarissa Lee

First published in Malaysiakini.com in 2001

"Guineas, shillings, half-pence. You know what they are?" Mr Dombey asked his little son, Paul.

This is an excerpt from the book Dombey and Son and also the opening sentence to the first part of Daniel Pool’s interesting book, What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew - From Fox-Hunting to Whist - the Facts of Daily Life in 19th century England. An indispensable guide for trivia lovers, die-hard Anglophiles, it is, in the apropos of MG Lord of the New York Newsday, “A delightful book. ... indispensable to lovers of Victorian literature.” I’m inclined to agree with it for it touches on facts of life that are treated in books of 19th century authors like Jane Austen, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy and their contemporaries. Therefore, as mentioned in the introduction itself, events not directly touched upon in the Victorian novels were left out, like the “Crimean War, Chartism (defined by The Random House Webster’s Dictionary as the principles or movement of a group of political and social reformers in England 1838-1848) or factory conditions,” according to Pool. A way of life that's very English, is their pre-occupation with social hierarchy, from the peerage (those of the nobility and landed gentility with a long genealogy that sometimes dates back to William the Conqueror) to the household servants. Their daily affairs and socialising were very class dictated. There was a separation between the pauper, the working-class, the lower-middle class, the middle class, the upper-middle class and the upper class.

Peculiar terms

There was a chasm between the genteel and those ‘in trade’, meaning those who actually work with their hands to eke out a living. The former were presentable in court (at the St James's Palace), but not the latter. The book is divided into two parts, Part one being divided still more into six topics. These are The Basics, The Public World, Transition, The Country, The Private World, and The Grim World. Part Two contains a very long glossary of terms that were used in Part One, especially terms peculiar to the subject of the book, many of which may not be in common use now, though one might still find them in dictionaries. Words like curricle, barouches, broughams, workhouse, sponging-house, furlough, articled clerk, two-penny-post, peg-top, have fallen out of use. There were many other words that were still in use to refer to the archaic or that which were used sparingly. The subjects in this book are covered in a rather comprehensive manner, more to inform than to educate, though there is a bibliography at the back to which one could refer for more reading into the area. It is not to say that the book is superficial or devoid of depth. On contrary, it's well researched, scattered with useful vignettes and golden nuggets of hard-to-find information. It would be nicer if certain things were discussed in greater detail, especially the philosophies that influenced the lives of the Victorians or the more sordid or less pleasant aspects of 9th century England caused by Victorian prudery and repressions, though I would say that Pool has made an effort to at least give us a hint of these things.

Graphic depiction

But then the information of the book is to help readers of Victorian literature understand better what they read, and most Victorian literature are not very graphic in their depiction (with the exception of books like Fanny Hill and Lady Chatterley’s Lover) as most books were written to be read aloud at family gatherings in the drawing room. For all the pageantry and colour of the leisured class, all was not well with the not so well-born. Human rights and equality were unheard of. Women had very little control over their own lives as they were given little education, considered ‘too delicate’ for vigorous sport or mental exercise, and were married off or courted as part of a ‘business transaction’. Most of their property goes to their husband upon marriage though there was also a law to protect them from wastrel husbands. ‘The Basics’ introduces us to 19th century England and London, as well as the currency used then (as was hinted upon in the first paragraph), with its quaint measurements, some dating back to feudal times. Some of the measurements, like hundredweight (cwt) are still in used today. The decimation of currency like guineas, pennies, sovereigns, crowns or half crown and farthings are no longer in use. In London, though the populace and activities have changed, the narrow streets and noise pollution are as bad as ever. ‘The Public World’ dwells a lot on etiquette and the powers that be. It also touches on the social life of the titled and the gentility or those with means to be socially active. There were many rituals that occupy the life of the egalitarian, from the dinner party to the ball, and when summer comes, emigration to the country house for months of hunting, more parties, flirting, walking and sport. Money was the means with which the wealthy maintain their considerable lifestyle. It was also the source of debt and bankruptcy. Hence, the infamous debtor’s jail that Dickens’ father was imprisoned in. There was also the power and the establishment that governed the life of the ordinary Englishman, from boroughs, municipalities to Britannia herself. There’s the Church of England and discrimination against other denominations or religion. It was also a time of colonisation. Oxford and Cambridge, two of the oldest universities in England, were the precinct of the distinguished class and members of the Church of England (which has many practices akin to that of Roman Catholicism until the Low Church came about and caused a split as mentioned in the book.)

Difficult times

Laws were made by members of parliament who were usually landowners or nobility. Punishments were harsh, with very few second chances, as many crimes were punishable by hanging. Travel was hard, as roads were not well maintained. One had to travel by coach and risk stiffness and highwaymen. With the advent of railroads, there was more mobility and people tended less to remain at the parishes of their birth. There was also the development of the mail system. Fencing up of public lands and industrialisation drove the rustics to the urban areas and thus began the history of the slums. Country life was split between the leisured class who spent their time on the estate hunting and those who actually worked the land. There were the tenant farmers, who leased land from the landowners, and yeoman farmers who had their own land though by the time of the Industrial Revolution, the latter and even the former, were a dying breed. The book gives a fascinating preview into the private world of the English household, from the taxing of male servants to the sexuality of the Victorians. Hygiene was not really the order of the day as water was hard to obtain due to the absence of public waterworks. The work of the servants was back-breaking and poorly paid. The common drinks then were beer, ale or tea (though the last was an expensive beverage) as clean drinking water was inaccessible.

Rampant deaths

Clothing were cumbersome for the women and inhibited movement though I must admit to a fascination of 19th century fashion, for it oozes grandeur and obtrusiveness. Though the men looked stylish, it was also pretty troublesome to keep the fragile linen from crumpling. There were different methods of legitimising one's marriage mentioned in the book, from the ‘bann’, that is of advertising one's impending match in the local gazette, to the granting of a special licence. It was a grim world out there then as it is still now. There were no real orphanages and most orphans were sent to the workhouse. Deaths were rampant from diseases and childbirths (especially with the primitive and unhygienic methods of the doctors). It is interesting to note that the Victorians were already recycling; anything that could be salvaged or castoffs that might have monetary value. Recycling was a source of income for the poor and they would even scavenge sewers or collect dog excrement. Life was miserable for the dejected and the poor. All in all, this book could be light reading for the public and a starting point of research for anyone who wishes to know more about 19th century life in England.

CLARISSA LEE is currently a student at the Universiti Malaya where she is ‘struggling’ to get her degree in Physics. She dabbles in writing, among other hobbies, as a form of therapy.

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