Victorian Publishing History

During the nineteenth century, the population of England grew from 8.9 to 32.5 million. This increase was accompanied by the rapid expansion of cities, as many people left rural areas to seek employment in the developing centres of industrialisation, situated mostly to the North of the country in places such as Manchester and Sheffield.

The railway became a vital source of transport for most people, connecting smaller towns and villages to important centres of trade and commerce. Urban life meant that new pastimes and leisure activities such as tourism, visits to the theatre, museums and exhibitions, were made available to a larger section of society, and the habits of individuals consequently changed as many adopted a city lifestyle. These alterations had a great influence upon the rise of literacy rates and the history of Victorian publishing in general.