Eating with the Victorians

If we could be transported back some two hundred years to spend a day in the eighteenth century, one of the suprises for most people would be the difference in the timing and structure of meals. Luncheon had only recently become established when Victoria came to the throne, and her reign also saw the invention of the Great British Breakfast. Tea was added to Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management in 1880. The modern timetable for meals reflects the patterns which we established in the nineteenth century, and the story of Victorian meals is set out in the chapters of this book. It is arranged meal by meal, throughout the day, from breakfast to supper, and offers a new and revealing look at life in Victorian Britain.