Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era

According to the Preface, The Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era is intended to provide sweeping coverage of the “social, political and intellectual landscape of the British‐dominated world during the years of the reign of Queen Victoria, 1837 to 1901“ (Vol. 1, p. vii). The Encyclopedia “contains 627 signed essays arranged in alphabetical order” beginning with “Acton William” (1814‐1875), the “surgeon, medical author, and venereologist” (Vol. 1, p. viii and p. 1).The main entries conclude with an entry on “Zoological Gardens” (Vol. 4, pp. 212‐4).The readership the Encyclopedia is directed at is both ambitious and catholic. Its essays “are intended to...