A Victorian Cockney Panorama Trivia Quiz

Answer: Granddaughter

She was his grand-daughter. Her father, the Duke of Kent was the 4th son of George III. He died prematurely, and the throne went to his Brother, Victoria's Uncle, William IV. William died without having produced a legitimate child.

Victoria had been living in Kensington Palace, where she was born, in reduced financial circumstances with her mother. Her father's death, when she was 11, left her mother, the Duchess of Kent, without funds. The Duchess, realizing that Victoria would be the next in line after William, planned her role as Regent with her unscrupulous lover, Sir John Conroy.

In the end their plans were foiled. Victoria was 18 when William died, and therefore in her majority. Sir John Conroy was sent packing.

Answer: Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens originally published his first novel "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club" in 20 monthly parts for one shilling each, using the pen name Boz. The final installment was in November, 1837. With the introduction of the character of Sam Weller, the chapters became popular enough to warrant publication in book form. Oliver Twist was to follow.

Answer: 500 Pounds

Clara would have been luckier than most, even though it appears to be a pittance. Her Jack was a skilled carpenter, and as such she would have received a pension from the Royal Navy, especially in light of the fact that he had contracted a disease and died while on duty. (Royal Navy, Chatham - Pensions Records).

However, she would have had to bargain with the Admiralty, and probably would have received less without the intervention of Mr. Darwin on her behalf.

HMS Conway sailed from Lima, Peru to England in 1835, carrying many specimens that Charles Darwin had found on the Galapagos Islands.

(For most of the Victorian Era £1 was about $4.85, but prices in Britain were rather higher than in many other countries).

Answer: Churchmen and peers of the Realm

The high and mighty and 'holy' men that owned these properties were never seen, but used the services of unscupulous lawyers to carry out their dirty work. There was no profit to be made in making improvements.

A newspaper of the time called these owners 'Vampyres of the Poor'. This was some of the most profitable property in London, giving many of their owners a 150% return on investment. ("The Blackest Streets" by Sarah Wise).

Answer: 1885

In the early years of Victoria's reign, London was virtually awash with prostitutes and brothels. Women sitting in windows bare to the waist, were a normal sight, and a pervasive lack of morals in London seem to condone any aberrant sexual behavior. (In the 1830s the royal dukes had been notorious for their visits to very expensive, upmarket Mayfair 'women of pleasure' and then kept on asking Parliament for more money).

In 1885 Parliament passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act. The Brothels Suspension Bill had failed to pass in 1840. The Contagious Diseases Acts of 1864, 1866 and 1869 were designed to especially protect the military from venereal diseases, making any woman walking the streets open to arrest and health inspection. The end result was the galvanizing of working and middle class women into the beginnings of a feminist movement.

Answer: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Many journalists and writers of the time depicted the opium drug culture of London. Although fiction gives the impression of middle and upper class use of opium dens, it would seem that most of the clients were drug-addicted seamen, returning from the Orient. Many of the dens in London were to be found in dockland.

The problem that did arise was the excessive use of Laudanum, a tincture of opium. This was used as a pain-killer, but ended up being abused by such people as Elizabeth Barret Browning and ladies of her class. Many died as a result of overuse.

Answer: Prison with hard labor

Deportation to Australia and Tasmania more or less halted by 1840. This immediately caused London prisons to be full to overflowing. Petty crime had become so bad in London, that new prisons were built and prisoners dealt with in a very harsh manner, to discourage further crime.

Apart from hard labor, food could be witheld as a punishment. In addition they made prisoners walk on a treadmill, sometimes all day, with the speed varied according to the whim of the guards. Age was of no matter, so that children were imprisoned with the same penalties as adults.

Answer: 1851

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was a showcase for many of the technical innovations of the age, as well as exhibits from all over the British Empire. After the exhibition closed, many of the exhibits were housed in what is today the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The original price of admission had been three guineas (!) per day, but as London emptied of its wealthier inhabitants during the summer, the price eventually came down to a shilling.

Answer: Russia

The reasons for the Crimean war (1853-56) are complicated and diverse. Russia wanted to protect the Orthodox church in the Holy Land, but felt at liberty to take over the Danubian Principalities. Russia also destroyed the Turkish fleet, while they were at anchor, which incensed the British and the French.

The British generals in the Earl of Cardigan and Lord Raglan were out of touch, incompetent and arrogant, causing, among other things, the useless destruction of the Light Brigade due to bad communication. It seems to have been an unnecessary war, that perhaps should have been settled with good diplomacy rather than unnecessary saber-rattling.

The only good thing that came from this mess was Florence Nightingdale and her influence on nursing. Queen Victoria also introduced the Victoria Cross, at the end of hostilities. It is the highest military medal awarded for valor in the British armed services.

Answer: Benjamin Disraeli

Queen Victoria's absence from the public arena had allowed the population to lose interest in her and interest in republicanism to rise.

In 1874 Disraeli returned for a second term as Prime Minister. The British Empire was all powerful, and India was the 'Jewel in the Crown'. Disraeli encouraged imperialist sentiment in the country and persuaded Parliament to declare Victoria 'Empress of India'. Victoria was delighted and so was most of the country.

John Brown, her Scottish servant, died in 1883. This allowed any idea of a scandalous relationship to diminish, and Victoria became very popular again for the remainder of her reign. She died in 1901.