Jeremy Paxman’s unique portrait of the Victorian world takes readers on an exciting journey through the birth of modern Britain. Using the paintings of the era as a starting point, he tells us stories of urban life, family, faith, industry and empire that helped define the Victorian spirit and imagination.

To Paxman, these paintings were the television of their day, and his exploration of Victorian art and society shows how these artists were chronicling a world changing before their eyes. This enthralling history is Paxman at his best – opinionated, informed, witty, surprising – and a glorious reminder of how the Victorians made us who we are today.

What the critics say...

A real contribution to art history, introducing the reader to a rich mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar... the book certainly taught me things about the Victorians that I either did not know or had not thought about with sufficient imagination
A.N. WilsonThe Guardian

A wonderful introduction to the sheer vibrancy of the Victorian era... genuinely impressive
Dominic SandbrookThe Evening Standard