Scraps : The Wit of the Victorians

"At Sheffield the other day, at an inquest on the body of a crippled dwarf, who while drunk had received fatal injuries by falling down stairs, it was stated that he had been in the infirmary with broken limbs no fewer than thirty-three times." These and other interesting snippets are contained within the pages of Scraps, an irreverent look at Victorian life from the newspapers of the day.

In this charming book E.C. Coleman collects together a vast range of extracts, covering subjects as diverse as fashion, weather, medical and technological innovations, political intrigues, sports and international affairs. Taken together, these ''scraps'' of nineteenth-century news trivia demonstrate just how far attitudes, sensibilities and daily life have changed since the heyday of the Victorians.

Beautifully illustrated with contemporary advertisements, this book is a must for all those with a curiosity for the Victorian era and for those looking for a humorous escape from modern life to a time when things were simpler, more certain and much less politically correct.