Interview

As part of our series about the Victorian time at the end of the 19th century.
Today we are talking to Mr. James Brown, 110 years old man who can tell us a lot about the Victorian time in Great Britain.

I: Mr. Brown can you please tell our readers something about your family and how you lived?
B: Well, I was born 1897 into a very poor family in Brixton. My father died before I was born and my mother had to bring through me and my other 7 siblings. My mother worked as a cleaning help in a rich family. She had to work very hard and long but didn’t get paid a lot.
I: That sounds quite hard. Did you children also had to work?
B: Of course we had to. I had to start with 10 years because I was a boy. Near our house a cotton factory had opened and they asked all children in our neighbourhood to come to work.
As we had nothing else to do and we needed the money I started there. I had to pick up cotton balls and put them on a production line. It was very boring and exhausting because it was incredible hot in the factory.
I: Was there anyone who had taken a look on the children?
B: Well in late 19th century there were laws enacted for the protraction of children. For example no child under the age of 10 was allowed to work in a factory or in the underground. My oldest brother though had to work with 5 years because there haven’t been any laws.
I: Did all children had to work?
B: Of course not. Children from rich families could go to school. At home most of them had their own room, where they could sleep ate and play.
I remember a girl from the neighbourhood, who was rich. She had a huge dollhouse and least 15 dolls. Children as me could only dream of having a toy.
I: Why couldn’t you attend school?

B: Well, from the age of 4 to 10 we had go to school. There was a school in every village. Afterwards we could have, but we had to go to work. Otherwise our family would have had less money and we wouldn’t have been able to survive therefore we all went to work somewhere.

I: Compared to nowadays was school different or the same?
B: In a way yes. For example our teacher sat in front of the class as it is also now. In every class there was a picture of the Queen Victoria and a bible. Though there were also differences, so the boys had separate lessons, for example maths and science. The girls had other specifies lessons but I don’t know what exactly. But I guess that the girls were mainly educated in housework because that was the main duty of women in our time.
I: But wasn’t I also the fact that woman got more duties, rights and respect in the Victorian time?
B: Oh yes that’s right, women became more important. In general the mother of a house was the moral guardian. Also fashion became interesting for women and the wanted to show there own identity. Therefore more and more magazines and newspapers occurred which were mainly read by women. In my own family though it was different. As we had no father are mum had no time for fashion or such things. She had to get us through and keep the household up.
I: As our last question to you Mr. Brown. Please describe the life in general in the Victorian time?
B: For my family it was a hard time. In review I think it was a very important time for all of us. Industries developed, so lather a lot of people had a good work. Too the people started to think about several things, as religion. The began to doubt if it was right what we were told about 100 of years.
I: So after all we could say the Victorian time was a hard but at the same a very important time for our country.
Thanks you Mr. Brown for giving our readers a view into life at that time.
B: You’re welcome. Thanks you.

To our regret we were informed a week after the interview that MR. Brown has passed away.

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