Where can I find very specific info on the War of 1812 and 1840-1860's Victorian London?

by EpicChiguire

First of all, greetings. I've been looking for the right sub to post these questions and this is the one that seems likely to be the most appropiate so far. If I am breaking the rules or you believe that I should post this elsewhere, then I beg your pardon and sincerely ask you to suggest me a good sub to put this query on.

I am starting to do a deep research for a personal project I'm working on and I really need accurate and specific info on these two topics.

Regarding to the War of 1812:

  • What did soldiers wear, eat, do when not in combat?
  • What did sailors/privateers wear, eat, how where their living conditions, etc? What kind of ships were used for war and for trading? What were the ranks of the Royal Navy at that time? Basically, how was life at sea for both sides during that turbulent period? *What was the currency used at that time for both americans and british?
  • How was life for the average american throughout the conflict?

Regarding to 1840-1860's Victorian London:

  • Which where the different "levels" that formed or composed the overall of the Victorian society at that time? What was the dress code for any of those levels (from beggars to royalty)
  • In how many districts was London divided at that time and which kind of people used to live in every one of them?
  • What and how were the living conditions of the people living in the slums of London?
  • How was life for the average citizen? What did he wear, eat, in what did he work, etcetera?
  • What was the currency at that period?

As you can see, I have many questions, but I don't know where to find appropiate answers for them, so I thought that I could start in here. If you people could you suggest me any books, maps, even movies, something that can help me with that, I'd be very, very grateful.

I'll be waiting for your answers. Muchas gracias! God bless.

PurloinedPages

My answers will be, perforce, short and lacking in the detail. I'll only be attacking the Victorian questions, and even then leaving many unstated. There's only so much one can do on a short Reddit post on a lunch break.

I strongly recommend you buy the book What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, by Daniel Pool. Though it's popular history and prefers the epigrammatic to the detailed, it will quickly and easily fill you in on all the general aspects of Victorian life from the middle class upwards, as well as the currency and the districts of London. It's a valuable handbook and should answer most of your questions in a single read-through. If that leaves you further questions on those topics, please read Judith Flander's books.

If you'd like to see how the middle-class lived, from their own pens, I cannot more highly recommend the first few chapters of The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton.

For the living conditions of slums, please read Henry Mayhew's London Labour and London Poor, as well as Philip Sugden's utterly invaluable Complete History of Jack the Ripper, which focuses on London and it's citizenry as much as the Ripper and his crimes.

Social classes, though important, were much more relative than in previous periods; your precise position tended to change depending on the social class of the personal judging you. From the status of a Lord you may appear to be low class, from the perspective of a guttersnipe you may appear to be just short of the House of Lords. (You see this occur in the Sherlock Holmes stories, for instance, and if my memory does not deceive me in Dickens as well).

I hope this helps you!