The Victorians (Rees-Mogg book)

The book was subject to a largely negative critical reception.^[1][2] Columnist A. N. Wilson called it "staggeringly silly" and "morally repellent",^[3] while historian Richard J. Evans described it as "plodding, laborious, humourless and barely readable".^[4]

It has been criticised for including only one woman, for failure to use primary sources, and on literary grounds. In her review, scholar of the Victorian period Kathryn Hughes wrote, "At least we know The Victorians isn't ghost written, since no self-respecting freelancer would dare ask for payment for such rotten prose".^[2]

Dominic Sandbrook, reviewing the book for The Sunday Times, described it as "bad, boring and mind‑bogglingly banal".^[5][6]

However, the historian Andrew Roberts described the book as "a full-throated, clear-sighted, well-researched and extremely well-written exposition of the Victorians and their values".^[7]

• The Victorians at Penguin Books