Victorian literature Victorian literature Victorian literature is literature, mainly written in English, during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) (the Victorian era). It was preceded by Romanticism and followed by the Edwardian era (1901–1910). While in the preceding Romantic period, poetry had been the dominant genre, it was the novel that was most important in the Victorian period. Charles Dickens (1812–1870) dominated the first part of Victoria's reign: his first novel, "The Pickwick Papers", was published in 1836, and his last "Our Mutual Friend" between 1864–5. William Thackeray's (1811–1863) most famous work "Vanity Fair" appeared in 1848, and the three Brontë sisters,
Portsmouth Rolling Stones, and Fleetingwood Mac. Numerous musical works are set in the city. "Portsmouth Point" is an overture for orchestra by the English composer William Walton in 1925. The work was inspired by Thomas Rowlandson's etching depicting Portsmouth Point, otherwise known as "Spice Island" in Old Portsmouth. The overture was used for the BBC Proms Concert in 2007. "H.M.S. Pinafore" is a comic opera in two acts set in Portsmouth Harbour, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W.S. Gilbert. John Cranko's 1951 ballet "Pineapple Poll", which features the operetta music of "The Bumboat Woman's Story" by Gilbert and