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 in the area continued until 1974. Developers still occasionally find unexploded bombs in the area, such as on the site of the destroyed Hippodrome theatre in 1984. Despite improvements made by the city council to build new accommodation, a survey made in 1955 concluded that 7000 houses in Portsmouth were unfit for human habitation. Following a controversial decision, a whole section of central Portsmouth, including Landport, Somerstown and Buckland, was demolished and replaced by council housing during the 1960s and early 1970s. The success of the project and the quality of the 70s homes are debatable. Portsmouth was affected by