Wicked Victorian Boston

· Arcadia Publishing
Ebook
144
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

An entertaining and well-illustrated anecdotal survey of ‘vice’ and efforts to control it in mid- and late 19th century Boston” (The Boston Guardian).
 
Victorian Boston was more than just stately brownstones and elite society that graced neighborhoods like Beacon Hill. As the population grew, the city developed a seedy underbelly just below its surface. Illegal saloons, prostitution, and sports gambling challenged the image of the Puritan City. Daughters of the Boston Brahmins posed for nude photographs. The grandson of President John Adams was roped into an elaborate confidence game. Reverend William Downs, a local Baptist pastor, was caught in bed with a married parishioner. Author Robert Wilhelm reveals the sinful history behind Boston’s Victorian grandeur.
 
Includes photos!
 
“Amusingly and quaintly illustrated . . . about, for example, such lovely late 19th Century activities as prostitution, drinking in illegal saloons, animal fighting, sports gambling, opium dens and daughters of Boston Brahmins posing nude for photos.” —New England Diary

About the author

Robert Wilhelm is the author of Murder and Mayhem in Essex County (The History Press), a history of capital crimes in Essex County, Massachusetts, from the 1600s to the turn of the twentieth century, and The Bloody Century (Night Stick Press), a compilation of true tales of murder in nineteenth-century America. He blogs about historical true crime at Murder by Gaslight (www.murderbygaslight.com) and The National Night Stick (www.night-stick.com). Robert lives a fine, upstanding life in the city of Boston, Massachusetts.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.