"Listening to Stephen Fry is always a treat, and this audiobook makes the treat even sweeter. Frequently joined by a number of historians, authors, and reenactors, Fry seems to be having a wonderful time recounting some of the fascinating arcana of the ostensibly tightly wound Victorian Era. With whimsical music to mark the short, informative, and entertaining chapters, Fry delivers hidden truths and juicy secrets on subjects ranging from scandals and sanitation to sexuality and sadism. Diaries, journals, newspaper articles, and historical materials of the period offer listeners you-are-there reenactments of crime, sex, freaks, medical practices, and more - all interspersed with Fry's amusing commentary. Thanks to Fry, audio is unquestionably the best way to enjoy this material. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award." (AudioFile magazine)

On the surface, the Victorian age is one of propriety, industry, prudishness and piety. But scratch the surface and you’ll find scandal, sadism, sex, madness, malice and murder.

Presented by Stephen Fry, this series delves deep into a period of time we think we know, to discover an altogether darker reality. The stories we’re told offer a different perspective on an era which underwent massive social change. As education, trade, technology and culture blossomed, why was there an undercurrent of the ‘forbidden’ festering beneath Victorian society?

Across 12 episodes, Stephen presents a series of true accounts of the dangerous low life and debauched high life of Victorian Britain.