Posting It
The Victorian Revolution in Letter Writing
Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Gothic & Romantic, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology
| Author: | Catherine J Golden | ISBN: | 9780813047881 |
| Publisher: | University Press of Florida | Publication: | October 4, 2009 |
| Imprint: | University Press of Florida | Language: | English |
| Author: | Catherine J Golden |
| ISBN: | 9780813047881 |
| Publisher: | University Press of Florida |
| Publication: | October 4, 2009 |
| Imprint: | University Press of Florida |
| Language: | English |
Although "snail mail" may seem old fashioned and outdated in the twenty-first century, Catherine Golden argues that the creation of the Penny Post in Victorian England was just as revolutionary in its time as e-mail and text messages are today.
Until Queen Victoria instituted the Postal Reform Act of 1839, mail was a luxury affordable only by the rich. Allowing anyone, from any social class, to send a letter anywhere in the country for only a penny had multiple and profound cultural impacts.
Golden demonstrates how cheap postage--which was quickly adopted in other countries--led to a postal "network" that can be viewed as a forerunner of computer-mediated communications. Indeed, the revolution in letter writing of the nineteenth century led to blackmail, frauds, unsolicited mass mailings, and junk mail--problems that remain with us today.
Although "snail mail" may seem old fashioned and outdated in the twenty-first century, Catherine Golden argues that the creation of the Penny Post in Victorian England was just as revolutionary in its time as e-mail and text messages are today.
Until Queen Victoria instituted the Postal Reform Act of 1839, mail was a luxury affordable only by the rich. Allowing anyone, from any social class, to send a letter anywhere in the country for only a penny had multiple and profound cultural impacts.
Golden demonstrates how cheap postage--which was quickly adopted in other countries--led to a postal "network" that can be viewed as a forerunner of computer-mediated communications. Indeed, the revolution in letter writing of the nineteenth century led to blackmail, frauds, unsolicited mass mailings, and junk mail--problems that remain with us today.
