Rating: 
Summary: Misinformation for the Regency Era
Review: A book which attempts to provide a general background to daily life in 19th century England for readers of 19th century English authors such as Jane Austen (a Regency author) and Charles Dickens (a Victorian author). This book is useful for the beginner to this period but does contains historical misinformation. It is impossible to cover a whole century in a book of this type, and thus the Regency and Victorian periods are not carefully distinguished. My warning for readers of this book is to remember that life in the Regency was often very different to life in Victorian times. For example, Poole categorically states marriage by widower to deceased wife's sister was illegal, actually it was legal in England till 1835. Kristine Hughes and Venetia Murray in their books also confuse the matter. Are they reading each other for reference instead of primary sources? I don't mind a good introductory book to a period, and this could have been one, but I really dislike it when something totally untrue for a period is presented as absolute fact. Marriage to one's sister-in-law was legal in civil law but voidable in ecclesiastical courts if anyone bothered to bring a suit, and many such marriages were made. Until 1835 and Lord Lyndhurst's act. I would double check anything that the author says about the Regency period. This book really tried to do too much to lump the earlier Regency period in with the Victorian period. Over the course of the 19th century many things changed greatly, so if using this book as a guide, remember Jane Austen was a Regency novelist and Charles Dickens a Victorian novelist and laws, social mores and fashions change greatly over a whole century.
Rating: 
Summary: Fairly detailed and helpful
Review: A great compliment to "Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England" as it gives more detail into different areas. Those using this as a reference to your historical reading will find this very helpful. My only complaint (as a writer) is that it doesn't distinguish between dates, and you may have a problem with the particulars. If you do decide to use this in your research, use it as a starting point, then flesh it out with further research into your era.
Rating:
Summary: Not a complete sourcebook but entertaining!
Review: A highly readable if incomplete account of life in 19th century Britain. A word of warning this book should not be taken as a detailed study of the time. Someone seriously researching the subject should probably look elsewhere. That said it offers a fascinating glimpse into various aspects of Regency/Victorian life answering many of the questions any contemporary fan of Dickens, Austen, Gaskell, or Eliot, might have. From the social difference in status conscious 19th century Britain between a vicar and a rector. How someone could actually be found libel for breaking off an engagement. Boarding school politics and even about British holidays and currency. Well worth the purchase!
Rating: 
Summary: Be careful!
Review: Although this book may be accurate about the time of Charles Dickens, it has many many inaccuracies about Jane Austen's time. Do not take Daniel Poole's word on anything Regency, but double-check. A note to "Krista" who says that _Pride and Prejudice_ is one of her favorite Victorian novels -- That is ridiculous. Jane Austen died in 1817, 2 years before Victoria was even born and 20 years before she became queen. Jane Austen is a Regency novelist.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't read _Pride and Prejudice_ without it!
Review: An essential. I read it before I read any of Jane Austen's books, and I really don't believe I could have gotten through them without it! It explains _everything_ you could ever want to know about Victorian England. Absolutely indispensable for anyone reading Austen, Dickens, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Just over half a book, and other problems
Review: Covering so much territory, haphazardly, there are bound to be some interesting tidbits (even some whole entries), and the author does better with objects supporting often vague claims with a few facts and figures than with people and activities where he says they might have done this, or might have gone here or there. Who knows. The two main stoppers for me were, first, it's incredibly repetitious. Separated as though new but within two (that's 2) pages are:
".. all the land in each generation was left to the eldest son.."
"The idea was for the estate...to pass to one person..."
"... necessitated that the land go to one child..."
"... the logical heir, then, was the eldest son."
"... was usually a deed giving the land to the eldest sonÉ"
"So now the problem... solved by leaving it to the eldest son."
- that's aside from several literary examples of someone leaving land to his eldest son; good grief.
The other stopper is "part two" of the book, a glossary with some interesting entries, but padded out to 135 (not a typo) pages. An example of the fluff: "ale- What was the difference between beer and ale? Sometimes the term 'beer' included ale. Sometimes it didn't. Sometimes ale was supposed to be stronger than beer, other times not." The mucked up repeating and a fair amount of similarly worthless fluff, despte some interesting sections, rates only two stars, and you'll do much better with a way more interesting, better researched, more thorough, better presented book by Norrie Epstein (Friendly Dickens) or the dense but even more rewarding book by Robin Gilmour (The Victorian Period).
Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally entertaining and informative.
Review: Daniel Pool's book is not only packed with loads of facts and figures (an explanation of British currency), it is also a fun read. This is the bible for any reader of British literature for translating the Brit-speak. It's also great as its own read. I can't wait for the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: A delightful read
Review: Ever wonder exactly how to play whist and when to get ready for the fox hunt? Look no further. Daniel Pool takes you through every level of English Society during Georgian/Victorian period. Fills in tons of blanks you may have after reading an Austen novel. Goes through the basics and the not so basics in a clear and concise manner. Great read!
Rating:
Summary: A delightful read
Review: Ever wonder exactly how to play whist and when to get ready for the fox hunt? Look no further. Daniel Pool takes you through every level of English Society during Georgian/Victorian period. Fills in tons of blanks you may have after reading an Austen novel. Goes through the basics and the not so basics in a clear and concise manner. Great read!
Rating:
Summary: Concise and humorous!
Review: For all of us who have spent years studying Victorian history and still had the burning question, "When the devil is Michaelmas?"
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