Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-century Britain is a 2007 book by the British historian James Gregory, published by Tauris Academic Studies. It is a history of the vegetarian movement in nineteenth-century Britain, from its early organisation in the 1830s to the end of the century. Gregory covers the movement's societies, beliefs, membership, public image, and connections with medicine, religion, reform politics, and domestic practice.

Background

James Gregory is associate professor of modern British history at the University of Plymouth. He completed a PhD in history at the University of Southampton in 2002.[1]

Gregory's doctoral thesis, The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840-1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections, treated many of the subjects later covered in the book, including vegetarianism's links with medicine, temperance, religion, animal protection, radical politics, the vegetarian press, restaurants, and local societies.[2] He also compiled a biographical index of about 1,470 British vegetarians and food reformers active between c. 1837 – c. 1901.[3]

Summary

The book begins with the early history of organised vegetarianism in Britain, including the Concordium at Alcott House, the influence of the Bible Christians, and the founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847. Gregory discusses early figures such as James Simpson, Joseph Brotherton, William Horsell, and George Dornbusch, and follows the movement through local societies, lectures, banquets, and the vegetarian press, especially The Vegetarian Messenger and its successor, The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review.

Subsequent chapters cover the arguments used by vegetarians and the settings in which they were made. Topics include health and disease, orthodox and alternative medicine, religious and ethical motives, anti-cruelty and anti-vivisection sentiment, and the movement's links with temperance, dress reform, and the co-operative movement. Gregory also discusses the charge of faddism and the movement's changing relationship with radical and labour politics.

The book also treats everyday vegetarian practice. It covers cookery, household economy, restaurants, public banquets, specialist suppliers, and print culture, including cookery books and menus. Other chapters address class and gender, the growth of the London Vegetarian Society under Arnold Hills, the work of women activists including the Women's Vegetarian Union, and the representation of vegetarians in newspapers, magazines, satire, and fiction, including Erewhon.

Reception

In The English Historical Review, Harriet Ritvo described the book as an exhaustively researched survey of organised vegetarianism in its social and cultural setting. She noted Gregory's treatment of institutional development, regional tensions, food practices, and the movement's largely middle-class base, while raising questions about its relation to modern vegetarianism.[4]

Reviewing the book in Medical History, Ian Miller praised Gregory's account of the movement's organisation and its place in debates about health, morality, and modernity. He also commended the discussion of vegetarian meals, restaurants, and banquets, and described the book as an important contribution to the history of food and diet in Victorian Britain.[5]

In the Journal of Social History, John K. Walton called the book a wide-ranging study of a small but culturally and politically interesting movement. He praised its use of the vegetarian press and its treatment of regional, class, and gender differences, though he noted some minor errors and questioned Gregory's use of the term "zoophilia".[6]

Writing in the Journal of British Studies, Margaret Puskar-Pasewicz argued that the book established Victorian vegetarianism as a distinct movement rather than simply a branch of health reform. She praised Gregory's reconstruction of the movement's organisations, press, and restaurants, while suggesting that some of the book's larger themes were not fully developed.[7]

A notice in Victorian Studies by Ryan Noah Shapiro praised the book's research and its treatment of vegetarian practice, labour, science, medicine, and gender, though he found the organisation at times uneven.[8]

Publication history

Of Victorians and Vegetarians was first published in hardback in London by Tauris Academic Studies, on 27 June 2007.[9] An ebook edition followed on 29 June 2007, and a paperback edition was released on 23 July 2020.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "James Gregory". ORCID. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  2. ↑ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (May 2002). The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840-1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PhD thesis). University of Southampton. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (May 2002). Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food Reformers of the Victorian Era (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Southampton. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Ritvo, Harriet (24 March 2010). "Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-Century Britain". The English Historical Review. CXXV (513): 460–462. doi:10.1093/ehr/ceq030. ISSN 0013-8266.
  5. ↑ Miller, Ian (July 2010). "Book Reviews: Of Victorians and vegetarians: the vegetarian movement in nineteenth-century Britain". Medical History. 54 (3): 415–416. PMC 2889472.
  6. ↑ Walton, John K. (1 March 2009). "Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-Century Britain. By James Gregory. (London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2007, xii plus 313 pp., Ł57.50)". Journal of Social History. 42 (3). doi:10.1353/jsh/42.3.813. ISSN 0022-4529. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret (April 2009). "James Gregory. Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-Century Britain. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2007. Pp. 313. $79.95 (cloth)". Journal of British Studies. 48 (2): 534–536. doi:10.1086/598906. ISSN 0021-9371.
  8. ↑ Shapiro, Ryan Noah (October 2008). "Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-century Britain, by James Gregory". Victorian Studies. 51 (1): 160–161. doi:10.2979/VIC.2008.51.1.160. ISSN 0042-5222.
  9. ↑ Gregory, James (27 June 2007). Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-century Britain. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-379-7. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  10. ↑ Gregory, James (29 June 2007). Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-century Britain. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0-85771-526-5. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  11. ↑ Gregory, James (23 July 2020). Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-century Britain. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-350-17382-8. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Victorians_and_Vegetarians