Published on the centenary of Queen Victoria's death, this illustrated book is an opportunity to revisit the achievements of the Victorian period, putting aside the attitudes and judgements of the 20th century. The Victorians were expansive, ambitious, imaginative and confident. Makers of the modernworld, their extraordinary vision provoked revolutions in art and culture, in society, in science and industry, and in international trade. Their figurehead was Queen Victoria, whose coronation in 1838 heralded the most exciting period in modern history, when Britain emerged as a major imperial power trading nation.