(1) Industrialization

You wouldn't think that a writer looking to pen the next popular novel would think, "Yes, I'll write all about factory life and strikes! That's the ticket!" But oh, Victorian authors so went there. And went there and went there.

(2) Empire

The British Empire stretched to India, South Africa, Jamaica, and beyond. In fact, a popular saying had it that the sun never set on the British Empire. We're not in England anymore, Toto.

(3) The Woman Question

What should women do if they didn't get married and have children? The Victorians were stumped.

(4) The Serial Novel

Novels ran long in the 19th century. And by long, we mean long. A novel that "runs" for a year and a half in a magazine? Sure. Really, reading a Dickens novel wasn't all that different from watching True Blood or Game of Thrones.

(5) Nostalgia

Victorians loved their history—whether it was novels set in the past, or buildings designed to look like medieval castles, or poetry that imitated medieval classics. After all, who doesn't like a good gargoyle?

(6) Utilitarianism

This new philosophy usually boiled down to asking what would make the most people the happiest. Well, we know that's how we justify a good American Idol binge, but the Victorians were thinking about the big picture—like how to organize society to make the most people happy. Who decides what makes people happy, or what happiness actually is? All we have to say is: oh, boy, do people fight about that one.

(7) Reform

Victorians saw a whole slew of new laws and regulations. For example, there were a ton of sanitation reforms. Have you ever smelled 19th-century London?

(8) Class

What exactly do earls and dukes do? Even if the Victorian middle class wasn't sure about that, it was sure that it would be better at handling things than the aristocracy was.

(9) Progress

Victorians were all about progress. They didn't always know where they were going, but they were optimistic.

(10) Science vs. Religion

Faith vs. the theory of evolution: sound familiar? Victorians had to deal with it first.