Sir Francis Grant's Portrait of Queen Victoria, 1843.
The Victorian era was the period in Great Britain under the long-lived Queen Victoria who reigned from 1837 to 1901. The term is also used to describe later nineteenth century western society in general with its strong moral standards and sharply defined gender roles.
An important aspect of this period is the large-scale expansion of British imperial power. The period saw the rise of a highly idealized notion of what is “English” or what constitutes an “Englishman.” This notion is obviously tied very closely to the period’s models for proper behavior, and is also tied very closely to England’s imperial enterprises. [1]