In recent years there has been a great deal of discussion about Victorian values. This collection, the outcome of the first joint symposium between the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, attempts to sift through the myths to illustrate how the reality of the Victorian age differs from modern perceptions. Of particular relevance is Raphael Samuel's important examination of Mrs. Thatcher's use of the concept, while the following chapters explore the Victorian world itself. The papers shed light on a wide variety of Victorian issues, from the Scotland of Samuel Smiles to the position of women.