The author surveys the nineteenth-century reign, tracing how legislation, economic change, technological advances, and events such as gold and diamond discoveries reshaped social classes and national life. Rather than a conventional biography, the narrative examines shifts in popular loyalty, the evolving role of the Crown and constitution, developments in industry, communications, and the press, and the consequent transformation of manners, ideas, and institutions. Illustrated and literary material accompanies chapters on private and public life, and the volume concludes with reflections on public commemoration of the period.