This is a survey of British literature and culture in the first year of Queen Victoria's reign, 1837-1838. Whilst covering a somewhat broader chronological expanse (1836-1838), the focus remains on the earliest year that can be called "Victorian", and on the connections between a wide variety of social and cultural phenomena at that time. The discussion ranges among high and low art, literature, painting and architecture, science and technology, the popular press, and private memoirs.