DESPITE the prevalence of strict rules concerning health and safety these days, most accidents still occur in the home. So imagine how dangerous households were before the advent of such regulations.

In the Victorian era, early labour-saving gadgets and gizmos rose in popularity and there was a rush to get such conveniences into the home. However, without any kind of regulation, all too many of these items proved dangerous. In Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home, Dr Suzannah Lipscomb reveals some of the hidden dangers which lurked within Victorian houses, turning what should have been a family’s haven into a hazardous deathtrap.