We all love a good Victorian romance. We imagine the sweeping gowns, the brooding dukes, and the tension of a stolen glance in a candlelit ballroom. But let’s be honest: those novels are heavily filtered. While we imagine our protagonists smelling like lavender and living in pristine marble halls, the actual Victorian era was a lot messier, smellier, and frankly, more hazardous than fiction suggests. If you’re ready to ruin the magic just a little bit, here are the top ten un