nanowrimo_lj | pocket victorian reference? (Reply)

Hello there, I'm a writer from Austin and for this year's NaNo I have been toying with the notion of trying historical fiction. I know this is not a genre to take on lightly, especially last minute. Perhaps I won't make it very far without a great deal of research, but I'm hoping to get the basics of plot, character, etc down this month. Then my plan is to go back and research to my heart's content. I figure it would be helpful to have specific scenes to flesh out, instead of just doing a whole lot of research with no direction. (If it backfires I'll turn it into fantasy and have a heyday with mixing cultural references!) I am a double major in English and History, so you'd think I'd already have great ideas for resource materials, but instead I'm rather at a loss.

That being said, I'm looking for a good all-purpose reference for the lifestyles / clothing styles / foods etc of the period I'll be working with--still up in the air. Something with both text and illustration, if at all possible. I'm currently interested in three time periods: Elizabethan, Jacobean uprising (early to mid 1700s), or especially early Victorian.

Any other well-loved references would be welcome suggestions, also. Thanks in advance!