The Victorian Internet: Tom Standage - 2014

Published in 1999, The Victorian Internet was written by journalist and author Tom Standage. It is a historical account of the events that led to the ingenious invention of the electric telegraph.

For centuries before the invention of the electric telegraph, people were dependent on slow and occasionally unreliable ways of communicating- through traveling by ships or animals. While generations of inventors attempted to find a solution to this, all failed until the mid-1800s when a select few pioneers came to a powerful discovery that would forever make the world a much smaller place.

Despite the hype of the internet during the late 90’s the electrical telegraph made a much more drastic change. The book collates all the wonderful, colorful details of how the invention took the world by storm and the massive effect it had on people’s lives. The book also describes the fascinating personalities of the oddballs, visionaries and eccentric characters who pioneered it.

"The exchange of consent being given by the electric flash, they were thus married by telegraph.”

An absolutely gripping read, The Victorian Internet recounts one of the most important episodes in communication history, and is strongly recommended to all technology fans.