The Victorian Age - A Two -Faced Reality (1837 - 1901)  The Victorian Age took its name from Queen Victoria whose reign (1837 - 1901) was the longest in the history of England.  The Victoria n period was a period which witn essed scientific, industrial and technological advances, a rapid expansion of the British Empire and growing wealth for the nation, an age of important social and political reforms , but also dire problems of overcrowding, poverty and vice.  Queen Victoria was loved especially by the middl e classes for her way of life and moral code, she always reigned constitutionally, respecting Parliament and acting as a mediator above party politics (the two main political parties were the Liberals and the Conservatives, who alternated in goverment). Some important reforms: 1. The Reform Bill of 1832 gave the vote to middle – class males 2. The Reform Bill of 1867 gave the vote to urban working – class males 3. The Reform Bill of 1884 gave the vote to mine workers and agricultural workers males 4. The Education Act of 1870 gave all children the right to a basic education 5. The Factory Acts limited working hours and regulated the labour