It was the time of the British Empire and with it came many cross-cultural influences as well as being a time of great social change. The period saw the invention of the gramophone and with it, the first mass sales of recorded popular music. From ballroom dances, bandstands and sheet music to Gilbert and Sullivan, barrel organ music and old-time music halls, this book tells the story of Victorian music, how it emerged and developed through this time of empire building and industrial boom under the reign of Queen Victoria.