In a time before smartphones, social media, and binge-watching, the Victorians were remarkably creative in finding ways to spend their free time. A culture obsessed with the afterlife, the Victorians would spend the day enjoying a meal next to a grave and then the evening trying to contact a lost loved one. Fascinated by the teachings of Charles Darwin and the scientific revolution, they paid fortunes to collect rare plants and witness medical anomalies firsthand. Even expired animals could be grouped into entertaining tableaux for audiences to wonder at.