The era of Queen Victoria's reign(1837-1901). The period is sometimes dated from 1832(the passage of the first Reform Bill).
A period of intense and prolific activity in literature, especially by novelists and poets, philosophers and essayists. Dramatic of any note are few. Much of the writing was concerned with contemporary social problems; for instance, the effects of the industrial revolution, the influence of the theory of evolution, movements of political and social reform.
The following are among the most notable British writers of the period: Thomas Love Peacock, Keble, Carlyle, William Barnes, Cardinal Newman, Alfred Tennyson, Disraeli, J.S. Mill, E B Browning, Charles Darwin, Thackeray, Robert Browning, Charles Dickens,Charlotte Bronze, Emily Bronze, Anne Bronze, George Eliot, Ruskin, Matthew Arnold, George Meredith, Christina Rossetti, Lewis Carroll, William Morris, Swinburne, Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, Synge..

The important events of the age were:

(1) The First Reformation Act in 1832, the Second Reformation Act in 1867 and the Third Reformation Act in 1884 gave voting rights to every male.
(2) In 1833 slaves were declared free.
(3) Chimney Sweeps Act in 1840 and Factory Act in 1833 prohibited child labour.
(4) Mechanism of railways and ships was improved which helped develop commerce and industry, and thus, brought material affluence.
(5) There was a significant progress of women during this time.
(6) Agriculture based society was disintegrated as the result of the development of industry. This had a strong effect on the rural people.
(7) The theory of evolution and the concept of communism changed the traditional view of life.


References:
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory
J.A Cuddon

An ABC of English Literature
Dr. M. Mofizar Rahman