This collection by Emmeline Stuart Wortley, a British author, brings together short poems about the close of the Great Exhibition. It emphasizes the national pride that British society felt during the Great Exhibition, as these poems focus on the way it unified many nations in one place, and the beauty of the Crystal Palace. These poems help paint a picture of British society at the time, showing how Britain believed in the purpose of the Great Exhibition, and how they believed that every nation was equally as proud to be featured in the Crystal Palace.

Given a few days prior to the opening of the Great Exhibition, this sermon allows better insight into the views British society had of the Crystal Palace. While the church did not have as much power in Britain as previous times in history, religion and church attendance was still important to many British citizens. Moore speaks about the duality of humankind, and how all that is manmade is both good and evil. A public speech such as this gives society a warning of looking at the opening of the Crystal Palace as all good.

This book follows a family’s trip to London to attend the Great Exhibition. While it is a novel mostly written for entertainment purposes, the racism and xenophobia present throughout the novel greatly reflects the exoticism and lack of togetherness felt by other nations portrayed in the Crystal Palace. The artwork in this novel is also significant, as it shows how the working class was viewed by the upper class on “shilling day.” The working class is portrayed chaotically, as they all blend together as they try to enter the Crystal Palace, and the clothes littering the street around them shows the way they are seen below the upper class who “look” like the fit at the Crystal Palace.

This sermon was also given prior to the opening of the Great Exhibition, but speaks more negatively about its opening. Clayton speaks about the Crystal Palace being a show of greatness and superiority, which belittles God’s power. This emphasizes the feelings of superiority that came with the opening of the Great Exhibition, and shows the fears behind this sense of greatness that many in British society felt.