An excellent overview of a busy period of film history … It is a fine way to meet these inspirational Victorian filmmakers, their marvellous films and their curious audiences.

Sight and Sound

Bryony Dixon has been instrumental in bringing the BFI Archive's unique collection of Victorian films to the widest possible audience. In this beautifully illustrated book, she provides these potent and often undervalued historical documents with a thoughtful and informative commentary.

Barry Anthony, co-author of A Victorian Film Enterprise (1999)

Bryony Dixon brings to life the marvels of Victorian cinema in this book. Providing a field-guide to the different genres of the period, this is the perfect accompaniment to the newly digitized treasures from the BFI National Archive.

Malcolm Cook, University of Southampton, UK

Bursting with great stories and enterprising characters, this book makes a convincing, and very entertaining, case for pausing to savour cinema's first decade. In this page-turning survey of innovations, ingenuity and vital sparks of imagination, we see the seeds of all cinematic life to come.

Pamela Hutchinson, author of The Red Shoes and Pandora's Box (BFI Film Classics)

With verve and intelligence, Bryony Dixon provides a comprehensive introduction to Victorian cinema, setting these films in historical context while proving that the past is much closer, and more familiar, than we think. Her intimate knowledge of these gems makes her the ideal guide.

Jay Weissberg, director, The Pordenone Silent Film Festival