Did people in Victorian society have bookstores?
Heck, yes. With no TV or movies around, reading was a major recreational activity. You had Dickens, Twain, and the whole bunch of golden age Victorian writers pumping out all the stuff students complain about having to read today. In addition to the high-brow writing, the poorer people had what they called “penny dreadfuls” and Americans called “dime novels” available in bookstores and newsstands. There were also some bookstores that did a mail order business for readers living in rural areas or overseas. AFAIK, there were no bestsellers lists then because the data didn’t exist. There were book reviews written in the major papers, so readers did know what was out there. Some of Dickens’ novels were serialized in the weekly newspapers and people would line up to get the newest chapter as it was printed.
