The Evans family, living in a time warp.

[witch]

The House of Phail for March '09 was a ginormous mansion. I got carried away and made an Edwardian/Victorian styled lot and then added an appropriate family. I spent so much time creating them, I decided to share.


Mordecai Evans with his son Byron.
Mordecai is an investment and securities banker. He's done very well so far, as it can be easy to make money, especially if you start out with rather a lot of it. His secret passion is tinkering. Left to his own devices - so to speak - he could rival his friend Tesla.

A rich, privileged little heir, Byron is fully confident the world owes him nothing but the best. Will the world comply? Only time will tell.



Cynthia Evans with her daughter Mary Ann Evans
Cynthia is a bluestocking. Although cognisant of the mores of the time, she views the family lifestyle with objectivity and encourages her children to be free thinkers. Unfortunately only one of her children truly understands and adopts her philosophy.

Mary Ann - often called Marion by her family - is a fairly typical teen. She has lots of friends and is active and energetic. She also has a good brain, encouraged by her bluestocking mother. Marion does not easily tolerate fools and thinks she might like to be an author one day - she is often to be found writing in her diary.



Mary Kingsley, the governess, with the youngest child Eudora
Mary Kingsley enjoys her position as nanny/governess to the Evans family but dreams of one day travelling to warmer climes. She is little interested in marriage and children for herself, preferring to save almost all her pittance of a wage toward future adventures.

Eudora will grow up to be fairly shallow, occupying herself mainly with the entertainment available to young women of the time. She will be pre-occupied with fashion and making a good impression in society. Luckily, her well-rounded and amiable personality will give her an easy path in life, love and the gift of friends.



Isabella Beeton is a genius at housekeeping. Running this rather large manor poses no problems for her and her reputation for delicious meals has spread throughout the countryside. Quietly she has been collecting recipes for years, with the idea of someday publishing her own housekeeping book.



Thaddeus Beeton is a happy-go-lucky fellow, most content to be left to work in the garden amongst the peace of the birdsong. The children of the house adore his mischievous streak - despite being told not to play with the help, the children often escape to the garden for fun and games.


Above are the bios I have put with the sims. I also set hobbies, interests, skillpoints, badges and LTWs. I haven't yet upgraded them from pre-uni sims in case some people prefer to play without 6 slots and secondary aspirations.

You can download the lot and the family here.

This is a slideshow of the lot.

I don't think lots package all the family's wardrobe, so to round them out and dress them properly try: http://www.all-about-style.com/victorian.html

ETA: I have all EPs - including Mansions and Gardens - and most SPs.
Sorry - keep forgetting M&G is a SP not an EP, whatever it is, I has it.

[jolrei]

Writing in her diary?  Oh dear.  What would Susan Sto Helit say?  She's been to finishing school, hasn't she? 

I thought of playing a victorian hood once.  I got as far as a stupidly eclectic hood where people just wore whatever.  I had a couple of guys in medieval gear, a couple of gearheads, some nature types who wore nothing but body paint, and the raft of "normal", "these-fuzzy-boots-go-with-anything-like-this-pink-halter-top-yup" sims.

I'm not sure I could be counted on to adhere to your biographies of these sims.  Still love the lot, though.

[Tsarina]

It looks wonderful. I am actually in the middle of starting a Victorian neighbourhood, so this is perfect. Is the Mansions & Gardens SP required?

[cwieberdink]

Holy. Crap.  That is just a breathtaking house!

[Emma]

It is really gorgeous and I love the scenario and family you have made for it! Much better than ugly old Malcolm!

[witch]

It looks wonderful. I am actually in the middle of starting a Victorian neighbourhood, so this is perfect. Is the Mansions & Gardens SP required?

Yeah, sorry, I forgot to add SP info. I do have Mansions and Gardens - note now added to first post.

There are some famous Victorian people in this cast, see if you can pick them.  (I think Jolrei has twigged to one).

I was going to make a Victorian hood but many of the lots I downloaded turned out to make holes in the ground and weren't furnished to boot. It all seemed like too much work, so I'm just going to plonk the house in my normal hood.

[Lorelei]

There are some famous Victorian people in this cast, see if you can pick them. 

FWIW, I especially liked the Beeton reference.

[witch]

I was browsing the net for Victorian names and read a few bios of famous people. It's amazing how educational this sims game is. 

Isabella Beeton apparently died about the age of 28, if memory serves, she must have been going some to get famous in that time, even if there were less people then.

[professorbutters]

There are some famous Victorian people in this cast, see if you can pick them. 

FWIW, I especially liked the Beeton reference.

The Mary Anne Evans reference doesn't suck, either. 

I loved this.  It's gorgeous.  I wish I had the EPs and SPs to be able to use it (especially M & G for those lovely roofs).  I have a friend who's doing a Victorian legacy and she's got some nice wallpaper; I'll let her know about this.  I'm sure she'd be interested to see it.

Jolrei, Judie on All-About-Style has been making a lot more Victorian clothing lately.  It's now really possible to have an entirely Victorian neighborhood without too much repetition, and even Victorian NPCs and townies.  Other historical periods aren't so lucky.  Alexasrosa seems have stopped making Roman CC and I don't think anyone has stepped in to make more. 

[jolrei]

Jolrei, Judie on All-About-Style has been making a lot more Victorian clothing lately.  It's now really possible to have an entirely Victorian neighborhood without too much repetition, and even Victorian NPCs and townies.  Other historical periods aren't so lucky.  Alexasrosa seems have stopped making Roman CC and I don't think anyone has stepped in to make more. 

Oh, don't get me wrong.  I have had "Victorian" sims in my hoods, but have not had a consistently "Victorian" hood.  It always seemed like too much trouble to change the default NPC clothing and substitute Victorian styles for them.  I have had "prudish" sims who wear the full-body Victorian swimwear and undies - both male and female.  I encourage totally egalitarian prudishness, when appropriate, for my sims.  I think I got any Victorian stuff I had from All-About-Style.

Totally off topic, I now avoid A-A-S because their idea of everyday female clothing seems to invariably include 6" heels.  I have enough clothing with heels.  My sims (I imagine) like flats, sandals, runners, or bare feet.

[professorbutters]

I have total anarchy in my main hood.  Victorian clothing, Roman clothing, Maxis match, Vegas showgirls, whatever seems fun at the time.  The only NPC's clothing I've ever changed was a poor man maid who generated with red hair and pink shirt. 

I do wish I could use this lot, though.  I'm rebuilding my whole hood and I use Witch's Crystal Collection as starter houses pretty much everywhere. 

[MidnightVoyager]

I keep a nice, healthy mix of general old time period clothing. From Victorian down to fantasy/dark ages. This will fit in just fine. Bahhhhh