# What is a chariot in Charles Dickens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480 "2012-05-20T01:42:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/1 "2012-05-20T01:42:30Z")
I’m still reading _Nicholas Nickleby_ and Mrs. Nickleby gets into a “chariot” to go somewhere. The only chariot I am aware of is the _Ben-Hur_ kind. Surely this would not have been what Dickens was talking about in 19th century London. Anybody have any info, and illustrations? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/2 "2012-05-20T01:44:20Z")
It means basically some kind of carriage, i.e., a wheeled non-motorized vehicle. See [this bewildering array of names for different kinds of carriages and chariots](http://phrontistery.info/carriage.html). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/3 "2012-05-20T01:44:40Z")
Here are the [basics](http://www.likesbooks.com/carriages.html). ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/4 "2012-05-20T01:45:42Z")
Here’s a [Chariot Horse Carriage](http://www.victoriana.com/Carriages/horse-carriage-1.html) from 1809. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/5 "2012-05-20T02:06:30Z")
Youse guys are incredible. Wow. **silenus** , I actually looked up that book in your link, _Carriages at Eight: Horse-Drawn Society in Victorian and Edwardian Times_ on Amazon and bought a copy, just because I’m that kind of history nerd. “…has lots of information on the etiquette of carriages and how to ride in them.” I might need to know that one day. 😃🆒 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/6 "2012-05-21T00:35:26Z")
There was mention of a ‘charabanc’ in the book “Little Women”, which they planned to hire as sort of a taxi for a group. They facetiously called it a ‘cherry-bounce’. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/7 "2012-05-21T18:20:47Z")
Think of how the car you drive reflects your status. Think of the stereotypes associated with the Volvo vs. a full-sized pickup truck vs. a minivan. The connotations of class and personality associated with the myriad varieties of horse-drawn conveyance are similar to those associated with automobiles today. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chariot-in-charles-dickens/622480/8 "2012-05-22T14:14:37Z")
I remember in Arthur Conan Doyle’s _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, there’s mention of a dog-cart, which I later learned is not actually pulled by a dog: [Sherlock Holmes Society of St. Charles: I love this diagram of a dog cart. . . .](http://sherlockholmesofstcharles.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-love-this-diagram-of-dog-cart.html) (And hey, it’s Conan Doyle’s 153rd birthday!)