Laudanum was a real favorite of the Victorian era, used as a cure for everything from coughs (like in this recipe book) and toothaches to rheumatism and insomnia. It was even used to 'quiet' fussy babies. It was made from a tincture of opium- yes, opium- that was readily available in British grocers. Adverts for laudanum at the time demonstrate its wide-spread usage:
While the painkilling drug was quite addictive, the dangers were not well-known at the time, and only after it became associated heavily with the working class and with Chinese imports, were there heavy pushes to consider it a dangerous substance in England (Ng).
