I don't have anything specific to offer, but I will say that it depends very much on who your characters are and what period in the 19th century you're talking about. There was a great difference between the 'respectable' upper working and middle classes, who increasingly lived their lives in private in their new terraced houses and villas, and the lower working classes, who lived out much of their lives in public. Generally speaking, those who considered themselves respectable became more disapproving of street life and street entertainment as the century went on.
Generally speaking again, for the respectable working and middle classes, public manners were formal, and anything beyond a handshake in public would be considered inappropriate, unless there were special circumstances, such as recent bereavement, perhaps.
It would normally be considered inappropriate for a lady to smoke in public - or if she did, she'd be considered very 'fast' - so the very fact of her being offered a cigarette, and accepting it, would say something about her, and about the man who offered it. But again, by the end of the century attitudes were changing, so while an educated young woman probably still wouldn't smoke in the presence of her family, she might well do so among her own contemporaries.
As I said, it all comes down to your characters, who they are, where they are.
WELL, it's not really my character - I'm just looking up a lot of facts on him and the area he lived in. I'm writing about Sherlock Holmes, so I hope that helps! :)
This is around The Sign of Four, so it's at around the end of 1888. So with Sherlock, things didn't matter so much in terms of class and being respected - he could don an outfit and pretend to be either if he should so choose to, so I'm just trying to work out general social etiquette he would know and the ones he wouldn't.
Generally speaking again, for the respectable working and middle classes, public manners were formal, and anything beyond a handshake in public would be considered inappropriate, unless there were special circumstances, such as recent bereavement, perhaps.
It would normally be considered inappropriate for a lady to smoke in public - or if she did, she'd be considered very 'fast' - so the very fact of her being offered a cigarette, and accepting it, would say something about her, and about the man who offered it. But again, by the end of the century attitudes were changing, so while an educated young woman probably still wouldn't smoke in the presence of her family, she might well do so among her own contemporaries.
As I said, it all comes down to your characters, who they are, where they are.
Reply
This is around The Sign of Four, so it's at around the end of 1888. So with Sherlock, things didn't matter so much in terms of class and being respected - he could don an outfit and pretend to be either if he should so choose to, so I'm just trying to work out general social etiquette he would know and the ones he wouldn't.
Reply
Leave a comment