Circus performers in Victorian England - how would they be viewed?

[ladystormcrow]

Time: the late 1880s
Place: London, with flashbacks to Baltimore and the American South
Search terms used: "circus performers in victorian england", "circus performers in victorian society", "circus performers outside of work

Comments

[jayb111]

A lot would depend on the circus. You've said it was fairly famous, so you might want to look at 'Lord' George Sanger (the 'Lord' was a nickname, not a title). Sanger was the greatest showman of his time and his circus performed for the Queen, who was said to be a great fan of the circus. Later in his career he became involved in public affairs, representing the interests of all showmen, many of whom, as other posters have said, were much less well regarded.

Where do you want her to socialise? She might not be invited to tea in aristocratic private houses, but there's nothing to stop her attending any public place or event if she dresses and acts appropriately. She'd likely attract some attention because she was black, largely because there were not that many non-white people in the UK at the time and those there were, would be mostly men and found in seaports - that is, East End of London, not the West End. However, 1887 was a Jubilee year when there were many overseas visitors in London, and her speech of course would mark her as being not local.

If your story is moving between the UK and the American South, you do need to be aware that the history of black people and race relations in the UK is very very different from the US.

As to feeling more comfortable among the merchant class, many of the middle class were far more conscious of respectability than the upper classes, and wouldn't be seen in pubs themselves. A respectable hotel would be more the thing. The merchant could encompass anything from a small trader, who might go to a pub, to a major ship owner or industrialist, who might end up with a knighthood

[ladystormcrow]

Ooh, I hadn't thought of having the circus's visit to England be connected to the Jubilee. Thanks for the idea! When the story begins, I don't think they'd be considered famous enough to perform for the Queen, but that could certainly change after plot events.

I've seen Sanger's name come up a few times in my searches so far, though I hadn't gone into much detail on him because his heyday was a few decades before my story takes place. What you're saying now sounds fascinating, though - I'm definitely gonna do more research on him.

Yeah, I know there was a lot of difference in race relations between the UK and the US. It's actually a minor plot point - the heroine grew up in the American South, and she has to reconcile her experiences there with the cultural differences in England (and not just when it comes to how black people are treated).

I don't have anywhere specific in mind for her to socialize at this point - I'm mostly thinking in terms of where she might hang out when she's not actively involved with the mystery plot, and where she might be likely to cross paths with other characters who are involved, so pubs are a good bet. She comes from a working-class background herself, so she'd probably feel most at home there.

[jayb111]

What time of year is the story set? If it's spring/summer, that gives you a lot more options. Everybody went to the Derby, in early June. It's a few decades before your period, but check out W.P. Frith's painting 'Derby Day'. In fact, check out Frith's work generally. The ladies' fashions changed over time, but the general scene and atmosphere didn't.

London has a huge number of parks and open spaces in or nearby which were very popular on Sundays and holidays.

Taking a trip on a river steamer was very popular with working class/lower middle class Londoners. One could take a short trip to somewhere such as Greenwich or a day trip to Margate or Southend, or various places in between.

And lots of places were accessible by train. Parts of the Underground were operating by then, which might be a new experience for her.

If it's winter - if she's from the American South, she probably won't like the weather! There were museums, if that's to her taste. Not sure when the various South Kensington museums opened, but there's always the British Museum. There were theatres, concerts and music halls to suit all tastes and social classes. Roller skating was popular, with purpose built indoor rinks, but I'm not sure exactly what was available when. And there were some big stores in Oxford Street and elsewhere, where she could go shopping.

Don't forget that 1888 was the year of the Whitechapel murders, so you might want to avoid it. IIRC it was also the year the first Sherlock Holmes story was published.

You might want to look at Lee Jackson's terrific Dictionary of Victorian London. Take coffee and doughnuts, you'll be there a while.

Also, it's a bit before your period, but check out also 'London, a Pilgrimage' by Blanchard Jerrold and Gustave Dore. I know the illustrations are online in various places, and the text should be too.

[ladystormcrow]

The story takes place in late spring (I haven't decided the exact month), so it sounds like the Derby could definitely be an option. At the very least, people could mention about how they're looking forward to it. Parks are also good, especially ones with a lot of trees and dense groves, which could, ahem, provide space for a big cat to prowl. I do know that at some point, characters will visit the Crystal Palace Park (the dinosaur statues are a plot point).

Those all sound like great possibilities! One of the heroine's main interests is educating herself (she doesn't have a lot of formal schooling), so museums would definitely appeal to her. She tends to be pretty frugal with money, so I'm not sure shopping would be high on her list of things to do for fun, but it could work - maybe some of her friends could drag her along XD

Yeah, I don't plan on characters becoming involved with the Whitechapel murders, if only because it's been done so often in fiction.

I've got the link bookmarked, and I'll check out all your other recommendations too. I really, really appreciate the tips about paintings and illustrations - I'm a very visual person, so those are especially helpful. Thank you so much!

[jayb111]

If you want trees, check out Epping Forest. (Don't have time to hunt up links at the moment.)

If you like visual sources, look up the London Metropolitan Archives'/City of London image collection online. Individual London Boroughs often have their historical image collections online too, so if you're focusing on a particular part of London, it might be worth finding out the present day local authority and searching around its website. Where will the circus be pitched?

You can find old maps of London online too. Again, no time to hunt up links at the moment.

If she's into self-improvement, she'll find plenty of public lectures she can attend. Look up Birkbeck College, or Mechanics' Institutes. Or the Bishopsgate Institute. I think that's a bit late for you, but it gives you an idea, and you can always invent your own to suit your purposes. If you want somewhere she could go for an evening out with her policeman friend and hang out with highly respectable working class and lower middle class people, an Institute lecture would be ideal.

(I know all this stuff either because I've researched it myself at some point for my own purposes, or friends of mine have, or because I've visited the places in question.)

[ladystormcrow]

Going to an institute lecture together would be perfect. Mutual love of learning and education is one of the things that attracts them to each other, so it would be exactly the kind of thing they might do for an outing.

I'll definitely look up maps as well - I do that a lot when I'm writing, whatever the setting, and I'm relieved to hear they'll probably be easy to find. I haven't yet decided where the circus will be set up.

I envy you, getting to visit all these places XD I've been London once in my life, with my family when I was 13, and we visited the usual tourist spots, but I really want to go back again for research's sake. Someday!

[jayb111]

Here's one map site: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/map.aspx There are others.

Oh, and the Booth Poverty Maps: http://booth.lse.ac.uk/

She sounds like a very interesting character, even without the were-leopard element. I wish you luck with the story. Is it something you're hoping to have professionally published?

I hope you do get back to London one day. Once you've done the big tourist sites, the best thing to do is to get a good street map and some comfortable shoes and just walk. You come across all sorts of unexpected places. Alternatively, ride around on top of a bus - an ordinary red one, not a tourist bus. It's the best way to see the buildings.

[ladystormcrow]

Aw, thank you! That means a lot, and I hope the story really will be interesting when the time comes. I do hope to have it published, although it may be a long time before it's ready - I've been working on various permutations of it since high school (which was about 10 years ago), and it's only in the last couple of years that I firmly decided on the setting and started doing hard research.

*bookmarks the links with many thanks!*