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

[atropos_lee]

You might want to look at the careers of some of the Circus celebrities of the 19th Century. General Tom Thumb is one who springs to mind. He brought to London by PT Barnum in the 1840s and performed in private for Queen Victoria. He died a very wealthy man

[atropos_lee]

Also - just to second the point made above, she would, in general, face more overt prejudice from the respectable middle-class, rather than those at the top of the pile.

I recommend Angela Carter's magical-realist novel "Nights at the Circus" - its fiction, but its fabulous.

[sollersuk]

And even then one can't be sure. I recommend the Sherlock Holmes story "The Yellow Face".

[atropos_lee]

Or indeed, accounts of Conan Doyle's own involvement in the George Edalji case:

[ladystormcrow]

Hee, I've read "The Adventure of the Yellow Face" - it was actually one of my inspirations for this particular story. I didn't know about the Edalji case, though!

[sollersuk]

I first read it in a bound volume of the Strand Magazine: Sidney Paget's picture of the new husband with his stepdaughter in his arms is particularly lovely. I also like it for being one of the rare occasions where Holmes has to eat humble pie!

[ladystormcrow]

I'll check it out!

[sollersuk]

Her attitudes were pretty patronising to everybody, so probably not a big deal. She learned enough Urdu to keep a diary in it, which would have taken a fair bit of work.

[ladystormcrow]

I could easily see her attracting that kind of interest - she's young and attractive, and exotic-looking even by non-white standards (unusual eye and hair coloring due to being a wereleopard). I'm not sure it would fit into the plot as it stands, though, except as a side mention, but I'll keep it in mind!