Gilbert and Sullivan
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10 Fun Facts about Gilbert and Sullivan
NOTE: I corrected some erroneous information in this post, which was pointed out to me by an alert reader! Thanks for the heads-up. Sir William Schwenk Gilbert, born 18 November 1836, originally trained to become a barrister. He was elected to the Northern Circuit and prosecuted his first case in Liverpool in March 1866, against an Irish woman accused of stealing a coat. His account of the proceedings, from Gilbert and Sullivan A Dual Biography, by Michael Ainger, went as follows: “No sooner had I got up than the old dame, who seemed to realise that I was against her, began shouting, ‘Ah, ye divil, sit down. Don’t listen to…
- Gilbert and Sullivan, Lucy Agnes Blois Turner, Victoriana, Victorians at home, Victorians at table, W S Gilbert
Christmas, Victorian-style
During the Victorian era, Christmas became centered around the family. Celebrating the holiday became a matter of bringing together the whole family to share in the feasting, gift giving, entertainments and parlor games. This is thanks in large part to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Illustrated London News in 1848 showed a picture of the royal couple and their young family (the couple had had six children by then: Victoria, Albert Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena and Louise) celebrating around a decorated Christmas tree, and soon Britons adopted the Germanic tradition of having a tree lit by candles and adorned with home-made decorations including tiny baskets of goodies, fruits, and…
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At Home for a Victorian Breakfast
During the Victorian era, many English people shared the belief that one ought to “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper.” In those days, most of London had breakfasted by 9:00 am, with the poorest tucking into their bread-and-butter and tea at daybreak, while the middle and working classes enjoyed more substantial fare (whether at home or in a chop-house) in time to be at their jobs by 10:00 am. However, the “upper ten thousand,” also known as the leisure class – made up of members of the aristocracy, the gentry, officers in the British Army and Navy, members of Parliament, Colonial administrators, and…