The Brutality of Jack the Ripper

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a BIG Matthew Macfadyen fan, and so I was very pleased with Season 3 of “Ripper Street” was picked up. The show is a gritty, in-your-face depiction of crime in the Victorian period. And yes, I do realize “‘Ripper Street’ is a BBC mini-series set in Whitechapel in London’s East End in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders.

jacktheripper1888That being said, I thought we could take a look at the definitive serial killer, Jack the Ripper. Many consider “Jack” the most terrifying of killers. The pure ferocity of Jack’s crimes continue to fascinate us over a century later.

The killer we know as Jack the Ripper made his first appearance on 31 August 1888 with the murder of a prostitute named Mary ‘Polly’ Nichols. Mary’s was the third killing of a prostitute in London’s East End, and despite its brutality, it did not initially attract attention. However, a week later, another prostitute, Annie Chapman, known as ‘Dark Annie,’ met a similar death. Mary’s throat and torso had been slit open, and there were stab wounds to the genitals. Polly also sported a slit throat, but with Polly, the Ripper had disemboweled the woman, even going so far as to drape her entrails over Polly’s shoulder and to cut her vagina and ovaries. The precision of the cuts immediately led investigators to believe that the killer had medical training and was familiar with dissecting bodies in a post-mortem room.

465px-wanted_posterOn September 30, the killer upped the ante when he killed twice in one night. Elizabeth Stride, a seamstress and part-time prostitute, was the first victim. ‘Long Liz’ was done away with by a knife wound to the throat. Unlike Mary and Polly, though, Elizabeth displayed no other markings. Most experts believe the Ripper was interrupted in his mutilation of Elizabeth’s body. Dissatisfied, Jack the Ripper struck a second time in the same evening. He killed prostitute Catherine Eddowes with characteristic brutality. For example, the killer had removed Catherine’s kidney. In addition, someone had written on the wall of the building behind which Catherine was found this cryptic message: ‘The Juwes are not the men that will be blamed for nothing.’ Uncertain what the message meant, an investigating officer had the message removed, claiming he wished to avoid anti-Jewish hysteria.

maryjanekelly_ripper_100Shortly before the double murder, the Central News Agency had received a letter reportedly from the killer. CNA ignored the first letter, but a second one arrived within hours of the first. In it, the note’s author signed the letter ‘Jack the Ripper.’ The moniker brought the expected sensationalism. Two weeks later, a third letter arrived. This one was directed to the attention of George Lusk, head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. This third letter was, obviously, from a different author. The note showed the writer to be less literate than the first two and more disturbing. The return address simply said “From Hell,” and inside was a slice of human tissue, one the writer claimed to be part of Eddowes’ removed organ.

Another three weeks passed before the Ripper struck again. Mary Kelly, like the others, was a prostitute, but a different mode of operation occurred. Mary Kelly was killed indoors, in a room in Miller’s Court. Her body was the most brutalized. The killer had partially skinned Kelly, disemboweled her, and many of her organs, including her uterus and a fetus taken from it, were displayed like trophies about the room.

Victorian London held its breath and waited another murder, but none came. A knife murder of a prostitute occurred in 1890 and again in 1892, but neither displayed the characteristic savagery of the Ripper’s murders. As quickly as he appeared, Jack the Ripper was gone.

Many theories as to the Ripper’s identity have risen from time to time. Some of the suspects have included Queen Victoria’s grandson, Prince Eddy, who was thought to have taken his revenge on prostitutes because he had “earned” a case of syphilis from a prostitute. Then there is the idea that Sir William Gull, the Queen’s surgeon, had conspired to cover up an illegitimate child that Prince Eddy had conceived with a Whitechapel girl. Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell reportedly spent $8 million of her own money to prove the Victorian painter Walter Sickert was the murderer. We shall likely never know the true identity of the world’s most infamous murderer.

 

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the UK, mystery, real life tales, Uncategorized, Victorian era | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Do You Remember the Yankee’s Farewell to the “Iron Horse”?

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

For the last few weeks in August, those of us in the States have been bombarded with images of common folks and celebrities pouring buckets of ice water over their heads in the name of fundraiser for ALS. But what exactly is ALS and why do some people refer to the condition as Lou Gehrig’s Disease?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
200px-Gehrig_croppedHenry Louis “Lou” or “Buster” Gehrig (June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941) was an American baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, a trait which earned him his nickname “The Iron Horse.” He finished with a career batting average of .340, an on-base percentage of .447, and a slugging percentage of .632, and he tallied 493 home runs and 1,995 runs batted in (RBIs). A seven-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion, Gehrig won the Triple Crown in 1934 and was twice named the American League’s (AL) Most Valuable Player. Gehrig was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired, and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive major league games [a record finally broken by Cal Ripken, Jr., in 1995] over a span of 15 Yankee seasons.

Lou Gehrig, the “Pride of the Yankees,” contracted the disease in 1938. He was dead by 2 June 1941. The fans wondered when Gehrig’s streaks would end. No one thought to see the Iron Horse brought low, but ALS did that to the baseball great. On 4 July 1939, a heartfelt farewell was given to Gehrig. The scene from The Pride of the Yankees, with Gary Cooper portraying the venerable Gehrig, leaves viewers clutching their handkerchiefs.

Gehrig first garnered national attention for his baseball ability while playing in a game at Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) on June 26, 1920. Gehrig’s New York School of Commerce team was playing a team from Chicago’s Lane Tech High School, in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators. With his team winning 8–6 in the top of the ninth inning, Gehrig hit a grand slam completely out of the major league park, an unheard-of feat for a 17-year old.

200px-GehrigCU Gehrig began his professional baseball career on a bit of a “fluke.” As a student at Columbia University and a member of the Columbia collegiate team, he moonlighted with the New York Giants Class A team in Hartford, Connecticut. He played under an assumed name [Henry Lewis]. When the ploy was discovered, he was made to choose between college and the pros. After only a dozen games played for the Hartford Senators in the Eastern League, he was banned from collegiate sports his freshman year. In 1922, Gehrig returned to the collegiate sport atmosphere where he was a talented fullback for the Lions football program. Later, in 1923, he would play first base and pitch for Columbia.

On April 18, 1923, the same day Yankee Stadium opened for the first time and Babe Ruth inaugurated the new stadium with a home run, Columbia pitcher Gehrig struck out seventeen Williams College batters to set a team record; however, Columbia lost the game. Only a handful of collegians were at South Field that day, but more significant was the presence of Yankee scout Paul Krichell, who had been trailing Gehrig for some time. It was not Gehrig’s pitching that particularly impressed him; rather, it was Gehrig’s powerful left-handed hitting. During the time Krichell had been observing the young Columbia ballplayer, Gehrig had hit some of the longest home runs ever seen on various Eastern campuses, including a 450-foot (137 m) home run on April 28 at Columbia’s South Field, which landed at 116th Street and Broadway. Within two months, Gehrig signed a Yankee contract. He returned to minor-league Hartford to play parts of two seasons, 1923 and 1924, batting .344 and hitting 61 home runs in 193 games. (It was the only time Gehrig ever played any level of ball—sandlot, high school, collegiate or pro—for a team based outside New York City.)

On 2 June 1925, Yankee’s long-time first baseman, Wally Pipp, complained of a headache. Pipp later said he had taken “the two most expensive aspirin in history.” Gehrig had replaced Pipp for the game and for the next fourteen years, he was a staple in the Yankee lineup, although he often played in Babe Ruth’s shadow.

There was a Yankee double-header with the Washington Senators on the day Gehrig was to bid a permanent farewell to his baseball career. It was Gehrig’s final day in a Yankee uniform and two months after his last game. A weakened Gehrig tucked his Yankee hat under his arm and stared dejectedly at home plate. Tears streamed down his cheeks at the heart-felt sympathy from the fans.

Ed Barrow, president of the Yankees, draped an arm around Gehrig’s shoulders to provide the baseball hero his support. Members of the 1927 legendary Yankee team, including Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Herb Pennock, Joe Dugan, George Pipgras, and Waite Hoyt, stood nearby in tribute to Gehrig, as Gehrig had been part of the World Series-winning team. Gehrig leaned on Barrow as he was presented gifts from his Yankee teammates and stadium employees.

Joe McCarthy, the Yankee’s manager, embraced Gehrig after saying over the microphone, “Lou, it is a sad day in the life of everyone who knew you when you told me you were quitting because you felt you were a hindrance to the team. My God, Man, you were never that.”

Initially, Sid Mercer (the master of ceremonies) told the crowd he would not ask Gehrig to speak, but as the grounds keepers removed the microphones, Gehrig motioned to the spectators that he would answer their cries of “We want Lou!” Gehrig raised his hand and offered those in attendance a weak smile. He stepped to the one remaining microphone and delivered the greatest farewell speech ever. “For weeks, I have reading in the newspapers that I am a fellow who got a tough break. I don’t believe it. Today I consider myself the luckiest man alive. For 16 years, in every ball park into which I ever walked, I received kindness and encouragement. Mine has been a full life.” Gehrig then thanked everyone with whom he had ever worked, including players, the team owner, etc., as well as those who worked at the ball park. He thanked Bill Dickey, who was his roommate when on the road, his German immigrant parents [Heinrich and Christina Gehrig], and his wife Eleanor.

He died at age 37, sixteen years to the day after Gehrig replaced Pipp in the Yankee lineup.

Posted in Do You Remember?, film, Pop Culture, real life tales | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Regency Era Fashion for Women

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Regency Fashion for Women

The graceful style for women of the early 19th Century is known as the Empire style. Tightly laced corsets were overthrown for the more natural flowing gown. By the end of the 1790s, the Empire cut, which had begun as a chemise shift that was gathered under the breasts, was the accepted form of dress for ladies. Originally, the bustline was drawn together with a girdle. By 1800, the gown had a very low square neckline, which exposed the woman’s décolleté. The barely-there puff sleeve was pulled back by the short narrow backed bodice, which greatly restricted a woman’s arm movement. (The image is of a dress of 1799 from Le Journal Des Dames et Des Modes.)1800chair-ladys-monthly-museum

The dress was regularly made of fine white muslin or batiste. Different colored clothing were used for riding, morning calls, and evening suppers. Pale colors were prevalent. It would be rare to find a pattern in the gown. Muslin gathered with less puckering and was the material of choice, but it was difficult to keep clean. Therefore, pastels were used for day gowns. During the winter, heavier cloths, such as velvet or wool or even cotton was used. It was not uncommon for a woman to wear flannel petticoats during the colder months.

Mrs. Bennet in 1995’s “Pride and Prejudice” sports a mob cap.

Mrs. Bennet in 1995’s “Pride and Prejudice” sports a mob cap.

Women on longer wore wigs or powdered their hair; yet, very conservative women still sported a mob cap at home. No respectable woman would leave home without a bonnet. Gloves were always worn outdoors, but they were also required for a lady during a ball or a social call. One removed her gloves for dining. As dresses had no pockets, reticules, a small material bag that closed with a pull string, were worn about one’s wrist. A lady would carry a parasol with riding with her gentleman friend to protect her skin from the sun. Decorative fans were also seen as an important accessory for the well dressed female.

Early on in the 1800s, female garments were decorated with Greek symbols and patterns at the hem, around the neckline, or as a trim for the sleeve. More ornate trims were exported from France. The Empress Josephine remained a fashion icon through the early 1800s. Egyptian symbols and marking replaced those of the Greek line. With the onset of the Napoleonic Wars, frogging, braids, and cording were seen on both the male and female form.fan

Gothic Style 1816

Gothic Style 1816

By the later years of the Regency Period, the bodice of the dress had more support and gave the female form a broader shoulder line. Flounces and padded rolls were added to the line. Some influences from the Elizabethan and the Tudor periods crept into the trim and pleated forms. By 1820, the Empire line had disappeared, instead taking on a more Gothic line, which lasted until Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne.

redspencer-fashionThe Spencer was worn both indoors and out. It was made of silk or wool (kerseymere). As an indoor garment, the Spencer was called a canezou. As with the Regency gown, the Spencer knew its share of trimming and decorative touches. From 1800 to 1810, to keep warm, women wore pelisses over their gowns. It was an empire lien coat that reached the woman’s hip or knee. After 1810, the pelisse was longer and heavier, with full sleeves. High-waisted like the Empire gown, the pelisse frequently sported a fur collar for additional warmth. Normally, the pelisse was brown or dark blue.

1812 Pelisse

1812 Pelisse

A woman’s underwear lacked the touches of “Victoria’s Secret.” A chemisette, which was a side opening half blouse, filled in the woman’s bare neckline by day. Because the gowns were so thin, stays were avoided unless the figure demanded it. One may remember that the Empire line allowed the woman’s gown to cling to all her curves. That could be a good thing if she were svelte, but not so good if she had a bit of “pudge.” For warmth, women resorted to flesh tone pantaloons, which came to their knees. Pantaloons were the first “slimmers.” Since women wore white satin slips over the stays to give the gown a smoother line. Drawers tied around the waist became a staple during the Regency Era, as well as stockings held up by garters.

1810 Corsette

1810 Corsette

Posted in fashion, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, Regency era | Tagged , | 10 Comments

The Governess: Qualified to Teach the Usual Branches of a Good English Education

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Jane-Eyre-poster-007A governess’s job was to teach the children of middle and upper class households in 19th Century England. By 1850, there were 21,000 governesses registered in England. In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, our heroine places the following advertisement, which eventually lands her the position at Thornhill Hall: A young lady accustomed to tuition is desirous of meeting with a situation in a private home where the children are under fourteen. She is qualified to teach the usual branches of a good English education, together with French, Drawing, and Music. The governess would remain in the household until the children departed for school or, in the case of young ladies, made her Come Out.

Being a governess was one of the few occupations considered suitable for middle-class girls to earn her a living. A governess was expected to have the education and manners of a genteel lady, but in the household, she held a tenuous situation. She was considered a servant by the master and mistress, but NOT one of their own to those below stairs. In Jane Austen’s Emma, Jane Fairfax bemoans her having to become a governess. She says, “…offices, where inquiry would soon procure something–offices for the sale not quite of human flesh, but of human intellect.”

jeBeing neither family nor servant, the governess spent a lonely lifestyle. Unfortunately, a large number of governesses had no family of their own to visit when given a rare holiday or from whom to receive a letter to ease the hours of isolation. Of course, in romance novels, the governess often attracts the attentions of the younger sons, or in Jane Eyre’s case, the master’s eye. For every “Jane Eyre,” there were likely many governesses who succumbed to the attentions of the households’ most seductive gentlemen. Affairs were more commonplace than we would like to think.

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, Regency era, Victorian era | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Oh, Give Me Land, Lots of Land (or) the 19th Century Entail

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Oh, Give Me Land Lots of Land (or) the 19th Century Entail

As it had been for centuries, a man’s status in 19th Century British Society rested in the land he held. Land was a symbol of wealth and social rank. Therefore, the need to pass one’s “wealth” to future generations increased with the amount of land owned. Land was “influence,” as well as affluence. To ensure one’s descendants received what had been incurred, a system known as primogeniture was put in place. Primogeniture meant that all the land in each generation’s possession was left to the eldest son in the family rather than being divided equally among off the offspring. Secondly, an entail assured that said “eldest son” could not mortgage or divide or sell said inheritance. It was to be held for his eldest son, etc., etc., etc.

Primogenture developed during Norman times. The concept was by leaving the land to the eldest son, the estate would remain intact for future generations. It would also be economically capable of supporting a military force, which could assist the king. By the 19th Century, the King/Queen had other means to field a military presence, and social status became the basis of the practice. Customarily, primogenture was part of a gentleman’s will or deeds of settlement. This practice remained intact until 1925, when it was changed by law.

The entail prevented a wastrel from selling off the family estate to pay his debts. Do you recall Sir Walter Eliot in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. “There was only a small part of his estate that Sir Walter could dispose of; but had every acre been alienable, it would have made no difference. He had condescended to mortgage as far as he had the power, but he would never condescend to sell. No; he would never disgrace his name so far. The Kellynch estate should be transmitted whole and entire, as he had received it.” An entail was defined by a deed of settlement (or) a strict settlement. The heir normally received the land for his use ONLY in his lifetime. His rights ceased to exist upon his death.

Originally, many attempted to entail their properties until the end of the world, so to speak. However, the law would not permit “infinity” to stand. In practice, an entailed property only remained so until the grandson of the land owner making the settlement became of age at 21 years. Then, the heir could sell or give away the property. So, theoretically, the entail only held the land through the first and second generation of land owners. However, a little coercion often secured the land for future generations.

Most land owners (and their sons) held no other financial employment. If the property owner’s son wished to keep his “allowance,” he agreed to sign a new deed of settlement, which would assure the property remained in the family for another two generations, etc., etc. However, what if no males were born to inherit? A family line could end if a female remained single or even if she married. Single females had no children to inherit, and through married females, the property passed to someone outside the family.

Such a “disaster” was part of the plot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

“‘Oh! my dear,’ cried his wife, ‘I cannot bear to hear that mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is the hardest thing in the world that your estate should be entailed away from your own children; and I am sure if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it.’ Jane and Elizabeth attempted to explain to her the nature of an entail. They had often attempted it before, but it was a subject on which Mrs. Bennet was beyond the reach of reason; and she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about.”

The females, however, often found another means of “retaining” the property. Propriety permitted cousins to marry. A girl could remain in her childhood home when no males were available to inherit by marrying the “heir presumptive.” It was Elizabeth Eliot’s hope to marry William Walter Eliot, Esq., her father’s heir. “She had, while a very young girl, as soon as she had known him to be, in the event of her having no brother, the future baronet, meant to marry him.” And Mrs. Bennet wishes Elizabeth to marry the odious Mr. Collins in order to save Longbourn. In his proposal, Mr. Collins explains why he assumes one of the Bennet sisters would accept him. “Thus much for my general intention in favour of matrimony; it remains to be told why my views were directed to Longbourn instead of my own neighbourhood, where I assure you there are many amiable young women. But the fact is, that being, as I am, to inherit this estate after the death of your honoured father (who, however, may live many years longer), I could not satisfy myself without resolving to chuse a wife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as little as possible, when the melancholy event takes place—which, however, as I have already said, may not be for several years. This has been my motive, my fair cousin, and I flatter myself it will not sink me in your esteem. “

Primogenture also created the concept of second and third sons searching for an heiress to marry so they might establish their own properties. It also sent marriage mad mothers into fits. There were only a limited number of eldest sons for daughters to land. Colonel Fitzwilliam in Pride and Prejudice says “Younger sons cannot marry where they like.” The real irony of this madness was the eldest son also inherited the debt from the previous generation. Even being the heir was not an path to “easy street.”

In “Entailment and Property Law,” Joshua Weiner explains…
“Entailment, as defined by Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, refers to the restriction of property by limiting the inheritance to the owner’s lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof. Although it was feudal in origin, an entail was legal device still used in Austen’s time to prevent a landed property from being broken up, and from descending in a female line. The law was simply an extension of the practice of leaving the bulk, if not all, of one’s wealth to one’s heir, the eldest son.

“Thus, entailed property was usually inherited by male primogeniture (by the nearest male-line descendant of the original owner). For example, Mr. Elliot is the heir to Sir Walter in Persuasion. The law also prevented a father from disinheriting his eldest son, as the law prescribed that the son was his rightful heir. Furthermore, women only inherited if there were no male heirs left, and if there was more than one daughter, then they were all equal co-heiresses, and the land was subdivided evenly amongst them all. This subdivision is the cause of Mrs. Bennet’s worry in Pride and Prejudice. She realizes that if her husband, Mr. Bennet dies, then she and her five daughters’ would have to all live off the family’s one estate that generated little income and their standard of living would fall considerably. Mrs. Bennet, therefore, urges her daughters to marry wealthy husbands before their father dies. In addition, if an heiress married, then she would be inherited by her sons, and the land would be transmitted along her husband’s male-line. Austen expected her readers from her time to understand and sympathize in the Bennet daughters’, and women’s in general, pitiful predicament.

“The basis for the law of entailment was that ownership of land was not simply an ornament to the family. Rather, it was the foundation of its aristocratic position; it is what made the family noble and enabled it to live the way it did. The land produced a steady income that freed the family from the need to labor and allowed it to live a refined and potentially idle life. Hence, real estate ownership was much more meaningful than the regular possession of other assets or even cash. The estate lent status to the entire family as long as it lasted.

“Landowners, like Sir Walter, were therefore very intent on keeping their estate whole. As in Persuasion, they recognized the threats of subdivision amongst females or the dissipation of the land by sale, if the owner had to sell the land to raise funds and then continue to lose the proceeds. The whole family would then lose social status.

“Another detail of the law was that entails were periodically renewable and even breakable with the consent of an heir who had come of age. Similarly, “instead of pushing his fortune in the line marked out for the heir of the house of Elliot, [Sir Elliot] had purchased independence by uniting himself to a rich woman of inferior birth” (Persuasion p. 28).”

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, customs and tradiitons, Great Britain, Inheritance, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, political stance | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Victorian Personality: William Hulton, Industrial Strategist or Hard Task Master?

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

prhulton William Hulton (23 October 1787 – 5 April 1864) was an English landowner and magistrate who lived at Hulton Park, in the historic county of Lancashire, England.

Hulton was the son of William Hulton and Jane (née Brooke). He was educated at Brasnenose College, Oxford. In 1808, he married his cousin Maria Ford with whom he had 13 children, 10 of whom survived to maturity.

In 1811 he was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire. In this capacity he ordered the arrest of 12 men, Luddites, for arson at Westhoughton Mill in Westhoughton town centre. Four of the offenders were hanged outside Lancaster Castle, including a boy aged 12. Hulton gained a reputation as being tough on crime and political dissent, and in 1819, he was made chairman of the Lancashire and Cheshire Magistrates, a body set up for dealing with the civil unrest endemic in the area.

In 1819 he summoned the local Yeomanry to deal with a large crowd in St. Peter’s Field in Manchester, which had gathered to hear the political agitator Henry Hunt. The Yeomanry, on horseback with sabres drawn, forced its way through the crowd to break up the rally and allow Hunt to be arrested. Twelve people died from sabre and musket wounds or trampling and the event became known as the Peterloo Massacre. Hulton was vilified by the local population and was obliged to decline a safe parliamentary seat offered to him in 1820.

As the owner of Hulton Park, he derived income from the seven collieries working the coal measures under the park or nearby and in 1824 became chairman of the Bolton and Leigh Railway Company, which planned and built the first public railway in Lancashire. The line ran to the west of his estate from Bolton to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Leigh, enabling him to deliver his coal to market more cheaply. The line was connected to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 giving him and other local businessmen access to the Port of Liverpool.

Until 1831 Hulton paid his workers with tokens or vouchers that could only be redeemed in his company shop, a practice outlawed by the passing of the Truck Act of 1831. In 1843 Hulton paid his colliers the poorest wages in Lancashire. He remained opposed to permitting the right to free assembly and was vehemently opposed to miners congregating with the object of forming a union. He established the Hulton Colliery Company in 1858.

HisCrop2 Note! The Peterloo Massacre plays a central role in my Regency era novella, “His Irish Eve,” which is paired with “His American Heartsong” in His: Two Regency Novellas (available from all major booksellers).

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the UK, political stance, real life tales, science, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Victorian Personality: William Hulton, Industrial Strategist or Hard Task Master?

Publishing Options for Women During Jane Austen’s Time

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

200px-cassandraausten-janeaustenc-1810_hires Novels during the early Regency were geared toward the female reader; therefore, the door opened, if only a crack, for the female writer to step through. The female writers of the time assisted Jane Austen in several ways, among them the influence on her writing and building an audience for Austen’s early works.

The early female authors faced something that Austen did not. They faced public criticism, as women of the time, especially those of genteel birth, did not seek employment of any kind. Women were not to pursue fame and a career. They were discouraged by their husbands and families from publishing their works. Austen was fortunate to have a family who encouraged her writing, but even she published anonymously. Austen’s father, the Reverend Austen, even approached a publisher for Jane when she was but two and twenty. Later, Jane’s brother acted as her representative with the publisher under which she served.

Women of the period had limited means at their disposal under which they might see their works come to fruition:

(1) Publishing by subscription – Subscribers signed up to purchase a novel. When enough subscriptions were guaranteed, then the publisher released the book.

(2) Publishing by profit sharing – The publisher released the book at his expense. Copies were sold until a profit was made. Only then did the author received a fee for his work. If no profit was made, the author received nothing, but the pleasure of seeing her name in print.

(3) Publishing by selling the copyright – The author took a chance in selling her copyright to the publisher. She would receive a fee for the sale, but nothing beyond that. If the book made a profit, only the publisher benefited.

(4) Publishing on commission – For this venture, the author paid all the costs for the book’s publication. The publisher acted as the author’s distributor. In the sales, the publisher would earn a 10% fee from the profits. If the book saw no profits, the loss rested on the author’s shoulders alone. This was the method Jane Austen used for her releases. Jane Austen published her first book at the age of four and thirty.

170px-senseandsensibilitytitlepage1
First Edition title page of Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” published in 1811

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Industry News/Publishing, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, Regency era, Regency personalities | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Whipping Tom (or) Toms…With a Fetish for Lady’s Behinds

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Whipping_Tom“Whipping Tom” was the nickname given to two sexual attackers in London and the nearby village of Hackney. Both would attack women walking alone and beat them on the buttocks.

While there is some evidence an earlier attacker in around 1672 was also nicknamed “Whipping Tom” and carried out similar attacks on women, the earliest recorded attacker of this nature was active in central London in 1681. The attacker would approach unaccompanied women in alleys and courtyards and spank them on the buttocks, before fleeing. The inability of the authorities to apprehend the offender caused complaints about the ineffectiveness of London’s constabulary, and prompted vigilante patrols in the affected areas. A local haberdasher and his accomplice were captured and tried for the attacks.

A second attacker nicknamed “Whipping Tom” was active in late 1712 in Hackney, then a rural village outside London. This attacker would approach lone women in the countryside, and beat them on the buttocks with a birch rod. Around 70 attacks were carried out before a local man named Thomas Wallis was captured and confessed to the attacks.

Earlier Whipping Toms
Although no record exists of any similar attacks prior to 1681 or of the nickname “Whipping Tom” existing prior to this date, a publication of 1681 mentions “the Generation of that Whipping Tom, that about Nine years since proved such an Enemy to the Milk-wenches Bums”, implying that a similar attacker with the same nickname had operated in around 1672.

Whipping Tom of 1681
His first Adventure, as near as we can learn, was on a Servant Maid in New-street, who being sent out to look for her Master, as she was turning a Corner, perceived a Tall black Man standing up against the wall, as if he had been making water, but she had not passed far, but with great speed and violence seized her, and in a trice, laying her cross his knee, took up her Linnen, and lay’d so hard up-on her Backside, as made her cry out most piteously for help, the which he no sooner perceiving to approach (as she declares) then he vanished.

Whipping Tom Brought to Light and Exposed to View
The Whipping Tom of 1681 was active in the warren of small courtyards between Fleet Street, Strand and Holborn. He would wait in the narrow and dimly lit alleys and courtyards. On seeing an unaccompanied woman, he would grab her, lift her dress, and slap her buttocks repeatedly before fleeing. He would sometimes accompany his attacks by shouting “Spanko!”.

He attacked a large number of women, and while he would often use his bare hand, he would occasionally use a rod. Some of his victims were left badly injured by the attacks. He would appear, carry out his attacks and vanish with such speed that some people attributed him with supernatural powers.

There was a great public outcry in response to the attacks, which prompted complaints about the ineffectiveness of London’s policing arrangements at the time. Women would carry “penknives, sharp bodkins, scissors and the like”, and male vigilantes would dress in women’s clothing and patrol the areas he was known to operate.

A haberdasher from Holborn and an accomplice were captured in late 1681 and tried for the attacks, although no record now exists of the trial or of their identities. In 1681, Whipping Tom Brought to Light and Exposed to View, an anonymously written book about the attacks, was released.

Whipping Tom of 1712
Between 10 October and 1 December 1712 a string of further attacks took place in fields near Hackney. This attacker, also nicknamed “Whipping Tom,” would approach lone women and beat them with “a Great Rodd of Birch.” Around 70 women were assaulted before a local man named Thomas Wallis was captured and confessed to the attacks.

According to Wallis, he was “resolved to be Revenged on all the women he could come at after that manner, for the sake of one Perjur’d Female, who had been Barbarously False to him.” He claimed his plan was to attack a hundred women before Christmas, cease the attacks during the Twelve Days of Christmas, then resume the attacks in the new year.

Posted in British history, legends and myths, Living in the UK, mystery | Tagged | Comments Off on Whipping Tom (or) Toms…With a Fetish for Lady’s Behinds

Do You Remember? The Three Stooges as Political Satirists

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Regina Jeffers
This is a poster for You Nazty Spy!. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Columbia Pictures, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. Further details: Original lobby for You Nazty Spy (1940).

This is a poster for You Nazty Spy!. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Columbia Pictures, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. Further details: Original lobby for You Nazty Spy (1940).

This is a poster for You Nazty Spy!. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Columbia Pictures, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. Further details: Original lobby for You Nazty Spy (1940).

In 1939 Jules White and Columbia Pictures created “You Nazty Spy,” the first satire of the Hitler regime. It debuted some nine months prior to Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator.” The Stooges made a total of eight comedies dealing with war themes.

You Nazty Spy! is the 44th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

The Stooges, especially Moe Howard and Larry Fine, were quite active in the war efforts in America. They sold war bonds, and Moe even acted as an air-raid warden for his community in Beverly Hills. Moe and his brother Jerome (Curly)  were raised by European immigrants in a small Jewish community near Brooklyn, New York. Larry was also of Jewish extraction and was known to follow European events quite closely.

In 1922, the Stooges got their start as back-ups for Ted Healy, a popular vaudeville comedian. In the beginning, Moe and his brother Shemp assumed the role as the “shtick” of Healy’s jokes. Larry Fine joined the group in 1925; in 1932,  Shemp left the group, and Moe’s kid brother “Curly” assumed Shemp’s role.

Although extremely shy in real life, Curly was the most popular of the group. He was married four times. Jerome suffered a stroke in May 1946 and was forced for health reasons to leave the group. Shemp returned to the trio and remained part of the group until 1955. Joe Besser was the third member from 1955-1957. “Curly Joe” DeRita joined Larry and Moe in 1957 and spent 12 years with the group.

Plot of “You Nazty Spy”
In the fictional country of Moronica, three munitions manufacturers—Messrs. Ixnay (Richard Fiske), Ohnay (Dick Curtis) and Amscray (Don Beddoe)—decide their country is in need of a change. They decide to implement a dictatorship, oust the king, and go about finding someone stupid enough to be a figurehead leader. Ixnay volunteers the three wallpaper hangers  working in his dining room—the Stooges.

Ixnay presents Moe Hailstone, Curly Gallstone, and Larry Pebble with the offer to run Moronica. Moe is instituted as the leader (the Adolf Hitler role), with Curly as Field Marshal “Gallstone” — paralleled as Field Marshal “Herring” in this film’s 1941 sequel, I’ll Never Heil Again (both times as representations of Hermann Göring), and Larry as Minister of Propaganda Pebble (a representation of Joseph Goebbels). After his takeover, Hailstone proceeds to give a speech to the masses, cueing Larry to display signs reading “CHEERS,” “APPLAUSE,” and even “HISS.” Moe “bonks” Larry after Larry accidentally raises the cue card for “HISS” at the wrong time during one of Hailstone’s speeches. (In this scene Curly is clearly mimicking Benito Mussolini.)

However the daughter (Lorna Gray) of the overthrown king pays Hailstone a visit, going by the name Mattie Herring (a spoof of World War I spy Mata Hari). The Stooges suspect she is a spy afterwards and attempt to execute her. Then, Larry cuts a round table while a dancer arrives and tells them the delegates are here for the round table meeting. The meeting goes wrong when Curly knocks out the first two delegates. While Moe and Curly attempt again to attack the delegates with golf balls, Larry is beaten up by the delegates. Moe joins the fight as Curly knocks the delegates out and declares victory. Later, the king’s daughter gathers a huge mob to storm Hailstone’s palace. The trio quickly abdicate, and flee into a lion’s den. The lions inside spot the Stooges and chase them to their doom; the lions are seen leaving their secluded area wearing the trio’s clothes, with one burping.

The film takes direct stabs as Hitler’s Germany. For example, the Stooges are paper hangers, and Hitler supposedly had been employed as a wallpaper hanger prior to leading the Third Reich. There are also “hits” at the Nazis’ burning books, storm troopers, a swastika formed by two snakes, and “concentrated” camps.

Details of the Film: 

Directed by Jules White
Produced by Jules White
Written by Felix Adler and Clyde Bruckman
Starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Richard Fiske, Lorna Gray, Dick Curtis, Don Beddoe, Floreine Dickson, Little Billy, John Tyrrell, Bert Young,
Joe Murphy, Eddie Laughton, and Al Thompson
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date  January 19, 1940
Running time 17′ 59″

Significance

The film satirized the Nazis and the Third Reich and helped publicize the Nazi threat in a period when the United States was still neutral about World War II, and isolationist sentiment was prevalent among the public. During this period, isolationist senators such as Burton Wheeler and Gerald Nye objected to Hollywood films on grounds that they were anti-Nazi propaganda vehicles designed to mobilize the American public for war. According to the Internet Movie Database, You Nazty Spy! was the first Hollywood film to spoof Hitler. It was released nine months before the Charlie Chaplin film The Great Dictator, which began filming in September 1939. 215px-The_Great_Dictator

Filmmakers of the era were under pressure not to bring the events upon the European continent to the attention of the American public. This campaign was led by Senators Bennet Clark of Missouri and Gerald Nye from North Dakota. A Senate subcommittee probed “propaganda.” The Hays code discouraged or prohibited many types of political and satirical messages in films, requiring that the history and prominent people of other countries must be portrayed “fairly”; but short subjects may have been subject to less attention than were feature films.

Interesting Facts
**The title is supposedly a parody of comedian Joe Penner’s catchphrase “You Nasty Man!”
**Moe Howard became the first American actor to portray/imitate Adolf Hitler in this film.
**Both Moe Howard and Larry Fine cited You Nazty Spy! as their favorite Three Stooges short.
**You Nazty Spy! was followed by a sequel, I’ll Never Heil Again, in 1941. **Moronika would also appear in Dizzy Pilots.
**There is a historical pun when Larry says, “If I take Mickey Finlen, I better be rushin’.” Curly replies, “Then quit stallin’.” This is a reference to Finland, the Soviet Union, and Joseph Stalin, who was the leader of the Soviet Union.
**Larry Fine injured his leg shortly before filming and can be seen with a limp throughout the short. Fortunately, this was appropriate for his role as a parody of Joseph Goebbels, who walked with a limp due to a club foot.
**The names of the munitions manufacturers are Pig Latin for “Nix” (a slang term of that era), “No,” and “Scram,” which in turn were known by the audience as slang in their Pig-Latin form.
**The parody of the Nazi banner with two snakes in the form of a swastika says “Moronika for Morons” which is a play on the Nazi slogan “Deutschland den Deutschen” (Germany for Germans).
**The Stooges—all Ashkenazi Jews—occasionally worked a word or phrase of Yiddish into their dialogue. In particular here, the Stooges make several overt Jewish and Yiddish cultural references:
**The exclamation “Beblach!” used several times in the film is a Yiddish word meaning “beans.”
**”Shalom aleichem!”, literally “Peace unto you” is a standard Hebrew greeting meaning “hello, pleased to meet you,”
**Moe: “We’ll start a ‘Blintzkrieg’ (Blitzkrieg)”. Curly: “I just love blintzes especially with sour krieg.” This is a reference to the Ashkenazi Jewish dish blintzes with sour cream.
**In Moe’s imitation of a Hitler speech, he says “in pupik gehabt haben” (the semi-obscene “I’ve had it in the bellybutton” in Yiddish). These references to the Nazi leadership and Hitler speaking Yiddish were particularly ironic inside jokes for the Yiddish-speaking Jewish audience.
**In addition to the “Mata Hari” reference, the name of the female spy Mati Herring is a play on the Yiddish and German name of soused herring, matjeshering.
**When Mr. Ixnay informs the Stooges of how to overthrow Moronika’s monarchy, and suggests that the takeover of Moronika start with a “putsch,” it refers to the historical Beer Hall Putsch, the real-world Nazi party attempt at a power grab in the Weimar Republic of 1923. Curly’s humorous response to Mr Ixnay’s suggestion, to explain it to Moe and Larry, was that “You ‘putsch’ your beer down, and wait for the pretzels.”
**Curly “Gallstone”‘s red book of women’s addresses and phone numbers has the rather overt sexual references “Ruby Clutch” “oh, oh oh! G” (bra size) and the unread “Tessie oomph 2 69,” which were ignored by the censors. This was a key dig at the attempt to censor The Great Dictator then in production by Charlie Chaplin. (Curly was also noted in his personal life for being a womanizer.)
**Curly Gallstone says to Mati Herring when he takes her out to shoot her “Let’s go shoot the works.” Hermann Göring was known to be a morphine addict; this was a slang allusion to the intravenous injection of morphine.
**A colorized version of this film was released in 2004. It was part of the DVD collection entitled Stooged & Confoosed.
**You Nazty Spy was also the first Stooges’ short to bear a new opening title sequence, with the “Torch Lady” on the left-hand corner, standing on a pedestal where each step has printed out “Columbia,” “Short Subject” and “Presentation,” and the opening titles and credits are inside a box with rounded edges. This format will remain in effect through Booby Dupes, which was Stooges’ 84th short for Columbia. Healthywealthy

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Editing 101: Words Frequently Confused (Part 2)

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

images-1Most writers enjoy games that test their knowledge of word skills. Yet, knowing which word or phrase to choose can be a challenge even for those of us who consider ourselves “word” worshippers. Are you aware of the distinctions listed below?

Alumna refers to “one female graduate of an institution,” while alumnae refers to two or more females. Alumnus refers to one male, while alumni refers to both to two or more males or the collectively to all of a particular school’s student graduates (male and female).

Tortuous means “winding, twisting, full of curves,” while torturous refers to “extreme suffering.”

Dual means “two,” while duel refers to “a contest or battle.”

Canvas is a “strong, coarse material,” while canvass is a verb meaning “to survey people” upon their opinions of a product, politics, etc.

Lead can be used as a noun or an adjective to mean “a soft, heavy meta” or when used as a verb, adjective or noun to mean “to guide or to be in command of.” Led is the past tense of the verb “lead.”

Your is a possessive pronoun, while you’re is a contraction of “you are.”

Forbear mean “to refrain from” or “to hold back,” while forebear refers to an ancestor.

Adapt means “to adjust to a new situation,” while adopt is “to accept as one’s own.” Adept, meanwhile, means “skillful.”

Cannon is “a mounted weapon,” while canon is “a church law or rule, or a set of principles.”

Flounder means “to flail” or “to struggle helplessly with faltering or hesitant movements.” Founder means “to fail, to go lame or to sink.” (It can also refer to the person or organization that establishes something.)

Amount is an indefinite quantity, which cannot be counted (as in the amount of love); it is used with singular mass nouns. Use number with plural count nouns, consisting of a quantity or people or things that can be counted (as in the number of contestants).

Callous means “a lack of interest, tactlessness, or a hard attitude,” callus refers to “hardened skin caused by friction.”

Foreword refers to “the introductory remarks found before the text of a book.” Forward means “moving to a point ahead.”

words.1Adverse refers to “unfavorable,” while averse means “having a distaste for.”

Between is used for two people, places of things (between you and me). Among is used for three or more people, places, or things.

Take means “to carry” or “to lead away from someone or something (as in take this message to the governor), while bring means “to carry” or “to lead toward someone or something” (as in bring me that book).

Buses are “motorized vehicles,” while busses are “kisses.”

Cannot is one word, not two.

Troupe is “a company of actors,” while troop is used to refer to other groups (soldiers, scouts, etc.)

Indefinite means “not accurate, vague, or not precise,” while infinite means “without limits.”

Fewer is used for things that can be counted (as in fewer than a dozen children), while less is used for bulk or quantity (as in less than a ream of paper).

Use each other for two involved people, places, or things. Use one another for three or more.

Posted in editing, language choices, word play, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments