Part III of the Miss Match series.
In the second half of the 1850s the structure of British society is starting to shift. Formerly disadvantaged groups such as Catholics and Jews are beginning to participate in Parliament, and women are starting to talk about getting the vote and, in particular, economic independence. Unfortunately, the Married Women's Property Acts are still in the future. Still, various enterprising women are finding ways to run businesses that prosper, even if they have to present themselves as men. Tough, ompetent women like Florence Nightingale will even salvage some lives from the disasters resulting from stupidity of preening military officers. Their exploits will inspire other less famous women.
Excerpt:
This is the third volume in a series I undertook to try to expand my understanding of how women in the mid-19th century navigated the treacherous waters of business when they could often lose all control of their economic lives by simply marrying. Miss Match’s Misadventures considers an enterprising young woman who is widowed at age seventeen, just four days into her marriage. Moonbeam Shadows and the present work follow a young woman who has, through death of her mother and grandmother, been on the streets since infancy, living as a boy to avoid sexual exploitation while keeping clear of the Workhouse. In the current narrative, he/she is coming of age.
In writing these works, I have sought to get as many details right as I can. There are sure to be errors and omissions. Indeed, I have sometimes had to subtly overlook some topics for which suitably complete information was not available, or else make a best guess.
An example of the difficulties is that in Miss Match’s Misadventures, the text may imply that piped water was more or less common. In fact, from 1834 some wealthier residents could get piped water, possibly only for a couple of hours a day. In the 1850s, this became more common. I was silent on the topic of sewers, but have since learned that the town council only resolved to build proper sewers in 1860, and the actual designs for main sewers date from 1874. There were some sewers before this, but rather few. In April 1849, the General Board of Health’s inspector, Edward Cresy found only 32 out of 186 streets fitted with any sewers at all.
My protagonist, Tony, presents as a young man, so is in an awkward situation for finding someone to share life with. In the early 21st century, we see many same-sex couples. This was not the case in the 19th century, with society still under the thrall of the 1533 Buggery Act introduced by Henry VIII. While repealed under Mary, it was reinstituted by Elizabeth I. The last victims of its capital penalty were a pair of unfortunate men hanged as late as 1835. Yet lesbian activity was never a criminal offence. One may conjure many possible reasons. My own guess is that the entirely male lawmakers simply did not regard women as persons – the same issue that I am trying to explore from the businesswoman’s perspective – so just overlooked the possibility completely.
Nonetheless, it seemed to me that Tony and many real persons who pretended to be male did so largely for personal security and to earn their living. As such their sexual orientation might be ambiguous, or perhaps unformed, which is how I have chosen to present the story.
A sub-theme of the narrative reflects what I believe was a time when many people rose in social status, or what the British referred to as class. This was, and possibly still is, a pernicious aspect of British society. However, the notable social transformation in the mid- to late-1800s was real and reflected innovation and enterprise that is manifest in my characters such as Tom Soulton and Tony Brown. One of my own great-great-grandfathers was listed in 1886 as an agricultural labourer when his son married. The son, my great-grandfather, was a clerk, census enumerator, and served in WW1 as a recruiting sergeant, showing rising social status of families.
Another sub-theme that may be more difficult for readers to recognize is the increasing application of tools and procedures to improve productivity. The 1850s was the decade when Colt, for example, showed the importance of interchangeable parts for his firearms. In the 1870s we see a reaction to such approaches in the Arts and Crafts movement, where skill and craftsmanship are the be-all and end-all in creating unique objects. However, my characters, and likely most common folk of the time, were more impressed with function and price.
Details of the lives of "ordinary" people rarely get as much attention from historians as the self-appointed great and good, but that may reflect that ordinary folk were just too busy keeping body and soul together. If readers can provide clarifications or expansions for the episodes laid out here, I am open to suggestions.