People love how Victorian women replied to this question why they weren’t married
Rewind to the late 1800s – 1889, to be precise – and Tit-Bits magazine had a question for its readers.
Specifically, it’s single, female readers …
In 1889, Tit-Bits magazine offered prizes to single, female readers who sent in the best answers to the question: ‘Why Am I A Spinster?’ Here are some highlights… pic.twitter.com/7gRG0kVbUO
— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) February 17, 2018
… and the answers were as glorious now as they were – presumably – 130 years ago.
And this extra bit of detail made it even better.
The inclusion of readers' addresses makes it possible to find them in the census. Florence Watts, for example, worked as an 'artist / painter' in 1881. However, one year after entering Tit-Bits' competition, she abandoned spinsterhood and married a writer named Herbert Flowerdew!
— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) February 17, 2018
Here's the census record for Florence Flowerdew (née Watts) from 1911. No occupation listed for her, but women's work was often under-reported. Sadly, her husband died 6 years later after reportedly struggling with depression and (possibly) a suicide attempt. pic.twitter.com/8Ztbq7IOwv
— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) February 17, 2018
I ended up recording a short version of this story for @BBCRadio3's 'Time Traveller' segment. You can catch up here, if you like! https://t.co/j56hDJaCJP
— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) June 4, 2018
One of the reasons I enjoyed the witty, self-confident responses to Tit-Bits’ competition is that Victorian depictions of spinsters were usually the exact opposite. Take this joke from Answers magazine (1891), for instance… pic.twitter.com/EcA02fZqAE
— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) August 30, 2018
This joke appeared on the front page of Tit-Bits a few days later…
[cc: @VictorianHumour] pic.twitter.com/BEF7MfPFBl— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) February 18, 2018
Another joke from Tit-Bits – this time about a married woman, but I think she’d have gotten on well with the sassy spinsters… (1892) pic.twitter.com/OOwW7DwyQx
— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) March 1, 2018
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These 100 y/o visions of England are very funny and occasionally totally bang on
Source @DigiVictorian H/T Indy100
