The Discovery Lane Gossip Column

Gossip Column #8 (Missed the first part of Kate’s story? Start from the beginning with Kate: Trials of a Victorian Shop Girl - Part 1 ) Most stores in London (and elsewhere throughout the country) hired shop girls strictly on the basis of recommendations from well-known society members (who would no doubt patronize the stores at which the girls they recommended worked). On the rare occasion that a shop advertised for workers, the owner found himself inundated with girls all jostling for the position. Other shop owners took on female apprentices , but these were pay-as-you-go positions. Specifically, the apprentice (or more typically the apprentice’s father) paid a small yearly sum to the shop owner in exchange for room, board and training. An apprenticeship, especially in the clothing trade, could last for up to seven years. Kate had no intention of parting with her hard earned wages, nor did she intend spend another seven years of her life in indentured servitude. Yet she foun...

Gossip Column #7 Kate’s timing was fortuitous. A decade earlier, shopkeepers and shop workers were almost exclusively male. As the Industrial Revolution roared across England however, young men began leaving the shops in droves, seeking more lucrative work in factories. This exodus occurred at the same time that middle and upper class Victorians, with time on their hands and money to spend, began to view shopping as both a pleasurable activity and an engaging way to pass the time. Shopkeepers needed to find new sources of help if they were going to keep their customers happy and their profits high. To that end, shops had taken to hiring young, strong, educated, attractive girls who could attend to customers. Shopkeepers found that they could pay women less than they had their male counterparts, and also that female customers who were waited on by shop girls tended to spend more. Despite the discrepancy in pay, women were encouraged to pursue this new profession. “Saleswoman...i...

Gossip Column #6 Spring has sprung at Discovery Lane! The weather is warm, the trees are in full bloom and Easter is just around the corner. And in keeping with the times preparations for Easter are in full swing. Probably no one at Discovery Lane loves Easter as much as Beth - owner of Beth's Fine Millinery. Before the big day, everyone in town heads to Beth's in order to purchase the fanciest, most extravagant Easter hat they can afford. As The Illustrated American noted in 1886, "The Easter bonnet has long been recognized as woman's particular weakness." Beth's Fine Millinery offers an elegant array of eye-catching Easter bonnets Now, what is the point of having a spectacular Easter bonnet if one cannot show it off? That's what Easter parades are for! Most of the Discovery Lane inhabitants go to church on Easter morning, but they take to the streets as soon as church lets out. Sometimes the ladies will gather in an organized fashion and par...

Gossip Column #5 Kate and Rose had been born to middle class parents, living on the outskirts of London. Their mother had died shortly after Kate was born, and their father had passed away several years later. There were no additional surviving children. After their father died, the pair were raised by a variety of relatives, passed around from relation to relation like lost parcels. Their various caregivers had seen to it that both girls received an education, that they had clothes to wear and food to eat, but beyond that they had little time for two girls who were not their own. Both girls worried about their future. Rose had managed to escape a life of "dignified" poverty by marrying a kind and wealthy merchant. Kate, however, had found herself relegated to the role of "poor relation." A fate common for women in her situation. She manage to eke out a living by taking on a succession of governess jobs, and stashing away as much of her meager salary as she ...

Gossip Column #4   "Kate, darling, hadn't you better start getting ready?" Kate glanced up from the writing desk at which she sat, writing a letter to a friend from home. She studied her sister, who had just entered the room. For a moment, her sister's words didn't register as she gazed at the dress her sister was wearing. "Oh  Rose, you look fantastic! Kate exclaimed. "I didn't realize your new dress was ready!" Rose smiled and turned in a slow circle, showing off the garment. The dress was made from a light blue silk and trimmed with white lace. The blue set off to perfection Rose's flawless, pink and white complexion, while layers of petticoats and crinolines caused the skirt to billowout, giving her the hourglass figure women so actively sought.  "Those colors remind me of the sky on a perfect spring day! Now, do say you'll wear that bonnet we purchased at Beth's last week. The one with the white roses and ostrich...

Gossip Column #3 Setting foot in the Cotswolds is like stepping into the setting of a fairy tale. Cotswolds' visitors are treated to 800 square miles of chuckling brooks, rolling hills, ancient woodlands, and meadows filled with wildflowers. The Cotswolds stretch from just south of Stratford-Upon-Avon  (birthplace of William Shakespeare), to just south of Bath (famous for its Roman baths and for having once housed writer Jane Austen). The are is such a natural wonder that it was declared an Area of Outstanding National Beauty in 1966, and brought under permanent government protection. The Cotswolds have over 3,000 miles of accessible paths, so the best way to experience this part of England is definitely on foot! Evidence suggests that people have lived in the Cotswolds since the Bronze Age , which began in England around 3000 BCE. The Romans arrived around AD47 and immediately set to work building roads and towns that still stand today. They were among the fir...

Gossip Column #2 Emma loved the Cotswolds. They were her home. Daughter of well-to-do parents, she had been raised on a large country estate that had been in her family for over a century. Though she had travelled extensively, both within England and abroad, she had yet to find another town or village anywhere that had both the beauty and charm of the Cotswolds.   And she had made it abundantly clear to William, from the time he came courting, that while she had no special affinity for the house of her childhood, she would rather die a spinster than live outside the Cotswolds. William, young and desperate to please the girl with whom he was madly in love, had said that he understood perfectly and that of course he would build her a splendid estate, just as soon as they found the right spot. But some part of his brain didn’t truly think she meant what she said. It was common for women to feel nervous about marrying and leaving all that was familiar. She would, he was certain...