With the latest instalment of the popular Regency romance Bridgerton hitting our screens this week, Ancestry®, the global leader in family history, has uncovered a round-up of Lady Whistledown-style columns from years gone by, with the help of Newspapers.com™.
Although Bridgerton may seem to be merely fictional entertainment, it may surprise some to know that the anonymous gossip column depicted in the series could be inspired by real life. It is also still very much present in society today, admittedly with some modern developments.
From a high-society row and rumblings of an adultery-provoked brawl in the 1800s, right through to the likes of Perez Hilton’s iconic 2000s blog and today’s social media gossip account Deux Moi, whisperings of gossip and scandal have continued to live on through the decades.
In some cases, redactions of names, leaving but a first letter, helped to retain the mystery of certain identities, whilst the Daily Mirror’s ‘To-Day’s Gossip’ columnist bared all for readers to digest.
The uncovered gossip columns include:
The row of Monday evening, in Piccadilly, was not at Lady SMITH BURGESS’s, but at Lady DRUMMOND SMITH’s, her next door neighbour; and the mischievous effects of this multitudinous assemblage of fashion were not confined to the out-door works…
28 May 1813, Fri The Morning Chronicle (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
2. THE LATE FAUX PAUX IN HIGH LIFE (1815)
On Sunday morning last, when Lord �� returned from Church, he was met on entering his house by his daughter, a child only six years of age, whom he accompanied to the door of the nursery, which he found closed, and on looking through the key-hole, he saw his Lady with an intimate friend of his Lordship in a situation that is not to be described.
11 Feb 1815, Sat The Morning Post (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
A—, who is a near-sighted member of Parliament and also very forgetful of names, met one day a fellow member, a certain Viscount B—, who had just become Earl of C—…
29 Sep 1896, Tue Hull Evening News (Hull, Humberside, England) Newspapers.com
In the current number of the “Cornhill Magazine” there is a poem entitled “Fountevraut,” by “D,” an initial which, I understand, shrouds the identity of Lord Darling, the Judge…
27 Nov 1924, Thu Daily Mirror (London, London, England) Newspapers.com
Laura House, Family History Expert at Ancestry®, says: “People have always been fascinated by gossip and scandal, and our ancestors were no exception. For centuries, newspapers and magazines have kept us informed about the lives, loves, and liaisons of famous and notorious figures. Like our ancestors, we seek out minute details of celebrities’ lives, as actors, musicians, and royals alike try to win the favour of modern-day Lady Whistledowns.”
With 966 million pages of historical newspapers to search through, Newspapers.com™ is the perfect place to become your very own Lady Whistledown and source scandalous gossip stories and societal goings-on, just in time for the release of Part 2 of the new series.
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