Edwardian period

1901–1910 King Edward VII, after whom the Edwardian period is named
Preceded by	Victorian era
Followed by	World War I
Monarch	King Edward VII

Periods and eras in English history

Anglo-Saxon period	(927–1066)
Norman period	(1066–1154)
Plantagenet period	(1154–1485)
Tudor period	(1485–1603)
Elizabethan era	(1558–1603)
Stuart period	(1603–1714)
Jacobean era	(1603–1625)
Caroline era	(1625–1649)
The Interregnum	(1649–1660)
Restoration era	(1660–1688)
Georgian era	(1714–1830)
Victorian era	(1837–1901)
Edwardian era	(1901–1910)
World War I	(1914–1918)
Interwar Period	(1918–1939)
World War II	(1939–1945)
Modern Britain	(1945–Present)
v t e

The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.

The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era. While Victoria had shunned society, Edward was the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of Continental Europe—perhaps because of the King's fondness for travel. The era was marked by significant shifts in politics as sections of society that had been largely excluded from wielding power in the past, such as common labourers and women, became increasingly politicised.^[1]

The Edwardian period is sometimes extended beyond Edward's death in 1910 to include the years up to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the start of World War I in 1914, the end of hostilities with Germany in 1918, or the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Class and society[link]

The Edwardian era was a period during which the British class system was very rigid. Economic and social changes created an environment in which there was more social mobility. Such changes included rising interest in socialism, attention to the plight of the poor and the status of women, including the issue of women's suffrage, together with increased economic opportunities as a result of rapid industrialisation. These changes were to be hastened in the aftermath of the First World War.

Fashion[link]

The upper classes embraced leisure sports, which resulted in rapid developments in fashion, as more mobile and flexible clothing styles were needed. During the Edwardian era, women wore a very tight corset, or bodice, and dressed in long skirts. The Edwardian era was the last time women wore corsets in everyday life. According to Arthur Marwick, the most striking change of all the developments that occurred during the Great War was the modification in women's dress, "for, however far politicians were to put the clocks back in other steeples in the years after the war, no one ever put the lost inches back on the hems of women's skirts".^[2]

The arts[link]

The Edwardian period corresponds to the French Belle Époque period. Despite its brief pre-eminence, the period is characterised by its own unique architectural style, fashion, and lifestyle. Art Nouveau had a particularly strong influence. Artists were influenced by the development of the automobile and electricity, and a greater awareness of human rights.

Literature[link]

In fiction, some of the best-known names are J. M. Barrie, Arnold Bennett, G.K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, E. M. Forster, John Galsworthy, Kenneth Grahame, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Nesbit, Beatrix Potter, Saki, George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, and P. G. Wodehouse. Apart from these famous writers, this was a period when a great number of novels and short stories were being published, and a significant distinction between "highbrow" literature and popular fiction emerged. Among the most famous works of literary criticism was A. C. Bradley's Shakespearean Tragedy (1904). Mass audience newspapers, controlled by press tycoons such as the Harmsworth brothers, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe and Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, became increasingly important.^[3]

Music[link]

The available recordings of music, such as wax cylinders played on phonographs, were poor in quality by modern standards. Live performances, both amateur and professional, were popular. Henry Wood, Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Arnold Bax, George Butterworth, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Thomas Beecham were all active. Military brass bands often played outside in parks during the summer.^[4]

Performing arts[link]

Cinema was primitive and audiences preferred live performances to picture shows. Music hall was very popular and widespread; influential performers included male impersonator Vesta Tilley and comic Little Tich.^[5]

The most successful playwright of the era was W. Somerset Maugham. In 1908, he had four plays running simultaneously in London, and Punch published a cartoon of Shakespeare biting his fingernails nervously as he looked at the billboards. Maugham's plays, like his novels, usually had a conventional plot structure, but the decade also saw the rise of the so-called New Drama, represented in plays by George Bernard Shaw, Harley Granville Barker, and Continental imports by Henrik Ibsen and Gerhardt Hauptmann. The actor/manager system, as managed by Sir Henry Irving, Sir George Alexander, and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, was in decline.

Architecture[link]

Notable architects included Edwin Lutyens, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Giles Gilbert Scott. In spite of the popularity of Art Nouveau in Europe, the Edwardian Baroque style of architecture was widely favoured for public structures and was a revival of Christopher Wren–inspired designs of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The change or reversal in taste from the Victorian eclectic styles corresponded with the historical revivals of the period, most prominently earlier Georgian and Neoclassical styles of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Science and technology[link]

The period featured many innovations. Continental Europeans such as Max Planck and Albert Einstein were producing some of their greatest work. The first Nobel prizes were awarded, and Ernest Rutherford published his book on radioactivity. The first transatlantic wireless signals were sent by Guglielmo Marconi, and the Wright brothers flew for the first time.

By the end of the era, Louis Blériot had crossed the English Channel by air, the largest ship in the world, RMS Olympic, had sailed on its maiden voyage, automobiles were common, and the South Pole was reached for the first time by Roald Amundsen's and then Robert Falcon Scott's teams.

Sport[link]

1908 Summer Olympics in London: The water jump in the steeplechase

The 1908 Summer Olympic Games were held in London. Popularity of sports tended to conform to class divisions, with tennis and yachting popular among the very wealthy and football (soccer) favoured by the poorest.

Politics and significant events[link]

In the early years of the period, the Second Boer War in South Africa split Britain into anti- and pro-war factions. Great orators, such as the Liberal David Lloyd George, who spoke against the war, became increasingly influential although pro-war politicians, such as Unionist Joseph Chamberlain, held power. The Unionists proposed Tariff Reform (a form of protectionism) to make the British Empire an economic unit; the Liberals claimed this would make food dearer, and, in the general election of 1906, the Liberals won a landslide. The Liberal government was unable to proceed with all of its radical programme without the support of the House of Lords, which was largely Conservative. Conflict between the two Houses of Parliament over Lloyd George's 1909 People's Budget eventually resulted in a reduction in the power of the peers in the Parliament Act 1911. The general election in January 1910 returned a "hung parliament" with the balance of power held by Labour and Irish Nationalist members.

Perceptions[link]

The Edwardian period is sometimes imagined as a romantic golden age of long summer afternoons and garden parties, basking in a sun that never sets on the British Empire. This perception was created in the 1920s and later by those who remembered the Edwardian age with nostalgia, looking back to their childhoods across the abyss of the Great War.^[6] The Edwardian age was also seen as a mediocre period of pleasure between the great achievements of the preceding Victorian age and the catastrophe of the following war.^[7] Recent assessments emphasise the great differences between the wealthy and the poor during the Edwardian era and describe the age as heralding great changes in political and social life.^[1] Robert Tressell's popular novel The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is a strong example of the era's social critique.

Despite this, this type of perception has been challenged more recently by modern historians. The British historian Lawrence James has argued that, during the early 20th century, the British felt increasingly threatened by rival powers such as Germany, Russia, and the United States.^[8]

See also[link]

• 1900s (decade)

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Edwardian Country House/Manor House (Channel 4 TV/PBS series, very evocative of the period)
• Home Decor from the Edwardian Age (from the BBC)
• Edwardian Promenade (Website devoted to the Edwardian era)
• Edwardians by Paul Thompson (oral historian) at UK Data Archive

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

Emily Davison

Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was a militant women's suffrage activist. On 4 June 1913, after a series of actions that were either self-destructive or violent^{[citation needed]}, she stepped in front of the King's horse running in the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.^[1] It is still not known if she was attempting suicide or if she was just attempting to disturb the Derby.

Biography[link]

Suffragette, Emily Wilding Davison memorial issue of the newspaper edited by Christabel Pankhurst

Davison was born in Blackheath, London, the daughter of Charles Davison (of Morpeth, Northumberland) and Margaret Davison (of Longhorsley, Northumberland). She had two sisters, a brother and many half-siblings (from her father's first, second and third marriages) including a half-brother, retired naval captain Henry Jocelyn Davison, who gave evidence at her inquest.^[2]

She later attended Kensington High School and won a bursary to Royal Holloway College in 1891 to study literature.^[3]. Subsequently she was forced to drop out when her father died and her recently widowed mother could not afford the fees of £20 a term. She then took up employment as a private governess^[3] after which she became a school teacher in Edgbaston and Worthing,^[4] raising enough money to study Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford. She obtained first-class honours in her final exams, though women were not at that time admitted to degrees at Oxford. She also obtained a first class honours degree from London University.^[3] Davison obtained a post teaching the daughters of the Moorhouse family in Spratton, Northamptonshire^[5] and in 1906 joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Formed in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, the WSPU brought together those who felt strongly that militant, confrontational tactics were needed in order to achieve women's suffrage.^[3] In 1908, Davison left her teaching post to dedicate herself completely to the movement.

She gained a reputation as a militant and violent campaigner. On her own initiative and without WSPU approval, her actions developed from disrupting meetings to stone throwing and arson.^[3] She was arrested and imprisoned for various offences nine times, including a violent attack on a man she mistook for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George. She went on hunger strike in Strangeways Prison and was force-fed. She attempted suicide twice while in Strangeways by throwing herself down an iron staircase. As a result she suffered severe head and spinal damage, causing discomfort for the rest of her life.^[3]

On 2 April 1911, the night of the 1911 census, Davison hid in a cupboard in the Palace of Westminster overnight so that on the census form she could legitimately give her place of residence that night as the "House of Commons".^[6] The 1911 census documents that were uncovered state that Emily Wilding Davison was found 'hiding in the crypt' in the Houses of Parliament.^[7] In 1999 a plaque to commemorate the event was set in place by Tony Benn MP.^[8]

In 1913, she planted a bomb at Lloyd George's newly built house in Surrey, damaging it severely.^{[9] [Full citation needed]}

Fatal injury at the Epsom Derby, 1913[link]

Davison falling to the ground after being struck by the King's horse

Davison's purpose in attending the Derby of 4 June 1913 is unclear. Much has been made of the fact that she purchased a return rail ticket and a ticket to a suffragette dance later that day, suggesting that martyrdom was not her intention.^[10]

It is a possibility that by entering the race track she was trying to attach a flag to the horse owned by King George V, so that when the horse crossed the finishing line, it would be flying the WSPU flag. Evidence for this was that she had supposedly been seen, in the weeks before, stopping horses in the park near her house. However, this is only one of many theories.^{[citation needed]}

Pathé News captured the incident on film, which shows Davison carrying the banner of the WSPU as she stepped out in front of the horse, Anmer, as it rounded Tattenham Corner. The horse fell, knocking Davison to the ground, unconscious. Eyewitnesses at the time were divided as to her motivation, with many of the opinion that she had simply intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed. Others reported that she had attempted to pull down the King's horse.^{[citation needed]}

She died four days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital, due to a fractured skull and internal injuries caused by the incident. Herbert Jones, the jockey who was riding the horse, suffered a mild concussion in the incident, but was "haunted by that woman's face" for much longer. In 1928, at the funeral of Emmeline Pankhurst, Jones laid a wreath "to do honour to the memory of Mrs Pankhurst and Miss Emily Davison". In 1951, his son found Jones dead in a gas-filled kitchen.^[11]

Commemoration[link]

Emily Wilding Davison's funeral, June 1913

Davison is buried in the church yard of St. Mary the Virgin Morpeth in a family plot, her father having died in 1893. The cemetery is close to Longhorsley, where she had lived with her mother. The funeral attracted a large crowd. Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan, "Deeds not words". A funeral was held in London on 14 June 1913 and her coffin was brought by train to Morpeth for burial on 15 June.

Legacy[link]

Some historians have argued that Davison's action may have harmed the suffragette cause rather than furthered it, as the monarchy was highly respected in Britain at the time,^[12]

She is the subject of a song by American rock singer Greg Kihn, whose elegy "Emily Davison" is included on his first album, 1976's Greg Kihn.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

Archives[link]

The archives of Emily Davison are held at The Women's Library at London Metropolitan University, ref 7EWD

External links[link]

• A transcript of the Morning Post, 5 June 1913, describing the incident that led to Emily Davison's death.
• History Learning Site Bio
• Writer Barbara Gorna on Women's Parliamentary Radio claiming Davison's death to be a tragic accident not suicide
• Picture of the plaque placed by Tony Benn in the House of Commons
• The original Pathé footage of Emily Davison running out of the crowds at the Derby
• YouTube film about Emily Davison showing the collision at approximately 4:02.
• "Emily Wilding Davison". Suffragette. Find a Grave. 11 April 2005. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10754918. Retrieved 18 August 2011. 

Lily Elsie
Lily Elsie, by James Jebusa Shannon, c.1916
Born	Elsie Hodder (1886-04-08)8 April 1886 Armley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	16 December 1962(1962-12-16) (aged 76) London, England
Occupation	Actress/Singer
Years active	1895–1929

Lily Elsie (8 April 1886 – 16 December 1962) was a popular English actress and singer during the Edwardian era, best known for her starring role in the hit London premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow.

Beginning as a child star in the 1890s, Elsie built her reputation in several successful Edwardian musical comedies before her great success in The Merry Widow, opening in 1907. Afterwards, she starred in several more successful operettas and musicals. Admired for her beauty and charm on stage, Elsie became one of the most photographed women of Edwardian times.

Life and career[link]

Elsie was born Elsie Hodder at Armley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Her mother, Charlotte Elizabeth Hodder (1864–1922), was a dress-maker who operated a lodging-house. She married William Thomas Cotton, a theatre worker, in 1891, and Elsie became Elsie Cotton. The family lived in Manchester.^[1] Elsie was also the niece of Wilfred Cotton, who married actress Ada Reeve.^[2]

Child star[link]

A precocious child star, Elsie appeared in music hall and variety entertainments as a child impersonator known as "Little Elsie". Nevertheless, she was reportedly painfully shy, even as an adult. By 1895–96, she appeared in concerts and pantomimes in theatres in Salford. In 1896, she played the role of Princess Mirza in The Arabian Nights at the Queen's Theatre in Manchester. Then, at Christmas 1896–97, at the age of ten, she appeared in the title role of Little Red Riding Hood at the same theatre for six weeks and then on tour for six additional weeks.^[1] Her first London appearance was at Christmas 1898 in King Klondike at Sara Lane's Britannia Theatre as Aerielle, the Spirit of the Air. Elsie then toured the provinces, travelling as far as Bristol and Hull for a full year in McKenna's Flirtation, a farce by American E. Selden, in 1900.^[3] She then played in Christmas pantomimes, including Dick Whittington (1901), The Forty Thieves (1902), and Blue Beard (1903) and toured in Edwardian musical comedies, including The Silver Slipper by Owen Hall, with music by Leslie Stuart (1901–02), and Three Little Maids (1903).^[3] From about 1900, she adopted the stage name "Lily Elsie".^[4]

Elsie then joined George Edwardes' company at Daly's Theatre in London as a chorus girl. In 1903, she took over the role of Princess Soo-Soo in the hit musical A Chinese Honeymoon and then in the flop, Madame Sherry, by Hugo Felix, at the Apollo Theatre. She also played the roles of Gwenny Holden in Lady Madcap, Lady Patricia Vereker in The Cingalee in 1904, Madame du Tertre in The Little Michus in 1905, and Lady Agnes Congress in The Little Cherub (during which, she was fired by Edwardes for giggling, but soon rehired), Humming Bird in See See and Lally in The New Aladdin at the Gaiety Theatre, all in 1906. From 1900 to 1906, she appeared in 14 shows.^[4]

Merry Widow and peak years[link]

Elsie's biggest success came in creating the title role in the English language version of The Merry Widow in the London production. Edwardes took Elsie to see the original German version (Die Lustige Witwe) in Berlin. Elsie was at first reluctant to take on the demanding part, thinking her voice too light for the role, but Edwardes persuaded her to accept.^[5] Edwardes brought her to see the famous designer, Lucile, for a style coaching. Lucile later wrote, "I realised that here was a girl who had both beauty and intelligence but who had never learnt how to make the best of herself. So shy and diffident was she in those days that a less astute producer than George Edwardes would in all probability have passed her over and left her in the chorus."^[6] The production, with English lyrics by Adrian Ross, opened in June 1907 and ran for 778 performances at Daly's Theatre. Elsie created the role at Daly's and toured with it beginning in August 1908. The show was an enormous success for its creators and made Elsie a major star.^[4] One critic at the opening night praised "the youthfulness, the dainty charm and grace, the prettiness and the exquisite dancing with which Miss Elsie invests the part.... I share the opinion of most of the first-nighters, who considered it could not have been in better hands, and could not have been better handled.... The night was a genuine triumph for Miss Elsie, and she well deserved all the calls she received."^[7]

Lucile designed the costumes for Elsie in The Merry Widow (including the plumed hats that became an extraordinary fad) and thereafter used Elsie to promote her fashions, designing her personal clothes and costumes for several of her other shows. Lucile wrote, "That season was a very brilliant one, perhaps the most brilliant of the series which brought the social life of pre-war London to its peak. And just when it was at its zenith a new play was launched with a new actress, who set the whole town raving over her beauty...."^[6] Elsie's image was in great demand by advertisers^[8] and on postcards, and she received unsolicited gifts of great value from many male admirers (and even bequests).^[1] Lucile commented, "She was absolutely indifferent to most [men] for she once told me she disliked the male character and considered that men only behaved tolerably to a woman who treated them coldly".^[6] Nevertheless, Elsie became one of the most frequently photographed beauties of the Edwardian era. According to the Atlanta Constitution newspaper in America, writing in 1915:

"Perhaps her face is nearer to that of the Venus de Milo in profile than to any other famed beauty. There are no angles to be found about her any place.... If she came to America, she would undoubtedly be called the most beautiful woman in America. Nature never made a more brilliant success in the beauty business than she did with Lily Elsie. It was mostly from the nobility that her suitors came. Everyone agrees that Lily Elsie has the most kissable mouth in all England... she possesses the Cupid's bow outline with the ends curving upward delicately, all ready for smiles.... Strangely enough, the women of the land were among her most devoted admirers."^[9]

After The Merry Widow, Elsie appeared in another 16 shows, including in the very successful English language versions of The Dollar Princess in 1909; as Franzi in A Waltz Dream; and as Angèle in The Count of Luxembourg, both in 1911, garnering continuous praise. One critic wrote, "...it gave great pleasure merely to see her walk across the stage."^[5]

Elsie left the cast of The Count of Luxembourg to marry 6' 3" Major John Ian Bullough (1885–1936), the son of a wealthy textile manufacturer, but the marriage was reported to be mostly unhappy. In addition, Elsie often suffered from ill health, including anaemia, among other ailments, and had several operations during her years onstage. The gossip column in The Pelican called her "the occasional actress".^[1] Bullough wanted his wife to retire from the stage. The publicity shy and exhausted Elsie was happy to leave the stage for the next several years, except for charity performances to benefit the war effort. She returned in the title role of Louis Parker's comedy play Malvourneen with Herbert Beerbohm Tree at His Majesty's Theatre, as Lady Catherine Lazenby in The Admirable Crichton in 1916 and in the title role in Pamela written by Arthur Wimperis, with songs by Frederic Norton (1917; with Owen Nares).^[4] The Tatler wrote of her performance in Malvourneen, "Everyone should see Miss Lily Elsie in this play, for it shows us that her comedy is as good as her musical comedy, which is saying a great deal."^[10]

Later years[link]

In 1920, Elsie moved with her husband to the Gloucestershire village of Redmarley D'Abitot, spending ten more years away from the stage, which she had always found stressful, and enjoying social events and fox hunting. She returned to theatre, touring and then at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in London in 1927 as Eileen Mayne in The Blue Train, the English language adaptation of Robert Stolz's German musical comedy Mädi. Her last show before retiring was Ivor Novello's successful The Truth Game back at Daly's Theatre in 1928–1929.^[5]

Finally, in 1930, Elsie's unhappy marriage ended in divorce as her health deteriorated further and she became subject to fits of ill temper. She became a hypochondriac and spent much time in nursing homes and Swiss sanatoria. She was diagnosed as having serious psychological ailments and underwent brain surgery that reportedly resulted in an improvement in her health. Her last years were spent at St. Andrew's Hospital in London.

Elsie died at St. Andrew's Hospital (demolished in 1973), Cricklewood, London, aged 76, and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.

Recordings and films[link]

From Pamela, Duets with Owen Nares. Music by Frederick Norton. Lyrics by Arthur Wimperis. Recorded on 22 January 1918:

• "I'm so very Glad I met You". HMV 04224 (Matrix No. HO-3046 af)
• "It's not the things you've got". HMV 04225 (Matrix No. HO-3051 af)
• "I Loved you so". HMV 03602 (Matrix No. HO 3048 af)
• "Waltz theme and Cupid" (Finales, Act 2). HMV 04223(Matrix No. HO 3053 af)
• "Cupid, Cupid". HMV 03601 (Matrix No. HO 3054 af)

From The Blue Train. Music by Robert Stolz, Ivy St. Helier and Gorney, lyrics by Dion Titheradge and Reginald Arkell. Recorded in 1927:

• "The Blue Train". (Titheradge and Gorney) Columbia 4438 (Matrix No. 5661)
• "When a Girl is in Love with a Man". (Titheradge, Arkell, and Stolz) Duet with Arthur Margetson. Columbia 9223 (Matrix No. AX 2866)
• "Eileen". (Arkell and Stolz) Duet with Arthur Margetson. Columbia 4439 (Matrix No. A 5660)
• "Swiss Fairyland". (Arkell and Stolz) Columbia 4438 (Matrix No. A 5662)
• "You Didn't Ask Me First". (Arkell and St.Helier) Duet with Arthur Margetson. Columbia 9223 (Matrix No. AX 2867)

Elsie appeared in two films: First, the D. W. Griffith film The Great Love (1918), which starred Lillian Gish. Her role was a cameo. Second, Comradeship (1919), a black & white, silent picture. The film was very popular in its day.

Gallery[link]

• Lily Elsie - Postcard - Postmarked Birmingham Sept 1909.jpg

  Lily Elsie – Postcard, postmarked Birmingham September 1909

• Lily Elsie - Postcard - Postmarked Oct 1907.jpg

  Lily Elsie, as Sonia in the 1907 production of The Merry Widow – Postcard, postmarked October 1907

• Lily Elsie in The Merry Widow.jpg

  Lily Elsie in The Merry Widow

• LilyElsie2.jpg

  Lily Elsie in A Chinese Honeymoon

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Beaton, C. "Lovely Lily Elsie", The rise and fall of the matinée idol, ed. A. Curtis (1974), pp. 3–19
• Elsie, Lily. "How to Succeed in Musical Comedy", Every-Woman's Encyclopaedia, circa 1911, vol. 30, pp. 3679–3681.
• Gänzl, Kurt. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, 2 vols. (1994)
• Gänzl, Kurt. The British musical theatre, 2 vols. (1986)
• Slattery-Christy, David. Anything But Merry!: The Life and Times of Lily Elsie, Authorhouse, 2008 ISBN 1-4343-6812-2

External links[link]

• Lily Elsie website
• Listing and description of Lily Elsie's shows
• Excerpts from the memoirs of Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon
• 1904 interview of Lily Elsie
• Numerous photos of Elsie and image of her Times obituary
• Photos of Elsie, arranged by show
• Photo of Elsie
• Photo of Elsie dressed as a man