Real-Life Parallels

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Dr. Schlomo, better known as Freud.

More so than any of the other games in this setting, Fallen London features an array of characters whom the astute player might recognize from somewhere else...

Historical Figures

• As we all can tell quite easily, the Empress and her Consort are Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
• The Widow is Shirin (or Cheren), daughter of Mongke Khan.
• The exact identity of the Duchess is disputed, as there are conflicts between different segments of Fallen London, but she is one of the daughters of the pharaoh Akhenaten. His other surviving daughters are now known as the Poisoned Priestess, the Obstinate Adoratrice, the Mother Superior of Abbey Rock, and the Roseate Queen of Arbor.
• Mr. Huffam, of Doubt Street fame, is none other than Charles John Huffam Dickens.
• The Epigrammatic Irishman, the deceased lover of the Wilted Dandy, is Oscar Wilde. The Dandy himself may be Robbie Ross, Wilde's literary executor.
• Dr. Schlomo, the Interpreter of Dreams, is Sigmund Schlomo Freud, founder of the practice of psychoanalysis. Freud in real life had a great interest in dreams, believing them to be a path to the knowledge of the unconscious. In fact, he published a book on the subject, called The Interpretation of Dreams.
• The painter William Holman Hunt appears in the game as the Ginger-Haired Painter.
• Sir Stamford Raffles, mentioned in reference to the Labyrinth of Tigers and the Correspondence, was indeed the founder of the British colony of Singapore, the Zoological Society of London, and the London Zoo. His son, Leopold, also survived and is now Pirate-King of the Isle of Cats.
• March of the Calendar Council - until he was murdered by the Haunted Doctor, at least - was temperance campaigner and author John Cassell, who also sold coffee.
• Georges Auguste Couthon was guillotined in the French Revolution in real life, but the similarities between Couthon and the Jovial Contrarian seem to be no coincidence. For instance, Couthon's legs were paralyzed due to what was believed to be meningitis, and he was eventually compelled to rely on a wheelchair; the Contrarian, likewise, is a wheelchair user.
• The Dusty Ornithologist is most likely Charles Darwin, who based his theory of evolution on finches from the Galapagos islands.
• The Dashing Debunker, featured in the Exceptional Story Noises from Upstairs, has much in common with legendary magician Harry Houdini.
• The Illuminating Futurist, featured in the Exceptional Story A Bright Future, has much less (but still a bit) in common with inventor Nikola Tesla.
• The Great Game used to be a power struggle in Central Asia but now spans the world.
• The Carpenter's Granddaughter is related to paleontologist Mary Anning, as evidenced by the name of her shop, Anning & Daughters.
• Gillibrand & Searle, writers of comic operas, are an on-the-nose reference to Gilbert and Sullivan.
• Henry Peppercorn, performer at Mahogany Hall, is ostensibly John Henry Pepper, the scientist and entertainer best known for an illusion technique called "Pepper's ghost."
• The Genre Painter, the illustrator for the Naga Advertising Agency, is Simeon Solomon, a Jewish artist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Solomon was homosexual; in the real world, the exposure of his affairs resulted in his arrest and prosecution and the end of his career.
• The Theosophist Madame Petrovsky is a likely reference to the real life founder of Theosophy, Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.
• His Amused Lordship is based on Brian Blessed, known for his "distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances".
• The Bishop of Southwark is based on Oliver Reed, known for his "upper-middle class, macho image and his heavy-drinking, hellraiser lifestyle" (how ironic).

References to Fiction

• The Calendar Council is a reference to the Council of Days from The Man Who Was Thursday, by G. K. Chesterton.
• The Honey-Addled Detective is a reference to Sherlock Holmes.
• Assuming the First City is Uruk, then the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel is Gilgamesh, the King with a Hundred Hearts is Enkidu, and the Capering Relicker is Utnapishtim.
• The Captivating Princess may be a reference to Helen from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen.
• The Red-Handed Queen is a reference to Lady Macbeth.