Real-Life Parallels

WARNING!! Spoilers ahead!

Several astute players have noticed parallels between Fallen London and the real world, besides its alternate-historical setting and the well-known fact that the Empress and her Consort are Victoria and Albert.

Historical-Domain Characters:

Mr. Huffam, of Doubt Street fame, is none other than Charles Dickens. The Epigrammatic Irishman, a character in a fairly recently released storylet involving Mr Pages, is Oscar Wilde. Dr. Schlomo, a nightmare-curing Victorian Dr. Oz, is Sigmund Schlomo Freud. Jack-of-Smiles is Jack the Ripper, of course. Painter William Holman Hunt also appears in the game as the Ginger-Haired Painter. The Relickers, aka rag-and-bone-men, existed and still exist in real life. The Bishopric of Southwark is actually a thing. So was The Great Game, which used to be a power struggle in Central Asia but now spans the world. Sir Stamford Raffles, mentioned in reference to the Labyrinth of Tigers and the Correspondence is 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.

A few fictional figures, too!
The Calendar Council is the Council of Days from The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton. The Honey-Addled Detective in Ladybones Road is Sherlock Holmes gone bad.

And the golden oldies (some spoilers here, but nothing specifically Fate-locked):
The Duchess is Ankhesenamun, King Tut's sister/wife. (King Tut became the Cantigaster.) The Widow is Shirin, daughter of Mongke Khan. The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem is (at least possibly) Gilgamesh; if this is true, the King with a Hundred Hearts might be Enkidu.

Real-World Locations Moloch Street, the home of the Honey-Addled Detective, is a parallel to Sherlock Holmes' Baker Street. Elderwick Street is Aldwych. Lusitania Row is Piccadilly. Blythenhale is Bethnal Green.

[[Category:Characters][Category:Places]]