|alias = The Stalwart Lady<br>Guardian of London<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/You_have_pledged_your_support_to_-|You have pledged your support to -|Fallen London|}}</ref><br>Her Upstairs (to Chuffy)
|alias = The Stalwart Lady<br>Her Upstairs (to Chuffy)
"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."
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"She has an agenda for London, and all the lands around London, for that matter: clean living, virtue, and tea."[1]
The Dauntless Temperance Campaigner is a high-profile activist in London.
"She champions a great many causes, large and small, for nothing is beneath her notice and she will let no vice go unchecked. Yet, she cares for animals, the poor, the reformed criminals and honey addicts with as much fervour as she crusades against wicked landlords and spirifers, liquor merchants and honey peddlers."[2]
The Campaigner advocates for temperance (the restriction or prohibition of alcohol), human and animal welfare, and the moral betterment of all Londoners. She is known to visit the sick throughout the city, offering them hearty potato soup for their convalescence.[3] As a pet owner[4] who harbors a particular (and mutually shared) fondness for cats,[5] she dislikes seeing animals in captivity and has been known to purchase caged animals simply to free them.[6] Although she is a strong proponent of criminal rehabilitation, the Campaigner cannot always apply this when personal conflict is involved, for instance when a person's disreputable past affected someone in her family.[7]
The Campaigner uses her respectable public image to promote products from reputable sources that align with her moral standards,[8] and she stages protests outside establishments (like pubs) that she believes are harmful to the moral health of London.[9] On occasion, she attends poetry readings in Veilgarden, where she is a particularly vocal critic[10] of poetry that includes pagan elements, excessive alcohol references, or poor rhyming.[11]
While not a member of the profession, the Campaigner is a member of Sophia's club of Monster-Hunters. She is certainly no slouch herself,[12] but primarily attends for the tea and conversation[13] and leads the club's relief efforts.[14] The Campaigner was also close friends with John (likely John Cassell), the previous March of the Calendar Council; after the Council ordered his assassination, she was the one who found his body.[15]
"A fixture among London's social reformers, she has a plethora of worthy causes, all of which she is passionately devoted to. Her slogan is 'Teatime for London.'"[16]
In 1895, the Campaigner announced her candidacy for Mayor of London, running under the slogan "Teatime for London." Her platform included improved conditions and greater rights for London’s workers, debtors, and tenants; establishment of "houses of respite and healing" to aid addicts and the impoverished; advocacy for the city's assorted animals; crackdowns on spirifage and prisoner's honey;[17] and of course, the promotion of tea.[18] Her campaign was primarily supported by well-meaning society types, the Church, and those seeking a path out of criminal life.[16] Thanks to her grandson Chuffy McAvoy-Dauntless, she also received support from the Young Stags in guarding a massive stockpile of confiscated honey.[19] The Campaigner turned away revolutionaries, however, as she still held a grudge over John's murder.[20]
As the Election progressed, the Campaigner gradually lost elite support and faced scrutiny over her massive "honey-well," a haphazard attempt at containing a larger problem.[21] However, she gained traction with Clay Men, who recognized her past advocacy on their behalf.[22] While Feducci ultimately won the election,[23] the undeterred Campaigner immediately set out to continue her fight against immorality.[24]
The temperance movement in the United Kingdom emerged in the early 19th century as a response to widespread alcohol consumption and its associated social problems, including poverty, domestic violence, and public disorder. Initially, the movement promoted moderation, but over time, many advocates pushed for total abstinence ("teetotalism"). Organizations such as the National Temperance League, established in 1856, played a pivotal role in promoting these ideals. While the temperance movement did not result in widespread legal success in the United Kingdom, its global prominence in the early 20th century led to longer-term prohibition and restrictions of alcohol sales in Canada, the United States, Norway, Finland, and some provinces of India.
Women were instrumental in the temperance movement, often linking the fight against alcohol to broader social reforms. Figures like Lady Henry Somerset championed both temperance and women's rights. John Cassell, the most likely identity of the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's late friend, was a prominent temperance advocate and publisher who used his platform to promote temperance and educate the working class. Additionally, like the Campaigner, some temperance activists (e.g. Thomas Bywater Smithies) also campaigned for animal welfare.
↑Find him a new home, Fallen London"There's an elderly lady of your acquaintance who campaigns for Temperance. […] she can no longer manage her […] fighting weasel and your […] dog will make an excellent companion for her. […] He's going to a good home where he won't be allowed to drink."
↑Persuade the Viscountess, Fallen London""She is highly regarded among cats," says the Viscountess stiffly. She is frequently to be found sitting on the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's lap during meetings, but as this is undignified, no one is ever allowed to allude to the fact."
↑A Dauntless Temperance Campaigner is cooing at your Live Specimen. Sunless Sea"I never did like to see anything locked up." She searches her purse for payment, as two of her burlier supporters heft the cage. The thing inside is remarkably still. The Dauntless Temperance Campaigner hands over the fee, and pats the cage. "Come now, dearie. Let's get you out of here."
↑Speak with the Temperance Campaigner, Fallen London"I dine regularly with a Tomb-Colonist. We talk long into the evenings, trying to solve London's problems. But we are not always serious; I enjoy the time I spend with him. He makes me laugh."She shakes her head, smiling sadly. "One evening, I thought I recognised his voice. I had to know. I persuaded him to unravel the bandages from his face. I recognised him. Before they'd been to the Colonies, he had been a notorious louche. He'd led many astray; including my niece. I had despised him. He is clearly reformed, but I cannot forgive him. I have been declining requests to dine since. I haven't told him why. His last message sounded deeply lonely, but... I can't bring myself."
↑Mock an Insufferable Poseur, Fallen London"You hadn't noticed the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner listening appreciatively at the back. As soon as you begin, she turns on you. Her arguments aren't, frankly, compelling, but dear God her voice is loud. You withdraw from the field."
↑A quick commission: Hymns to Sobriety, Fallen London"I'm sorry, I don't consider these pagan allusions appropriate for a properly Christian city. Nor can I commend this 'water of life' business. Alcohol is both sin and death! Furthermore, [...] 'satin' has never rhymed with 'pattern' in any English I speak."
↑Persuade the Bishop of Southwark, Fallen London""Now there is a fearless woman," […] He may be referring to the time he challenged the Campaigner to an arm-wrestling session […] A pot of tea was spilled […] but it did teach the other board members not to make certain assumptions about the lady."
↑Betray the Haunted Doctor's trust, Fallen London"John was one of my dearest friends. I was the one who found him – collapsed in his Blackfinger office, lying on a pile of tracts. Thank you, [...] I see I have another campaign to mount. I'll rally the troops. I'll see the Council brought to justice."
↑ 16.016.1Choose the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner as your candidate, Fallen London"[…] the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner […] cares for animals, the poor, the reformed criminals and honey addicts […] against wicked landlords and spirifiers […] Her campaign is bolstered by staunch Society matrons, Criminals […] and the Church. […]"
↑The Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's Campaign 1, Fallen London"Inside are instructions on waylaying honey-dealers, and accounts describing the purchase of vast amounts of honey. The Campaigner is eager to get the stuff out of people's hands, but has no idea what to do with it all. Gallon after gallon of it are being poured into a 'honey-well.'"
↑Learn more about the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's campaign, Fallen London"I have dedicated my life to fighting exploitation. Yes, I've fought the honey-pushers [...] and the drink-dealers who poison mothers and fathers. But I'm here to fight the factory-owners, the landlords, the bankers who drive our citizens into such harmful escapes. We must help the addled and afflicted, provide houses of respite and healing. And tea. I am in favour of tea." She smiles and gives you a firm handshake, before marching away to menace a notoriously unscrupulous landlord."
↑The Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's Campaign 1, Fallen London"At the foot of the stairs is [...] a contingent of Young Stags. [...] Chuffy McAvoy-Dauntless presses a finger to your lips and shakes his head. "Her Upstairs and I argue like braying asses, but she taught me the best of what I know. No one'll come near if we're here. Mum's the word. Or Grandmum." He presses past you, to join his comrades in the honey-smelling dark."
↑Read about the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's Campaign, Fallen London"The Dauntless Campaign is visibly struggling. Rumours of a 'honey-well' circulate in the taverns and low houses of Veilgarden, to general amusement. Her supporters are thinning, and her name has been heard uttered in a variety of unkind contexts by various luminaries of high society, in various exclusive teahouses."
↑Read about the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner's Campaign, Fallen London"...the Campaigner herself is unbowed. She has been seen marching with her head held high through Hastings Square, Spite, and Veilgarden. Rumour has it that there are rumblings in the Clay Quarters: that the Clay Men have begun to talk politics, and are remembering old kindnesses the Stalwart Lady has done for them."
↑1895: The Victor is Announced!, Fallen London"Feducci steps forward, offering the crowd a regal wave. Thundering roars of approval hail his victory, met equally by explosive jeers. Feducci stands above them all, laughing."
↑Have a word with the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner, Fallen London"'Not quite what we hoped, was it?' [...] I didn't compromise though. I do have that. If this is what the people want, well. We keep fighting. I hope you'll still march with your fellow Londoners, and fight for what's right.' She stands, draining her cup in one. [...] She smiles with proud weariness, and departs without a word more.
