Real-Life Parallels

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously." Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.

Dr. Schlomo, better known as Freud.

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 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Historical Characters

• 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. 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, 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.

• 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 example, Couthon's legs were paralyzed due to what was believed to be meningitis, and he was eventually confined to a wheelchair.
• The Great Game used to be a power struggle in Central Asia but now spans the world.

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.
• The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem is (at least possibly) Gilgamesh; if this is true, the King with a Hundred Hearts might be Enkidu. However, instead of Uruk, the Temple of Eyes in the First City hints at Tell Brak.
• 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.

Ancient Figures

• The Duchess is Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun's sister/wife. King Tut became the Cantigaster.

• The Widow is Shirin, daughter of Mongke Khan.