Mrs Plenty

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"In the migrainous straits of deep sleep, there is a marsh where candle-flames buzz like wasps."

WARNING: Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London's most infamous storyline: Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. Turn back now.

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Miriam Plenty is the proprietress of Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival, in the East End of London.

A Lady of the Well

"They says I 'asn't got an 'eart. They're wrong about that. I 'ate to see you chuckin' yer 'ole self away like this. But, more'n that, I got certain duties I can't get out of, even with wot Jervaise and 'Imself did fer me. You can take the gel out of the Mutton, but you can't take the Mutton out of the gel. Not all the way. So what about you? Why're you chasin' yer doom so 'ard?"[1]

Mrs Plenty hails from Mutton Island, which is where she gets her charming Cockney accent—a detail she keeps hidden from the public.[2] Each year, she returns for The Fruits of the Zee Festival, though always in disguise,[3] as she is no longer welcome there. Despite this, she still has a few friends on the island.[4] She leads revellers to Wrecker's Cove, the place where lost treasures wash up, in exhange for ingredients for her Rubbery Lumps.[5] However, after the third 1899, she stopped doing this due to the appearance of the King-in-Coral.[6]

Some of the Mrs Plenty's Carnival's attractions, like Rubbery Lumps,[7] are imitations of Mutton Island's traditions.[7] Ever the shrewd businesswoman, she even sells them outside the Carnival, at the The Labyrinth of Tigers.[8]

Her genteel, rather bohemian appearance belies her profession. She was once a Seeker of Mr Eaten's Name, and was saved from the ruinous quest by His Amused Lordship,[9] but she never truly left that path; she now guards and guides others to a particular candle in a warped version of her Carnival, accessible only at midnight. She is not very happy with her duty, however.[10] Mrs Plenty has been to the Iron Republic, but only once.[11] Plenty also has a connection to The Orphanage.[12][13] She has lockpicking skills.[14] She visits the Bone Market to procure attractions for her Carnival.[15]

The Election of 1897

"What we need is someone sensible in charge. Firm character. Won’t hold with any funny business." She smiles broadly. "What it needs is me."[16]

For the 1897 Election, Mrs Plenty threw her hat into the ring for the position of Lord Mayor of London. She ran under the slogan: "A Moment's Peace". Her goal was to grant the city a year of respite from turmoil.[17] Her campaign was largely supported by bohemians and employees of her Carnival, with His Amused Lordship serving as her campaign manager.[18]

One of her rivals was her own employee, Madame Shoshana. While Mrs. Plenty wasn’t upset that Shoshana ran for mayor—in fact, she seemed rather proud—she was decidedly irked that Shoshana chose to run against her[19] and thus engaged in all sorts of petty shenanigans against Shoshana all throughout the Election.[20][21]

Her stated goal was to ensure a peaceful year for London. She planned to achieve this by hiring more constables to maintain order, hosting celebrations on Mutton Island, and bribing London’s adversaries to “b____r off for a bit”.[22] However, her true intentions were to expand her business[21] and bring prosperity to her home island.[23] Her supporters received genuine Rubbery Lumps made in Mutton Island.[24] Had she won, she would have upheld her promise of a joyful year, bringing Mutton Island’s festivities to London. But she also would have used the Mayoral office to drain London’s coffers for her own benefit.[25]

In the end, Plenty and Shoshana lost the Election to Virginia.[26] Mrs Plenty was less upset about losing and more shocked that it wasn’t Shoshana who defeated her. Rather than giving London a holiday, she decided to take one herself.[27]

Relationships

Mrs Plenty ran a bar called the Cock and Magpie on Mutton Island with her husband Jervaise before becoming entangled with the Masters. Once a year, she returns and runs the bar for a day.[14] Jervaise and His Amused Lordship helped her recover from the Seeking Road,[28] though the experience left psychological scars.[29][30] Jervaise and Miriam[31] both habitually smoke tobacco,[32][33] and they share a fondness for bickering.[34]

Her relationship with His Amused Lordship is complicated. They presumably met through His Lordship's wife, Miriam's partner in Seeking. When the path demanded betrayal, Her Ladyship sought her husband's help in betraying Miriam. But by then, His Lordship's affection for Miriam had grown, and instead he warned Miriam. Soon afterward, Her Ladyship vanished, likely into a well.[35] Rumours abound about the nature of Mrs Plenty and His Lordship's relationship as they are both married (not anymore in His Lordship case).[36] His Lordship claims that they are just friends,[9] though Plenty herself seems to have complicated feelings about that.[37]

The Masters of the Bazaar promised Plenty riches and influence in London as part of an arrangement with His Amused Lordship.[38] They likely funded her Carnival to entice her away from Seeking. As they are her benefactors, Plenty is reluctant to bad-mouth them.[39]

  1. ↑ "What do you care?", Fallen London
  2. ↑ Blackmail Mrs Plenty, Fallen London 'I'm sure the press would be kind when reporting your humble origins and the... quaint customs of Mutton Island. Still, my memory is not what it was...'
  3. ↑ Confront a Hooded Lady of Mysterious Provenance, Fallen London "'[…] all right, don't shout about it,' she hisses. 'I'm all in a cognito, ain't I? Just wanted to see the old stomping-grounds. Remember younger, stupider, simpler days. Look, if keep your bleedin' mouth shut I'll owe you one. Take this as surety.' […]"
  4. ↑ Virginia's Personal Chauffeur, Fallen London "I shouldn't have expected any different. Miriam Plenty might not be welcome here, but she still has friends on the island."
  5. ↑ Offer a Hooded Lady your Strange Catch, Fallen London
  6. ↑ Ask the Hooded Lady about the King-in-Coral, Fallen London
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lu-umps! Get yer rubbery Lu-umps! Pride of the Neath!, Fallen London "Alarming beasts dredged up from the Unterzee, hit on the head, chopped up and fried in batter. Two hours from trawler to newspaper wrapping. Luvverly. No Rubbery Man content whatever. Guaranteed by Mr Hearts, so it is."
  8. ↑ Take some refreshment, Fallen London Mrs Plenty knows a good business opportunity when she sees one. There are Rubbery Lump stands dotted all around the Labyrinth, shunned by cats and haunted by urchins.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ask His Lordship about the Marvellous, Fallen London "Damn fool game. I only played to rescue a damn fool friend. Well, friend undersells it rather a lot. She wouldn't be pleased to hear me describe her so. [...] She was on a dark path, a seeker of that which shouldn't be sought. I played the game to win her back."
  10. ↑ At a crossroads, Fallen London ""You've come a long way," […] "Not as far as I came, back when I was Looking, but then I 'ad certain advantages. In me upbringing. And anyway, you might go further." She leans closer, and her ear-rings jingle. "Free advice for yer. Don't.""
  11. ↑ "Have you ever been to the Iron Republic?", Fallen London "Then a sound. Is she... is she weeping? "Yes," she says very quietly. "Just once.""
  12. ↑ "After I left the Palace..." You shrug., Fallen London"The Shuttered Palace! Tell yer what, I'd rather spend a week in the Orphanage than a month in that... that... over-furnished undertaker's. No music! I'm not surprised yer brain turned. But turned it 'as."
  13. ↑ Discover Virginia's scheme, Fallen London "For my research, I need something that remembers the Orphanage. I have heard that Mrs Plenty is familiar with the place and took a mask away with her. She didn't keep it long."
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Visit Mutton Island with Mrs Plenty (12 FATE), Fallen London "You find Mrs Plenty in your kitchen, raiding your tea supplies. "Let meself in. Got an invite for you. Sorry for intrudin'" she says. "Knew a locksmith way back." She winks outrageously. It's a mild crossing, and Mrs Plenty does do her share of the rowing. She also produces a picnic hamper from somewhere, and you dine on eel pie and champagne as you make your way across the mild stretch of zee between London and the island. The island is dark when you arrive. "They kip early," Mrs Plenty says, helping you manoeuvre the boat ashore. "But the pub stays open till morning." True to her word, there is a lit lantern hanging over the Cock and Magpie's door. Inside, laughter. Miriam Plenty, who has adopted a waxen mask, takes up her space behind the bar, and pours you a generous ale. "On the 'ouse," she says with a wink. "All on the 'ouse tonight." You settle in on a dark bench, locals move aside to let you in. The locals are friendly. Candles flow from the kitchen, and are in need of continuous resupply. The room is dark half of the evening as candles go out and are then relit. They share stories of bad ends and darker crossings. Behind her mask, Mrs Plenty doles out comforting advice in the form of too-neat parables as she serves her ale. "Best I can do for 'em," Mrs Plenty says as you depart. "Too late for most. But maybe one or two will remember a better time.""
  15. ↑ Mrs Plenty, Fallen London "She buys that which might terrify visitors to her Carnival."
  16. ↑ Mrs Plenty (Election Candidate), Fallen London
  17. ↑ Learn more about Mrs Plenty's platform, Fallen London
  18. ↑ Choose Mrs Plenty as your candidate, Fallen London "Despite her slogan, Mrs Plenty's supporters are a noisy crowd. Bohemians. Carnival barkers, trapeze artists, tomb-colonists and a tiger or two process in her wake. His Amused Lordship is managing Mrs Plenty's campaign."
  19. ↑ Ask Mrs Plenty for her opinion on Madame Shoshana, Fallen London "In Mrs Plenty's esteemed opinion, 'that woman' is a liar, a charlatan, a no-good mountebank, an ingrate, biting the hand that feeds her, a mistress of chicanery and Judas reincarnated. Is Mrs Plenty actually proud of her?"
  20. ↑ Ask Mrs Plenty for her opinion on Virginia, Fallen London "Oo?" Mrs Plenty asks, when you catch her daubing a thick layer of paint on a moustache she’s added to a poster of Madame Shoshana from up a rickety ladder. "Oh. Her."
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Choose a Target: Mrs Plenty's Campaign, Fallen London
  22. ↑ Ask Mrs Plenty about her plan for London, Fallen London "[…] Honest constables to keep the peace […] a public 'oliday on Mutton Island, bribes to every ambassador […] to b____r off for a bit. What I means […] Is to keep the wolves from our door for another year."
  23. ↑ Persuade Mrs Plenty to share a confidence, Fallen London
  24. ↑ Mrs Plenty's Genuine Rubbery Lumps (action), Fallen London "An attendant gingerly lifts the Lumps from their pedestal. "They reek of Mutton Island," she says, wrinkling her nose. "She's called in all kinds of favours over there. Fishermen working day and night; every d__n kitchen on the island making these things. Every pan filled wi' lumps.""
  25. ↑ Have a word with Mrs Plenty (The Waswood), Fallen London
  26. ↑ Election 1897: The Victor is Announced, Fallen London
  27. ↑ Have a word with Mrs Plenty, Fallen London
  28. ↑ "What do you care?", Fallen London "I got certain duties I can't get out of, even with wot Jervaise and 'Imself did fer me."
  29. ↑ Sabotage a picnic, Fallen London "All you need do is ensure that the contents of the basket are replaced with candles. The expression on the Hooded Woman's face, and the horror on Jervaise's as he registers it, is enough to put a lid on the whole afternoon."
  30. ↑ Bring the pair to an unfortunate place, Fallen London "Jervaise takes his wife's hand and leads her from the well, but not without first shooting you a glance of mild loathing."
  31. ↑ Have a chat in the shadow of the wheel, Fallen London "Catch Mrs Plenty when she nips around the side of the wheel for a smoke."
  32. ↑ Suggest a boat ride, Fallen London "Jervaise sits in the boat, drinking and smoking..."
  33. ↑ Stories for Mr Wines, Fallen London "Jervaise waits outside the Parlour, carrying a ledger in scarlet leather. He nods as you emerge, […] putting out a cigarette […]"
  34. ↑ Suggest a boat ride, Fallen London "Jervaise and the Hooded Woman sit side by side, one oar each. They bicker ceaselessly; the boat goes in circles […] When they return some hours later, they are both beaming. "Marvellous," the Hooded Woman says. "We should do it again," Jervaise concurs."
  35. ↑ A Confession of his Amused Lordship, Fallen London: "His Amused Lordship is, possibly, a widower. His confession starts: 'I do not know what has happened to my wife.' His wife was obsessed with a terrible quest. Something involving wells and voices. She had a partner upon it, one 'Miriam', of whom his Lordship developed increasing affection. Eventually, the quest required that Miriam and her Ladyship turn upon each other. His wife turned to his Lordship for assistance, but he balked. He informed Miriam of his wife's plan. Shortly thereafter, his wife disappeared."
  36. ↑ Discommode Mrs Plenty, Fallen London "A crowd gathers, mouths agape. They are evidently in awe of your artistry – and your audacity. His Amused Lordship goes quite purple when his puppet makes an appearance in Mrs Plenty's boudoir. You are summarily ejected from the carnival, your puppets flung at your head one after the other – but the people are laughing. Oh, how they're laughing."
  37. ↑ "For love.", Fallen London "Is she fighting back tears, […]? Impossible to tell in this uncertain light. "I never sorted out to me own satisfaction," she says, rather quietly, "whether love was more trouble than it was worth. And it's even more complicated […]."
  38. ↑ It would be criminal not to, Fallen London '..but not even these promises and threats from His Lordship will stop me.[…]' 'No. It calls me. From the well, from dreams, from the North. I will bloody well go North and I will bloody well find the name. Lords and Masters be buggered! […]'
  39. ↑ "It was the Docks. The Battle.", Fallen London "You wouldn't expect to 'ear me speak ill of the Masters, would yer? And I ain't going to. But things changed that day, more than anyone expected. London won't always be this way. P'raps you should wait and see what's coming."
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