Precedence in Vanity Fair. From English Society. Sketched by George du Maurier. Click on image to enlarge it.
The lady guests go in to dinner with the host and young Sir John and young Sir James and the Hon. Dick Swiveller, while the hostess naturally takes the arm of her nephew, Lord Goslin (just from Eton, so that, as the party is just two ladies short, Dr. Jones, the great historian, and Professor Brown, the famous philologist (whose wives have not been asked), bring up the rear together.
The Doctor.—“ Well, Professor, we may be of less consequence than the rest, but at all events we’re the oldest and the most renowned !”
Related Material & Cartoons on Class, Precedence, and Ethnicity
- A Daughter of Heth
- Precedence at Bonnebouche Hall during the Holidays.
- The Dancing Man of the Period
- Social Class in Victorian England
- Examples of class-based humor
- The Complex History of the Idea of “Gentleman”
Scanned image and text by George P. Landow [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
English Society. Sketched by George du Maurier. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1897.
Created 1 July 2001
Last modified 27 April 2020