The Strange Case
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Info.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was originally written as a book by Robert Louis Stevenson. An adaptation of the book was performed as a play for the first time in1887, the plot was reworked by Thomas Sullivan.
What was happening?
Robert Louis Sullivan was sick and barely able to leave the house during the time that he wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He had a nightmare and then wrote the book about it. Britain was in a war with Sudan at the time.
He wrote the book in 1885.
He wrote the book in 1885.
War.
War: These events happened during the Mahdist War.
1885
1885
- January – Battle of Abu Klea
- 28 January – General Charles George Gordon is killed by Mahommed Ahmed (the self-proclaimed Mahdi) after his siege of Khartoum; British relief force arrives two-days later.
- 8 February – Battle of Schuinshoogte
- 10 February – Battle of Kirbekan
- 27 February – Battle of Majuba Hill
- 30 December – Battle of Ginnis
Politics.
Politics: These events happened during the same time and were probably a large center of political debates.
Events
- 17 January — Mahdist War: British victory at the Battle of Abu Klea.
- 24 January
- Irish terrorists damage Westminster Hall and the Tower of London with dynamite.[1]
- Edge Hill College opens in Liverpool.
- 26 January — Mahdist War: In Sudan, following the Siege of Khartoum, British and Egyptian forces are defeated by the Mahdist Sudanese. The British commander Charles George Gordon is killed.[2]
- 23 February — The executioner at HM Prison Exeter fails after several attempts to hang John 'Babbacombe' Lee, sentenced for the murder of his employer Emma Keyse; Lee's sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.
- 26 February — The Berlin Conference concludes with the major European powers including the United Kingdom establishing their spheres of influence in the "scramble for Africa".[2]
- 14 March — Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado opens at the Savoy Theatre in London.[3]
- 26 March — First legal cremation in England: Mrs Jeanette Pickersgill of London, "well known in literary and scientific circles",[4] is cremated by the Cremation Society at Woking Crematorium in Surrey.
- 31 March — The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland.
- 29 April — Women are permitted to take the University of Oxford entrance examination for the first time.[5]
- 5 June — Niger River basin becomes a British protectorate.[1]
- 9 June — William Ewart Gladstone's Liberal government is defeated in a vote of no confidence following criticism of the fall of Khartoum and violence in Ireland. Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury forms a new Conservative government.[2]
- 18 June — Clifton Hall Colliery disaster: an explosion kills 178 in Salford.
- 24 June — Lord Randolph Churchill becomes Secretary of State for India.
- 6–9 July — Eliza Armstrong case: Campaigning journalist W. T. Stead publishes a series of articles in the Pall Mall Gazette entitled The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon exposing the extent of female child prostitution in London.[2]
- 20 July — Professional football is legalised.[5]
- 22 July — Caister Lifeboat capsizes: 8 of 15 crew are killed.
- 7 August — Criminal Law Amendment Act passes through Parliament, raising the age of consent from 13 to 16, and thereby outlawing child prostitution. The Labouchere Amendment to the Act outlaws "gross indecency" between males.[2]
- 12 September
- Bury F.C., formed in a meeting between the Bury Wesleyans and Bury Unitarians Football Clubs, play at Gigg Lane for the first time, beating a Wigan team 4–3.
- Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, the all-time largest margin of victory in professional football.
- 29 September — Opening of the Blackpool tramway, the first to be electrically powered.[5]
- 30 September — A British force abolishes the Boer republic of Stellaland and adds it to British Bechuanaland.
- October — Third Burmese War begins.[2]
- 3 October — Millwall F.C. is founded by workers on the Isle of Dogs in London as Millwall Rovers.
- 23 November — General election. Liberals under Gladstone hold the largest number of seats, but Salisbury remains Prime Minister with the support of the Irish Party.[1]
- 28 November — British occupy Mandalay;[1] Burma annexed to British India.
Men's Clothing.
These were the clothes worn by men during the time.
Overcoats were popular during this time.
Overcoats were popular during this time.
Women's Clothing.
These were the clothes worn by women during this time. Dresses with the Officers Collar were popular during this time.
Clothes.
Long dresses and hats were very common.
Economy.
Queen Victoria's reign lasted from 1837 to 1901. Her rule was refereed to as the Golden Age.
Theme.
The theme does not fit what was going on at the time, the book was written based on a nightmare Stevenson had.
Theatre.
I couldn't find anything about theater at the time except that the first on stage adaptation of the novella was in 1887, so I'm assuming that theater was viewed as good and not evil.
I don't know how the theater looked.
I don't know how the theater looked.