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Copper arsenite poisoning. That is what Maggie is suffering from, although in 1820, it was only just being identified by a small number of doctors. Arsenic compounds were used in all sorts of things, from ‘health tonics’ to makeup, even in food colouring (!!!) all through the centuries. People therefore, whilst they were aware that ingesting a large quantity of arsenic would kill you, regarded small quantities, and its use in non-food items, as harmless. The use of arsenic in the colours used for clothing, wallpaper, carpet, paint and the like resulted from the fact that it made the colours brighter, and made them last longer. In the 1770s a colouring agent made using copper and white arsenic (Scheele’s green) became popular, and was soon used extensively.
Despite the fact that people who worked with it were suffering terribly and dying, that was ignored – the wealthy wanted their bright colours (green was the main culprit, although arsenic was used in other bright colours too). In around 1814, an enhanced version of that green colouring, which was even more permanent, was invented (called Paris green) and it was, accordingly, even more poisonous.
The stuff came off flocked and patterned wallpaper as dust, it ‘gassed off’ as arsenic gas out of garments and wallpaper, as oxidation occurred over time (it was said to smell like a mouse nest) and it could be absorbed through the skin, as well as breathed in or eaten.
Which meant that pretty much everything coloured was poisonous. There were many deaths, especially in the poor who worked in the factories which produced coloured things, and amongst the older or very young members of wealthier families who could afford the wallpapers and brightly coloured cloth. (those deaths were slow and agonising, with impacts on the gut, the ability to breath, the skin and more, as well as the mind in the end)
What confused matters a lot was that, it turns out, the more protein you eat, the better equipped your body is to process arsenic out of the system – so the healthier, wealthy adults, with larger body mass, and a higher protein diet, either didn’t get sick, or didn’t get as sick – and they were the ones making decisions about what was happening.
It took until the 1850s for the truth to be recognised, and even longer for laws to be passed in various countries banning the use of arsenic in almost everything. (so, if you ever decide to buy a genuine mansion which dates from the early to mid-1800s, and has green wallpaper or paint anywhere… Get it tested as soon as you go near the place).
As this story is set in 1820, no one understood what was happening to Maggie. Mrs Withercombe was minimally affected, because she was only in that room when helping Maggie a few times a day – but Maggie slept in there, which vastly increased her exposure to the poison. The others’ refusal to decorate any of the rest of the house in green saved their lives.
King George III dying and the Prince Regent acceding to the throne – This really happened – King George the third, who had been ill for a long time (that’s why the Prince Regent was Regent) died on the 29th of January 1820.
The timing of mourning for the King - There was a strict official protocol for how long mourning should be for a member of royalty. The different degrees of mourning determined how ‘severely dark’ the clothing was which could be worn, as well as activities which were allowed. Here is the table with the details.
The calling of the House of Lords to manage the formal bits of the transition from one King to the next – This is part of the process – for the Lords of the land must make sure that the transition is smooth, undisputed, and that no lawlessness occurs while it happens.
The existence of the Loder Music Warehouse in Bath – Bath was, from the early 1700s on, filled with ‘toy-shops’ which also sold instruments, music, and pretty much any complex mechanical gadget, as well as small children’s toys. There were different ones which were there at any one time, and different ones which became pre-eminent in their era.
In 1820, John David Loder’s Music Warehouse (he was the third generation Loder to run it) was the pre-eminent musical everything shop in Bath.
The Earl of Westmoreland wanting to start a National Academy of Music – this really happened (and he succeeded, some years later.)
So there you have it – a scatter of real history rolled into your fiction. Maggie, of course, also shows some signs of being mildly autistic – hence the OCD like obsession with green – an obsession which doomed her, one day at a time. The only reason that she lived as long as she did, was that she left the house to walk amongst the ‘green of the gardens and trees’ which gave her some time away from the fumes and dust in her chambers.
I hope that you find this sort of historical information interesting!
Arietta Richmond
About the Author
Arietta Richmond has been a compulsive reader and writer all her life. Whilst her reading has covered an enormous range of topics, history has always fascinated her, and historical novels have been amongst her favourite reading.
She has written a wide range of work, from business articles and other non-fiction works (published under a pen name) but fiction has always been a major part of her life. Now, her Regency Historical Romance books are finally being released. The Derbyshire Set is comprised of 11 novels (9 released so far). The ‘His Majesty’s Hounds’ series is comprised of 17 novels, with the last now released. She also has a number of standalone novels, and four other series of novels at various stages of release. She lives in Australia, and when not reading or writing, likes to travel, and to see in person the places where history happened.
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