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Home arrow The Pioneers

The Pioneers
Page 12 of 35

Boys of England
Cover, Boys of England (E J Brett, 1892). Art: Anon. The 'story papers' were a 'wholesome' response to the dreadfuls, dealing in ripping yarns from the Empire.
For the sake of a ready reference, Ally Sloper is perhaps best thought of as a Victorian Viz (House of Viz, 1979). It shared many of the same characteristics: it was meant for an adult readership; it was based on identifiable working-class characters; it drew on music hall traditions in the same way that Viz would later draw on alternative comedy; it spawned a huge quantity of merchandising; and finally, and most importantly, like Viz it somehow managed to capture the Zeitgeist, and to become a publishing sensation.
Alexander Sloper himself was a working-class wastrel: when the rent collector calls he 'slopes off down the alley. In the early days of his existence, what money he did manage to accrue (always by dubious means), he spent on drink: his nose was red and swollen, he had a permanent hangover, and on at least one occasion he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. Later, the character changed in subtle ways, and became more fleshed-out. He remained working class, but was mock-gentrified and was placed in middle-class and upper-class settings. The laughs came both from the pleasure of seeing a working man enjoying the good life, and from his social faux pas - both verbal and sartorial.
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