'Doing a Roaring Trade: Female Lion Tamers in Victorian Britain'

Description

In January 1850, tragedy struck at Wombwell’s Menagerie when the female lion tamer, Ellen Bright, was killed by a tiger at Chatham in Kent. Popularly known as ‘Lion Queens’, female performers had become fashionable in Victorian animal shows, titillating the public with daring feats and risqué costumes. They attracted large audiences, but also drew sharp criticism from certain sectors of the press. Focusing on the tragic case of Ellen Bright, this talk explores the phenomenon of female lion tamers in nineteenth-century Britain and assesses their wider social significance. Why did people go to watch lion taming performances? What techniques were used to train big cats and other performing animals? Did female lion tamers challenge or perpetuate prevailing stereotypes of women?

Period	13 May 2023
Event title	The Historical Association Annual Conference, 2023
Event type	Conference
Location	Harrogate, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National