Do readers here have any examples of people in history who were reviled in their own time but now you sort of root for them? Elizabeth Cresswell (shown here from a contemporary engraving) is one of those people for me. Throughout much of the 17th century, she was the subject of public distain, ridiculed in satire and taken to court — all because she was England’s most famous and successful brothel-keeper and prostitute manager.
Her influence was extensive — she ran many whorehouses in London which were patronized by people as prominent as King Charles II. Her prostitutes included women from high ranks — some were Cavaliers who had come out badly from the recent English Civil War. Cresswell was bold in her advertising, claiming her prostitutes had “Beauties of all Complexions, from the cole-black clyng-fast to the golden lock’d insatiate, from the sleepy ey’d Slug to the lewd Fricatrix”.
Puritanical sensibilities were rife in England at the time, and Elizabeth Cresswell drew condemnation accordingly. Her associations with King Charles and his court, while bringing her fame, also represented that monarch’s debauchery to many. Furthermore, many London dwellers belonged to trade unions that had prohibited them from marriage and yet couldn’t afford the prices of hiring Cresswell’s prostitutes.
So, Cresswell was castigated by many and eventually (in her 70s) condemned to hard labor in Bridewell Prison — where she probably died of tuberculosis. And yet, in other ways she was an amazing success story. She was from a common background, and by her own enterprises set up a hugely successful business venture. She overtly made wealth and flouted the sexual mores that have historically controlled female sexuality. And those are things I can’t help sympathizing with.
Who are some underdog historical figures for you?
