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Indeed there was the charm of Downton Abby and the wit of Mansfield Park, but the Victorian queen of the ball was Lady Granville, who was known for her cunning, ready wit and easy charm, that is if you were in her good graces. If not, there was no tongue more vicious. She would find flaws in your character and lay into them with little mercy. None dare to go into a verbal sparring match with the grand lady as she always commanded center stage. But she was indeed a lady first, who had an eye for the finer things in life. If you held up your end of grace and lady like, or gentlemanly charm, you would find yourself with an invitation to one of her Gala affairs or grand balls to which she was the consummate host. She was also known for her writings. She wrote about proper etiquette and fine living, always holding a mirror up to Victorian life. Here is a fun and humorous piece of historical fiction based on the very real English lady of Britain's high society of the mid and late Victorian era. This is what a booklet on the art of dissing would look like if she wrote a booklet on her take on the insults of the day. Two featured insults:
"It is hard to detect whether her singing is good or bad, being so drowned out by that horrible attempt at piano playing. Why is she banging on the keys in such a manner. It is almost as though she doesn't know or care what the instrument is for all together."
"Why does she want my opinion. She knows well enough on her own that that bonnet is the most ugly thing. Why trouble me with voicing a known fact to her. She would do better to just set that thing to the dogs and be done with it."
