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Almack's in Carlyle's Sartor Resartus edit
Is it worth mentioning in the fiction section, which is still quite short, that Thomas Carlyle, In Sartor Resartus, employing the voice of his German protagonist Diogenes Teufelsdröckh (possessing limited knowledge of early Victorian England), in a chapter on Dandies says:
"They have their Temples, whereof the chief, as the Jewish Temple did, stands in their metropolis; and is named Almack's, a word of uncertain etymology. They worship principally by night; and have their Highpriests and Highpriestesses, who, however, do not continue for life. The rites, by some supposed to be of the Menadic sort, or perhaps with and Eleusinian or Cabiric character, are held strictly secret. Nor are Sacred Books wanting to the Sect; these they call Fashionable Novels..."
This was in 1834. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.182.12.117 (talk) 20:51, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
Willis Rooms 1859 edit
The Liberal Party officially came into being at the meeting at "Willis's Room" (not sure whether one or both of those names is plural) in 1859, where Lord John Russell (mainstream Whig) and Gladstone (Peelite) agreed to serve under Palmerston. At least I think Gladstone was there as well but I couldn't swear to it. Is this the same place? Article says Almacks was renamed in 1871, so if it's somewhere different a disambiguation should be added.Paulturtle (talk) 11:00, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
- You are quite right. The 1827 edition of Leigh's New Picture of London (a London guidebook) records the Almack's Balls are "held every Wednesday at Willis's Rooms", and that "other balls are occasionally held at Willis's Rooms, but these have no connection with Almack's". So the building's name had already changed by 1827, and Almack's was evidently considered to be a club/social occasion meeting at Willis's Rooms, a building which also held non-Almack events. The article provided no source for the 1871 date. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.30.111.91 (talk) 12:37, 31 August 2017 (UTC)