Meet Tottie Fay

[Jake L]

Hullo.

I believe there have been several theories as to the origins of the apochrypal (and utterly fictititious) "Fairy, a.k.a Tottie Fay" story and the name of this "victim".

The attached IPN press clippings give us an interesting picture of a good candidate - and a colourful character it seems.



It seems that ol' Tottie was a regular bit of news in her day. Even the 1st clipping from 1889 is titled "Tottie Fay again".


And the Christmas Eve IPN issue has one last snippet of our Tottie:


Of course, I'm not suggesting that there's any truth in the "JtR victim Fay" story - just that the Name was frequently reported in the INPs of the day.

/jake

[Elenahoyos66]

What a classy lookin' dame! haha

[Robert]

She probably got to wear better clothes in there than on the outside.

[Debra A]

Photograph of Tottie Fay taken in Broadmoor asylum, 1894.

[Chava]

'Tat' for sure! 'Tut' I'm certain at least got its start among the Jews of the East End, and 'tut' is what my friends' parents used to call the clobber we bought from Biba in the 60s. It's just a variant of the word, and it's pejorative for sure. However I doubt that 'Tottie' comes from 'tatty'!

[anna]

Hi Chava,

Perhaps because I am not jewish I haven't heard of the word "tut"...so I would take it that "toot"was what I was hearing,but there is definitely the word"toot"..a cockney word for a cheap bit of "tat" which is what I thought Sir Allen says when he refers to items bought by teams in their challenges as being of a cheap or tasteless quality.(tat is also used for "tatters"..a quote from a famous music hall song used at the beginning of Michael Palins brilliant film "The Missionary"..if you haven't seen that film,it's a must for those interested in "victorian" themes...very funny...google it in everyone,and have a laugh...anyway Chava..I presume tatters was also slang for clothes in the VP)there is also the word "tatty"....elongated from the word tat above..clothes or other items well worn and past their best days.
Being a cockney myself I still use the words toot,tat and tatty nowadays..although not in reference to the goods on my market stall which are of high quality and extremely good taste !!!!!!!!!!!!
Anna.

[Chava]

Point of information: the word referred to by Anna above is in fact 'tut' and you'll hear Sir Alan Sugar say it all the time on The Apprentice. However it's Jewish slang, not Cockney slang, and I've never ever heard it outside London Jewish circles. Nor have I ever heard 'tuttie'.

[DVV]

I don't think so, Jukka.

In any case, this "1887 victim" didn't exist at all until September 1888 (when she's first mentioned in some newspapers).

Amitiés,
David

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

Just came to my mind about this "Victim With No Name", to whom the Fairy Fay character is based on;

Were there any contemporary illustrations of this 1887 "victim"?

All the best
Jukka

[Wolf Vanderlinden]

Gideon Fell

'Tottie Fay' was first connected with 'Fairy Fay' by the authors of the A to Z in 1994, page 138.

You are absolutely correct. Well spotted.

Wolf.

[Suzi]

A MOST alarming Swell I say!!! Matron!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or maybe Its that Fid Len E. Bhat fellow........ he of the little known graffito fame!

I put it all down to the check trousers....shades of CoCo aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

[Sam Flynn]

...well, I can make out Druitt, Tumblety and JK Stephen - but who's the other guy?

[Suzi]

Quite Caz -as to tottie/totty but I've always used the word TOOT (rhymes with boot) to mean c**p or rubbish!- That may be a Suzi-ism but I suspect it aint...Hey Caz to save you looking at the GH thread thought this may make you

...Did me......

Suz xxxxx

[caz]

Hi All,

And of course, Tottie was/is also a slang term for a sexy piece or "nice bit of skirt".

One of my first encounters with the remarkable Tot Fay was back in 1999 when I found her trying her funny little games on Weedon Grossmith (of Diary of a Nobody fame) in his autobiography. I suspect her antics made more than one male victim very cynical about the 'fairer' sex. She didn't know how to play fair.

Love,

Caz
X

[Sam Flynn]

I presume the first name Tottie comes from the East End slang for less than perfect goods,"toot".(rhyming with foot).Or maybe it's a shortening of a name.

The latter, I think, Anna. "Tottie", like "Lottie", was a shortened form of "Charlotte". The name of "Tottie Fay" appears as an asylum inmate in the 1891 Census; her occupation being given as "actress". Born 1866/7 in Bloomsbury, she is possibly the same Charlotte Fay, daughter of coach-driver George and wife Charlotte, who appears in the 1871 and 1881 censuses, living with her parents in the (West End) district of St George's Hanover Square.