Death and the chorus girl Royalty, scandal, and the gaiety girl suicide

This essay analyzes the 1891 suicide of Gaiety Girl Lydia Manton, who died in her luxury apartment after drinking a bottle of carbolic acid. Her death, and subsequent rumors about her liaisons with prominent men, including Prince Albert Victor, became fodder for newspapers. The press exposed the ugly underbelly of Victorian society, even as it continued to feed the public’s appetite for young, chorus girl bodies.