Aspidistra
A large flowering plant that is native to China and Vietnam. They grow best in the shade which is why they are also popular house plants. It is tolerant of neglect and is therefore perfect for those whose green thumb is lacking. The plants were particularly popular in 1930s England amongst the middle classes.
Squirm
Shift around uncomfortably
Villa
The type of Victorian house often seen in early twentieth-century London, generally in the suburbs, owned by the middle classes
Bowler Hat
The British version of the brown derby, the bowler hat was named after the hatmakers William and Thomas Bowler who first popularized it in the late eighteen hundreds. At the time in which the novel is set, the wearing of a bowler hat symbolized a business-man, particularly one who worked in banking or other areas of the financial sector.
Esperanto
A widely spoken constructed international language, created with the intention of introducing a universally learned universal second language so that people of all nations could communicate with each other
Jellygraph
The official name for the Jellygraph was the hectograph, and it was also sometimes known as the gelatin duplicator. it was a printer that transfered the original image onto gelatin, and subequently onto a metal press that then enabled the document or picture to be duplicated and printed.
Dismemberment
The pulling apart of the whole, piece by piece
Without A By Your Leave
Without permission
Remnant
The last remaining pieces of something
Tramp
Bum; indigent person
Slums
The slums were the worst areas of London where the working classes who were unable to actually find work lived. These areas were most affected by poverty, there was disease, generally water-borne. People from the slums were likely to be illiterate and the best they could hope for would be employment as a domestic help. Slums were also dangerous; Jack the Ripper prowled the slums at night, searching for his victims
Paupers
Those without money or means
Protege
The person being mentored by someone older, or more experienced, in their field
Granite
A common igneous rock that can be polished. It is the stone most commonly used in graveyards
Blasphemous
Profane; sacriligious and against God, or against something sacred. Blasphemy was a sin according to the laws handed down to Moses by God.
Subversive
Intended to undermine the existing or established system in a hidden or underground manner.
British Empire
The collection of British ruled territories around the world, generally called "colonies". Socialists believed that colonial Britain was the worst example of the way in which the upper classes were able to exert their privilege over those less fortunate; those who were less left-leaning in their politics believed that British rule actually enabled many of these territories in the third world to develop and progress.
Stodgy
Something that is intellectually stodgy is dull and uninteresting
