What do you think of when anyone mentions to you the words "Dick Whittington"? For most people, maybe the first words that spring to mind might be "cat", "mayor", or "pantomime" ...
However, there is more to this fellow than meets the eye. You see, Dick Whittington was real. He existed.
Born in the 1350s, he grew up to be a wealthy businessman, using his wealth to pay for public projects. He was a Councilman for London, Alderman and Sheriff of the City of London (but not all at the same time!). He was a friend of kings and mayor of London, no less than 4 times - and, as regards the pantomime, this was first performed around 1814 and continues as a firm favourite amongst pantomime goers to this day!
Now, in this delightful little book, Eileen Fry describes some less well known facts about this most charismatic character from history . Many of the places associated with him can still be visited today, including St Michael Paternoster Church in London, where he is buried (though the exact burial site itself is not known).