History

Malvina Harris is not based on a character or figure from the nineteenth century. However, it is plausible that amputees such as her existed in Victorian London. There were certainly descendants of formerly enslaved people working in nineteenth-century Britain, and it is likely that many of these experienced health complications associated with the social conditions they would have typically been exposed to. Her depiction is inspired by the black characters of African descent who appear in Zadie Smith’s 2023 historical novel The Fraud.

Backstory

Daughter of parents who were enslaved in Jamaica. She lost a leg to infection.
Start with £2.