In 1889, Tit-Bits magazine offered prizes to single, female readers who sent in the best answers to the question: ‘Why Am I A Spinster?’ Here are some highlights...

The inclusion of readers' addresses makes it possible to find them in the census. Florence Watts, for example, worked as an 'artist / painter' in 1881. However, one year after entering Tit-Bits' competition, she abandoned spinsterhood and married a writer named Herbert Flowerdew!

Here's the census record for Florence Flowerdew (née Watts) from 1911. No occupation listed for her, but women's work was often under-reported. Sadly, her husband died 6 years later after reportedly struggling with depression and (possibly) a suicide attempt.

[I should have pointed out earlier that the numbers after the women's names don't refer to their age - it's the house number from their address. No 8-year-old 'spinsters' here!]

If you enjoyed these quotes from Victorian spinsters, you might also like these extracts from Victorian matrimonial columns. It's nineteenth-century tinder!
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But wait, there's MORE!
Further adventures in the strange world of Victorian tinder...

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This joke appeared on the front page of Tit-Bits a few days later...
[cc: @VictorianHumour]