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The Dreadnought Hoax, report in The Sketch

The Dreadnought Hoax, report in The Sketch


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The Dreadnought Hoax, report in The Sketch

Page from The Sketch magazine reporting on the Dreadnought hoax. The incident was a joke played by a group led by Horace de Vere Cole, including the writer Virginia Stephen (Woolf, seen far left in the bottom picture) who dressed up as the Emperor of Abyssinia and his party, and turned up out of the blue to inspect the battleship Dreadnought. The group were received with the usual courtesies accorded to distinguished visitors, and were shown over the vessel. The Dreadnought hoax was not the first time this group had played the joke. The top photograph shows the Abyssinian princes on an occasion when they visited the Mayor of Cambridge as the Sultan of Zanzibar and his suite. Date: 1910

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Media ID 14351829

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Abyssinia Abyssinian Adrian Battleship Bloomsbury Cambridge Cole Dreadnought Dressed Duncan Grant Hoax Horace Joke Practical Ridley Stephen Sultan Vere Virginia Woolf Zanzibar


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The Dreadnought Hoax: A Whimsical Encounter with the Emperor of Abyssinia and His Party in The Sketch, 1910 In an unexpected turn of events, the pages of The Sketch magazine chronicled an amusing episode in 1910, when a group of friends, led by Horace de Vere Cole, orchestrated an elaborate hoax involving the Dreadnought battleship. The group, which included the budding writer Virginia Woolf, dressed up as the Emperor of Abyssinia and his party and turned up unannounced to inspect the vessel. The Dreadnought hoax was not an isolated incident for this group of friends, who were known for their practical jokes and belonged to the Bloomsbury circle. The top photograph shows them in an earlier occasion when they visited the Mayor of Cambridge, dressed as the Sultan of Zanzibar and his suite. The group was received with the usual courtesies accorded to distinguished visitors, and were given a thorough tour of the battleship. The unsuspecting crew and officials were none the wiser, and the group's true identities were only revealed after the photographs were published in The Sketch. The Dreadnought hoax is a testament to the playful spirit and sense of mischief that characterized the Bloomsbury group. Virginia Woolf, who is seen far left in the bottom picture, would go on to become one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Her fellow hoaxsters, including Adrian Stephen, Duncan Grant, Guy Ridley, and Horace de Vere Cole, were also prominent figures in the arts and literary scene of the time. These whimsical encounters offer a fascinating glimpse into the world of the Bloomsbury group and their unconventional approach to life.

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