Читать книгу Harvey Wallbangers and Tam O'Shanters - Martin Hannan - Страница 71

This can be an unpleasant word as it is usually used to describe somebody of a small stature, but the original ‘titch’ was not small at all. The Titchborne Claimant, Arthur Orton (1834–98), submitted a legal claim to be recognised as Sir Roger Titchborne, the heir to one of England’s richest fortunes. He lost, was exposed as an impostor, and served ten years in prison for his crime. Orton was not minuscule – indeed, he was obese – but, for a joke, Harry Relph (1867–1928), a famous English music hall comedian who was just 4ft 6in or 1.37m tall, took his stage name, Little Tich, from the Claimant, and the great British public made the word stick.