Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for A Thousand Blows.The Forty Elephants play a major role inA Thousand Blows, but how do they compare to the real-life historical gang?A Thousand Blowsfollows several different power players in the East end of London at the end of the 19th century. Each of them has their own goals and ambitions, but one of the more intriguing groups is the Forty Elephants, led by “queen” Mary Carr (Erin Doherty). They’re a big reasonreviews forA Thousand Blowsare so good -A Thousand Blows' Rotten Tomatoes scoreis excellent - and why the show is well worth watching.
The Forty Elephants often seem larger than life inA Thousand Blows, and many viewers may be surprised that an all-female gang could have such success in Victorian London. Surprising as it is, however,A Thousand Blowsis based on real historical fact, and the Forty Elephants really did exist. Every historical fiction story takes some creative liberties with the truth in the name of telling a more compelling story, however, so it isn’t clear how much ofA Thousand Blowswas accurate. Shockingly, the show got quite a bit about the Forty Elephants right.
The Forty Elephants' Role In A Thousand Blows Explained
The Forty Elephants Are Mary Carr’s Strongest Supporters & The Backbone Of Her Heist Plans
InA Thousand Blows, the Forty Elephants are depicted as a rag-tag band of female thieves and criminals. They orchestrate distractions to pickpocket wealthy pedestrians, they storm into and rob high-end stores, and they even planned and executed a robbery on Queen Victoria.They’re a fairly standard - if a bit eccentric - gang at the surface level, but there are plenty of things that make the Forty Elephants unique. For instance, they’re led by a “queen” in the form of Mary Carr, yet despite being structured like the monarchy, they vote on how to use their earnings and divide all their ill-gotten gains evenly.
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Though they’re a quite egalitarian gang, Mary Carr was the undisputed leader of the Forty Elephants. Thus, they mostly take a supporting role in relation to Mary inA Thousand Blows.The Forty Elephants mostly serve as Mary’s staunch supporters inA Thousand Blows, and she in turn would kill or die for each of them. There were limits to this, though, such as when Eliza (Hannah Walters) fell in love with Saul Woolfe (Eddie Toll), and Mary had to set her straight. While there’s no way to verify the internal dynamics of the Forty Elephants,A Thousand Blowsdid get the facts of the gang right.
The Forty Elephants Were A Real-Life Gang
The Forty Elephants Was An All-Female Gang Of Shoplifters & Thieves In London In The 19th & 20th Century
As if to prove the old adage that fact can be stranger than fiction, the Forty Elephants featured inA Thousand Blowsare based almost entirely in reality. In real life,the Forty Elephants were an all-female gang of thieves and shoplifters who operated out of the Elephant and Castle area of London(viaBBC). They were closely tied to the more traditionally male gang, the Elephant Boys, though their operations were almost completely independent. The Forty Elephants would often shoplift from and outright rob high-end shops in West London, just asA Thousand Blowsdepicts them.
Just as the Forty Elephants were real, many of thecharacters inA Thousand Blowswere also real. Mary Carr, for instance, has several different arrest and incarceration records dating back to the 1880s.One of the only areas of true fabricationA Thousand Blowsis guilty of is the connection between Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) and the Forty Elephants. While there isn’t evidence to suggest they were directly cooperating, Hezekiah was in the Elephant and Castle area of London at the same time Mary Carr was acting as the queen of the Forty Elephants.
How The Forty Elephants' History Could Set Up Multiple Seasons Of A Thousand Blows
The Forty Elephants Were Active For Decades & A Thousand Blows Could Follow Their Story For Several Seasons
BecauseA Thousand Blowsis based - at least partially - on the real exploits of the Forty Elephants, it could have enough material for several more seasons. Sources differ on the exact longevity of the gang, but even the most conservative estimates claim that the Forty Elephants were active up until the 1950s (viaBBC).That’s more than 80 years worth of criminal exploits, heists, and great drama centered around the Forty Elephants forA Thousand Blowsto draw inspiration from and adapt. In fact, series creator Stephen Knight has already confirmed thatA Thousand Blowswill adapt more of the Forty Elephants' history.
“Season two is already shot, and I’m very keen to continue telling the story because there’s a lot more story to tell. There were still people who identified themselves as Forty Elephants in the 1950s. The truth and reality are much more interesting than anything you can invent.”
WithA Thousand Blowsseason 2 not just confirmed but already filmed, and with Knight’s exciting comments, the show’s future looks extremely bright.There’s even potential forA Thousand Blowsto grow into a decade-spanning tale of crime and intrigue akin toPeaky Blinders, which Knight also wrote. The Forty Elephants had several different “queens” throughout their reign, andA Thousand Blowscould easily step into the 20th century with an entirely different cast, if it lasts that long. If it can maintain the quality of its first season, there’s no reasonA Thousand Blowscan’t be a mainstay for years to come.
