Jenny Lind.

Alright?

What do a character from The Greatest Showman, a children’s ward at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, a park in the centre of the city and Thomas Edison have in common?

You’ve got it - it’s Jenny Lind.

Yep, the Swedish opera singer who was played by Rebecca Ferguson in ‘The Greatest Showman’.

The real story behind her character is far more interesting than her cameo in the film, as she also happens to have a connection to our fine city of Norwich. And it all began with a concert in St Andrew’s Hall.

Before we get stuck in, it’s fast-approaching pub garden season. If you want to join our next pub tour - taking place in May - tickets are on sale right now.

The Swedish Nightingale arrives.

Born in Stockholm in 1820, she was one of the most famous singers in Europe by her mid-20s.

By 1847, Lind was a full-blown Victorian superstar. The kind of performer who caused polite 19th-century audiences to absolutely lose their composure (in a restrained, bonnet-adjusting sort of way).

They called her the “Swedish Nightingale,” and the popularity of her concerts and tours induced Victorian levels of Beatles, Taylor Swift and Delia-esque hysteria.

Disappointingly, there were no opera house mosh pits. Instead, fans opted for gun salutes and church bell ringing when Lind arrived to perform.

And at the height of her fame, she came to Norwich and performed at St Andrew’s Hall.

A tour date with a lasting legacy.

When Taylor Swift performed in Norwich, she paid for free taxi rides for fans. Fair play to her.

But Jenny Lind went a bit further.

She donated the profits from her Norwich concerts to establish a hospital for sick children in the city. Talk abut over-delivering.

In 1854, the Jenny Lind Infirmary for Sick Children opened in Pottergate - one of the first children’s hospitals in England. At a time when healthcare was er, shall we say, not exactly thriving.

This wasn’t a token gesture. It was transformational, and generations of Norfolk children would receive treatment under her name.

And that legacy still exists today in the modern Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital.
Not bad for a whistle-stop tour, eh?

From Opera Houses to hospital wards.

If you’re concerned that Norwich may have already filled its quota of generosity from 19th-century Scandinavian sopranos (of course you are), don't worry, there’s more.

In 1850, Lind embarked on a wildly hyped American tour organised by the master of 19th-century PR himself, P. T. Barnum.

Barnum whipped up such hysteria that 40,000 people reportedly gathered at a New York dock just to see her arrive.

She made a fortune and then gave much of it away to charities, schools and hospitals, including, of course, her hospital in Norwich.

Jenny Lind never actually lived in Norwich, but she left a mark that still shapes the city today.

Until next time,

Secret Norwich

PS - the Thomas Edison connection.

There are no recordings of Jenny Lind’s voice. We can only go on descriptions. But she’s widely believed to have made an early phonograph recording for Thomas Edison. If it exists, it’s lost. Maybe check your attic just in case it’s up there?