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The parlor · No. 2

A dinner in Mayfair,
1897.

The evening of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee. Eight people sit down to dinner in a Mayfair townhouse three streets from the parade route. The Queen’s carriage passes at half-past eight; the fireworks light Westminster Abbey. Before the dessert arrives, one of you is dead at his desk. Some of you carry letters you ought to have burned. Some of you carry hopes you ought to have buried. Tonight, one of you carries neither home.

Unlock the host kit, $19
Eight at the tableThree acts, three coursesRoughly three hours
You are requested

A Dinner in Mayfair

The evening of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, 22 June 1897

Hosted by you

When
Tuesday evening
Seven o'clock, for sherry
Where
Your dining room
Forty-two Portland Place — three streets from the parade route
Attire
Evening dress; mourning tones advised for the Queen's Jubilee
Reply
Please reply; the table is set for eight, the Inspector requires your presence

The Queen's carriage passes at half-eight. The drapes will part for the procession. Some of us carry letters we ought to have burned; some of us carry hopes we ought to have buried; some of us, tonight, will carry neither home.

Two gold wedding bands on an oxblood velvet pillow
RSVP
by Sat
The shape of the night

Three acts, one body.

Each act maps to a course and a moment of the actual evening of 22 June 1897. The host plays Inspector Harwood, narrating each act, conducting the questioning, and delivering the Poirot-style summation at the close.

  1. Act 1
    Cocktails + canapés
    The Ashworth drawing room, Mayfair, ~6pm
    Guests arrive. Sherry and Pimm's. Reginald shows the Inspector the threatening letters in a private aside. Tensions are laid.
  2. Act 2
    Roast beef + Yorkshire pudding
    Dining room, Mayfair, ~8pm, Queen's carriage passes at 8:30
    The parade passes. Everyone at the front windows. At the close of the entrée course, the housekeeper discovers Reginald slumped at his desk.
  3. Act 3
    Eton mess (or trifle)
    Dining room, Mayfair, ~10pm, fireworks over Westminster
    Three rounds of questioning. Evidence cards. Ballot. Inspector's monologue. Adelaide's confession.
The cast

Eight at the table, every one with a secret.

You play Inspector Harwood, the Scotland Yard detective Reginald invited under pretext for “security advice” on the threatening letters. Your guests pick the rest. Six of them have a credible motive; one of them has the means and the opportunity.

Reginald Ashworth

Shipping magnate · tonight's host · the victim

Reginald Ashworth, shipping magnate. Widowed, recently remarried. Boer War supply contracts. Tonight's host, his third threatening letter arrived this morning.

Lady Margaret Ashworth

The wife · society hostess

Lady Margaret Ashworth, Reginald's second wife, fifteen years his junior. Poised. Quietly drowning.

Cecily Ashworth

The heir · Reginald's daughter

Cecily Ashworth, twenty-eight, unmarried. Daughter of Reginald's first wife (who died in 1888). Gambles at private women's salons.

Maximilian Whitfield

The American fiancé

Maximilian Whitfield, engaged to Cecily. Presents as Pittsburgh steel heir. Charming, almost too charming.

Colonel Harold Pemberton

Boer War veteran · old friend

Colonel Harold Pemberton, late of Her Majesty's forces in South Africa. Old friend of Reginald. Drinks too much, opinions too freely.

Miss Adelaide Ashworth

The cousin · suffragist

Miss Adelaide Ashworth, Reginald's cousin. Unmarried, early thirties. Active in women's suffrage (NUWSS). Quiet at dinner.

Mrs. Hollis

The housekeeper

Mrs. Hollis, thirty years in the Ashworth household through both marriages. Knows every hallway and every cupboard.

What’s in the box

Everything one host needs for the night.

The kit is printable from your browser, no install, no DRM. Hosts get permanent access with a one-time $19purchase or an active Plus + Parlor subscription. Player envelopes get their own section below; this is the host’s side.

Section A of the host packet is everything you need to run the night without spoilers. Section B (Inspector’s monologue + Answer Key + True Movements) is sealed, open only when you’re ready to deliver the final reveal.

  • Host packet
    Section A, narration, evidence reveal flow, scripted asides, alibi matrix, recipes, prep timeline. Sealed Section B, Inspector's full Poirot monologue + answer key.
  • Eight player envelopes
    One per character (4 sealed sections each, Intro + Act I + Act II + Act III). Stated alibis verbatim, scripted reactions to evidence, the killer's confession monologue.
  • Eight evidence cards
    Threatening letters · the scene · debtor's note · Pinkerton report · gossip column · shipping ledger · cigar stub · pendant fragment.
  • House Map
    Printable A3/A4 floor plan of the Ashworth house. Place at the center of the table; alibis reference it.
  • Eight character prop cards
    Each character's distinctive personal item, parallel structure across all eight (notebook, pocket watch, brooch, ring, signet ring, lapel pin, pendant, brooch).
  • Six deduction ballots
    Who · How · Why. Filled out before the Inspector's monologue. Three correct wins the Deduction Cup.
  • Recipes + shopping list + prep timeline
    Pimm's Cup, deviled eggs, smoked salmon canapés, roast beef + Yorkshire pudding, Eton mess. Day-before / morning-of / 2h / 1h / arriving timeline.
  • Two playlists
    Period 1897 (Elgar's Imperial March + Sullivan + Parry) and Modern Vibe (Carter Burwell, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Sufjan Stevens). Sized for the full ~3.5 hours.
Open Section A, host packetRun the night without spoilers.Open Section B, sealed solutionInspector’s monologue + answer key. Spoilers.
Print · Host bundleSection A + props + ballots in one print job.Print · Player envelopes (8)One character per page; fold and label.Print · Cards (House Map · evidence · prop)Three per page; cut along the gold border.Print · Recipe cards (8)One per page; for the kitchen.
Or open individual files
Props & evidence cardsDeduction ballotSection B (sealed)
Hand out the envelopes

One link per guest. Drop them into a group chat.

Each character has their own URL, a Vityy-framed page with the full envelope inside (Intro + three acts). Copy the link, send it to the player who’s playing them, and tell them not to share it. Append ?name=Daisyto swap the character’s default name for your guest’s real name in every line.

7 player envelopes · 1 host packet

  • Reginald Ashworth

    Shipping magnate · tonight's host · the victim

    Reginald Ashworth, shipping magnate. Widowed, recently remarried. Boer War supply contracts. Tonight's host, his third threatening letter arrived this morning.

    “Your glass is empty, my friend.”

    Preview

  • Lady Margaret Ashworth

    The wife · society hostess

    Lady Margaret Ashworth, Reginald's second wife, fifteen years his junior. Poised. Quietly drowning.

    “The Queen looks radiant from this distance.”

    Preview

  • Cecily Ashworth

    The heir · Reginald's daughter

    Cecily Ashworth, twenty-eight, unmarried. Daughter of Reginald's first wife (who died in 1888). Gambles at private women's salons.

    “Father is tedious on the subject.”

    Preview

  • Maximilian Whitfield

    The American fiancé

    Maximilian Whitfield, engaged to Cecily. Presents as Pittsburgh steel heir. Charming, almost too charming.

    “Back home we'd call this a hell of a spread.”

    Preview

  • Colonel Harold Pemberton

    Boer War veteran · old friend

    Colonel Harold Pemberton, late of Her Majesty's forces in South Africa. Old friend of Reginald. Drinks too much, opinions too freely.

    “I was at Ladysmith, you know.”

    Preview

  • Miss Adelaide Ashworth

    The cousin · suffragist

    Miss Adelaide Ashworth, Reginald's cousin. Unmarried, early thirties. Active in women's suffrage (NUWSS). Quiet at dinner.

    “One does what one must.”

    Preview

  • Mrs. Hollis

    The housekeeper

    Mrs. Hollis, thirty years in the Ashworth household through both marriages. Knows every hallway and every cupboard.

    “Will that be all, madam?”

    Preview
You play Inspector Harwood, the Scotland Yard detective who narrates, runs the questioning, and delivers the final monologue. Don’t share Section B with anyone else; it spoils the whole night. Open Section A on your laptop and keep it close.
The playlist

Queue the night’s soundtrack.

55 tracks · ~3.5 hours

What a Mayfair drawing room would actually have played that summer. Late-Victorian English composers (Elgar, Sullivan, Parry, Stanford) anchored by the centerpiece, Elgar's Imperial March, written for the Diamond Jubilee itself.

Act 1

Reception, drawing-room music (~60-75 min)

  • Songs Without Words, Op. 19 No. 1 in E major (Andante con moto)
    Felix Mendelssohn
  • Träumerei from Kinderszenen Op. 15
    Robert Schumann
  • Hungarian Dance No. 4 in F minor
    Johannes Brahms
  • Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in G♭ major
    Franz Schubert
  • + 13 more
Act 2

The Parade, Imperial / Jubilee (~75-90 min)

  • Imperial March, Op. 32 (composed for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee)
    Edward Elgar
  • Festival Te Deum
    Arthur Sullivan
  • Blest Pair of Sirens
    Hubert Parry
  • Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D, Op. 39
    Edward Elgar
  • + 16 more
Act 3

Fireworks & investigation, late Romantic (~60-75 min)

  • Enigma Variations, Op. 36, IX. Nimrod
    Edward Elgar
  • Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1 in E♭ major
    Johannes Brahms
  • Pavane in F♯ minor, Op. 50
    Gabriel Fauré
  • Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, III. Mélodie
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  • + 14 more
See all 55 tracks for Period, gaslight London, 1897
Act 1

Reception, drawing-room music (~60-75 min)

  1. Songs Without Words, Op. 19 No. 1 in E major (Andante con moto) · Felix Mendelssohn
  2. Träumerei from Kinderszenen Op. 15 · Robert Schumann
  3. Hungarian Dance No. 4 in F minor · Johannes Brahms
  4. Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in G♭ major · Franz Schubert
  5. Tit-Willow from The Mikado · Arthur Sullivan
  6. Wein, Weib und Gesang Waltz, Op. 333 · Johann Strauss II
  7. When I Was a Lad from H.M.S. Pinafore · Arthur Sullivan
  8. Three Little Maids from School from The Mikado · Arthur Sullivan
  9. Spring Song from Songs Without Words, Op. 62 No. 6 · Felix Mendelssohn
  10. Drake's Drum from Songs of the Sea, Op. 91 · Charles Villiers Stanford
  11. Wild Rider from Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 8 · Robert Schumann
  12. Waltz Op. 39 No. 15 in A♭ major · Johannes Brahms
  13. String Quartet No. 1 in E♭, Op. 12, II. Canzonetta · Felix Mendelssohn
  14. Voices of Spring Waltz, Op. 410 · Johann Strauss II
  15. Sweet Reverie from Album for the Young, Op. 39 No. 21 · Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  16. Marche Militaire No. 1 in D major, D. 733 · Franz Schubert
  17. Salut d'amour, Op. 12 · Edward Elgar
Act 2

The Parade, Imperial / Jubilee (~75-90 min)

  1. Imperial March, Op. 32 (composed for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee) · Edward Elgar
  2. Festival Te Deum · Arthur Sullivan
  3. Blest Pair of Sirens · Hubert Parry
  4. Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D, Op. 39 · Edward Elgar
  5. Te Deum in B♭, Op. 10 · Charles Villiers Stanford
  6. Solemn Melody · Henry Walford Davies
  7. Britannia Overture · Alexander Mackenzie
  8. When Britain Really Ruled the Waves from Iolanthe · Arthur Sullivan
  9. Tannhäuser, Pilgrims' Chorus (orchestral) · Richard Wagner
  10. Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92, II. Allegretto · Ludwig van Beethoven
  11. Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 · Felix Mendelssohn
  12. Pineapple Poll Suite · Arthur Sullivan / arr. Charles Mackerras
  13. I Was Glad · Hubert Parry
  14. Symphony No. 3 in F, Op. 90, III. Poco allegretto · Johannes Brahms
  15. Lohengrin, Prelude to Act III · Richard Wagner
  16. Carmen Suite No. 1, Les Toréadors · Georges Bizet
  17. Capriccio Italien, Op. 45 · Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  18. Emperor Waltz, Op. 437 · Johann Strauss II
  19. La Forza del Destino, Overture · Giuseppe Verdi
  20. Rule, Britannia! (Henry Wood orchestration) · Thomas Arne
Act 3

Fireworks & investigation, late Romantic (~60-75 min)

  1. Enigma Variations, Op. 36, IX. Nimrod · Edward Elgar
  2. Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1 in E♭ major · Johannes Brahms
  3. Pavane in F♯ minor, Op. 50 · Gabriel Fauré
  4. Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, III. Mélodie · Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  5. Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 "From the New World", II. Largo · Antonín Dvořák
  6. Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115, II. Adagio · Johannes Brahms
  7. Piano Quintet in E♭, Op. 44, II. In modo d'una marcia · Robert Schumann
  8. Sospiri, Op. 70 · Edward Elgar
  9. Élégie in C minor, Op. 24 · Gabriel Fauré
  10. Symphony No. 5 in C♯ minor, IV. Adagietto · Gustav Mahler
  11. The Carnival of the Animals, The Swan · Camille Saint-Saëns
  12. Méditation from Thaïs · Jules Massenet
  13. Air on the G String (Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068) · J.S. Bach
  14. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique", II. Adagio cantabile · Ludwig van Beethoven
  15. Wiegenlied (Lullaby), Op. 49 No. 4 · Johannes Brahms
  16. Ave Maria, D. 839 · Franz Schubert
  17. Chanson de matin, Op. 15 No. 2 · Edward Elgar
  18. Tristan und Isolde, Liebestod · Richard Wagner

Spotify and Apple Music links are coming. The track lists are final, build the playlist in your music app of choice.

Day-of checklist

Before the carriage passes.

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The menu

Three courses, one Mayfair table.

Each course maps to the act it opens. Grocery-store accessible, no specialty butcher, no rare ingredients. Every course has a store-bought shortcut warmly called out, so a host who doesn’t bake isn’t blocked. Full recipes, shopping list, and prep timeline live in the host packet.

  1. Act 1, Pimm's Cup
    Pimm's No. 1 over lemonade with cucumber, mint, and strawberry; hard-boiled eggs with classic deviled filling; smoked salmon on thinly sliced brown bread with cucumber.
    Shortcut: Grocery deli-counter deviled eggs and pre-sliced smoked salmon on pre-sliced brown bread both work, full assembly in under ten minutes.
  2. Act 2, Roast beef
    A standard grocery-store roast (chuck, sirloin, or rib, whatever fits your oven). Yorkshire pudding from a simple batter, baked in a hot pan. Carrots, parsnips, potatoes; horseradish cream from the jar.
    Shortcut: A pre-seasoned grocery-store roast plus boxed Yorkshire pudding mix is completely fine. Store-bought horseradish cream (brand: Beaver or Tulkoff) saves ten minutes.
  3. Act 3, Eton mess
    Meringues, whipped cream, fresh strawberries, assembled just before serving. Trifle as an alternative: layers of pound cake, custard, raspberry jam, strawberries, whipped cream.
    Shortcut: Pre-made meringues from the grocery baking aisle plus canned whipped cream and rinsed sliced strawberries, five minutes, assembled in the serving bowl with no baking required.
Invite them properly

A drawing-room mystery deserves a real invitation.

One click creates a draft event in your Vityy dashboard, the copy is already written, the template is already picked (silk-ribbon, cream + burgundy + ink). You add guest emails and press send.

Preview the guest RSVP
  • Pre-filled prompt
    The page hands the copilot a 1897 Jubilee pitch; the draft lands ready to edit, not blank.
  • Silk-ribbon template
    Defaults to silk-ribbon, cream + burgundy + ink, italic serif. You can swap before sending.
  • Per-guest signed link
    Each of your 7 co-conspirators gets a link that knows who they are. One tap to confirm.
  • RSVP, then radio silence
    Guests reply once and never hear from us again until the night. The surprise stays yours.

The carriage will pass at half-past eight.
Some of us will not be home for the fireworks.

One Tuesday evening, eight friends, a dining room that turns into a Mayfair town house at the height of the Empire. Send the invitations. Print the kit. Carve the roast. Keep the claret breathing.

Unlock the host kit, $19

Printable · No apps · No guest accounts