Warning - spoiler

Where did the concept come from of Mrs Bradshaw being what she is and really needing everyone else just to accept the Bradshaw arrangements and move on?

All I could think of was a scene in the film 'Cabaret' set in 1930s Germany, where one cabaret act had someone married to a gorilla as being symbolic of marrying a Jew, and we should all not be bigoted about it

There was an old (probably pre-war) cartoon, that showed two British gentleman talking to each other in what was probably a club, whose acompanying text was along the lines of...

A: "Didn't I hear that something had happened to Carruthers?"
B: "Yes, he married an ape."
A: "A female ape, or a male one?"
B: "Oh a female one, of course, there's nothing queer about Carruthers..."

I remember that joke too now - not that I'm pre-War, I'm pre-Falklands War though - but I cannot think for the life of me where I read/saw it and the Internet isn't helping either. Sounds far more likely than my suggestion.

In a 'Best of Punch' collection, maybe?

Well, in my personal opinion, it's all just a setup to stick "Ronan Empyre" and "History of Gibbons" in there-- which you will notice talks about Bradshaw. So much brilliance arises from bad puns, no?



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Revolt! Revolt! No matter why or when,
It's novelty--old novelty again.

How is it bigoted? I just read it as a twisted joke. It's great, tho!

In "The Book Doctor" by Esther Cohen, a woman sends a letter to the main character asking her to "doctor" her book, which is called "My Happy Marriage [to a Gorilla]." The main character makes a remark about how she's open to doctoring almost any book, but there are ones that she will reject. For instance, a woman in love with a dolphin is very original, but it's TOO original for her.