Enough of diverting scandal, I must blog about my favourite subject: the foreigner in Georgian London.  One such character is Deen Mahomet (later Sake Dean Mahomed).  Mahomet is rightly remembered a flamboyant character.  Born to a Muslim family in Bihar in 1759 he grew up to serve in the Bengal branch of the British East India Army as a surgeon, but had been attached to the Army in some capacity since he was 10.  An Anglo-Irish officer, Captain Godfrey Baker seems to have become the boy's patron, but in 1782, Baker was forced from the Army in disgrace (after extorting money from villagers: always the mark of a gentleman).  Deen left to accompany his friend back to Ireland.  It is unclear whether he was involved in Baker's activities.  

By 1784, Deen was in Cork.  There he met Jane Daly, an Irish girl, and in 1786 they eloped to marry due to her family's disapproval.  Deen began to write the story of his travels, and in 1794 published what is thought to be the first book by an Indian written in English: The Travels of Dean Mahomet.  It's a great read and very enlightening on the details of the British in India, but there's a lot of fudging by Deen on the story of his life, and around this time, his name and self-styled titles begin to change.  He and Jane came to London, and here Deen found employment with the Hon. Basil Cochrane, who had made a fortune in India and liked the people and way of life.  He opened a bath house at 12 Portman Square and employed Deen to offer 'shampooing services'.  No doubt he washed hair, but what he actually offered was Indian head and body massage with perfumed oils.  It became a huge success.  

Late in 1809, Deen opened the Hindostanee Coffee House, announcing its arrival with the following advertisement:

At the same time, Deen adopted the 'Sake' bit of his name, meaning 'Venerable One'.  Although reviewed very favourably in the publications of the time, Deen struggled.  This is probably because he had started his establishment in what he thought was the perfect area (plenty of Nabobs around Marylebone at that time), but the thing was, most of them had brought Indian cooks with them who catered for their every whim, without going out to a restaurant.  Although clearly a great ideas man, Deen expanded too quickly after early success, and by 1813 he was bankrupt (although the coffeehouse continued until 1833 under different management).

Deen and his wife moved down to Brighton, where the building of the Pavilion was lending an exotic flavour to things.  He became 'shampooing surgeon' to both Prinny and later, William IV.  His financial misfortunes continued, but he appears to have been a philosophical soul, eventually dying in 1851, of a decline, after the death of his wife from uterine cancer.  They are buried together in St Nicholas's churchyard, Brighton.  

Deen and Jane had at least five children together, although the records are conflicting.  Their son William became a postman in the West End and held that position for his lifetime.  Another son, Frederick took over where his father left off in Brighton, also teaching both boxing and fencing.  His own son, also Frederick, became a surgeon at Guy's Hospital and completed pioneering research into hypertension before his early death at 35.  

Deen Mahomet and his family are an excellent example of the delicate balance between promoting one's own 'otherness' and yet becoming thoroughly immersed in a new culture.  Their integration into British society is a heady mixture of affection, family, money, skill and intellect as well as financial mismanagement and disaster, and one that deserves to be more widely known.

*I am aware that to claim any establishment as London's first anything is dangerous.  As soon as there is a small community, there are establishments to feed them with a taste of home.  However, the Deen Mahomet appears to be the first Indian to market his cuisine to the London market, rather than solely catering for his fellow Indians.