Once you start researching the evolution of vegan authors you start to notice any mention of animal rights or vegetarianism throughout literature.
I recently watched a production of The Importance of Being Earnest and was surprised to hear this line uttered by the character Algernon:
ALGERNON
You can’t possibly ask me to go without having some dinner. It’s absurd. I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that.
This play was written around 1895, which means that vegetarianism was enough of a trend that Wilde felt like it would resonate with audiences. Granted, he felt it worth poking fun of, but it’s nice to see the term gaining traction.
