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June 25, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Pictorial Art for Instalments 1 & 2
Dear Trollope-l friends,
I thought I would continue my posting of the descriptions and commentary on the illustrations of the last two Barsetshire novels which I began around the time we started The Small House of Allington. In the case of The Last Chronicle of Barset I have seen all 65 illustrations.
First here is the bibliographic background: 65 Illustrations
The Last Chronicle was written 1866 (20 January - 15 September); & serialized 1866 (1 December) - 1867 (6 July), Weekly Sixpenny Parts.
There were 32 Full-Page Illustrations and 32 Vignettes by George Housman Thomas; and it was published as a book in 1867 (Volume I, March; Volume II, July), Smith & Elder
Cover Illustration for each number: First the cover for each of the weekly parts was sumptuous. This book announced itself as a luxury product by a well-respected author
Sources: the cover illustrations for all the numbers of a Smith, Elder bound-together edition in 1867 of The Last Chronicle of Barset which I saw in the rare book room of the Library of Congress. It may also be seen in C. P. Snow, Anthony Trollope: An Illustrated Biography, p.98 (full-page art paper black-and white photocopy); is reprinted in R. H. Super, The Chronicler of Barsetshire, p. 240, No. 10 (reduced, black-and-white).
Description: a pale-yellow background an elaborately designed title in large gold letters intended to evoke antique associations; the large initial letters (T, L, C, B) blocked; these take up the top half the wrapper. Trollope's name appears in dark-modern square type across the middle. On the bottom half is a triangular frame in which we see a church spire, with a weather cock; a church porch and parsonage house; a tiny serpent and tiny pocket-book, on a wall which encloses it all; the entrance is opened, and you have steps up to walk in. Bright powder blue, dark rich reds and browns dominate the colour scheme; around the triangular frame are small green leaves.
Instalment One:
The Vignette:
We see a small picture of a butcher standing in front of raw hanging meat, sharping his knives. He looks grim. Vignette for Chapter 1 ('How did he get it?). Sources: 1867 Harper and Brothers American One-Volume Edition of The Last Chronicle of Barset, p. 1; and the 1867 Smith & Elder edition of 20 bound -together numbers of The Last Chronicle of Barset, No. 1. Unfortunately the illustrations on the bound numbers are displaced; each of the 32 full-page illustrations serves as a frontispiece to the whole and each of the vignettes appears at the corner of the first chapter of the number whether it belongs to the first chapter or illustrates the first scene or not.
Comment: this is strikingly appropriate as we are told that it was Mr Fletcher, the butcher, who first became angry when he heard other tradesmen had been paid before him and wrote Bishop Proudie repeated letters complaining harshly about people who don't pay their bills. The male figure is hard-looking, determined, no gentleman, with little indication of any delicacy or kindness of heart. And who has ever given him any slack in life?
The Full-Page Illustration: '
The Rev Mr Crawley and His Wife'. Sources: Harper and Bros Last Chronicle, p. 13 (all the full-page illustrations are somewhat reduced in size to a three -quarter page; they are, however, carefully placed over the scene they are intended to illustrate); 1867 Smith & Elder Last Chronicle, No. 1. Reprinted Trollopiana, 42, p. 7.
Comment: George Housman Thomas has carefully studied Millais's depiction of Rev and Mrs Crawley as they first appeared in Framley Parsonage, and given us the same originally graceful dignified pair. The woman has not changed much, just older, somewhat heavier; the man looks sunken-in, brooding, slightly deranged. He looks at some space in the mid-range of the room; his hand clasp his head and knee. The room is bare: a wooden table, a book, a cupboard, his books on a writing desk nearby.
Instalment Two:
Vignette:
We see a small picture of a recognisable Crawley standing surrounded by young children in a schoolroom; vignette for Chapter Four ('The Clergyman's House at Hogglestock'). Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 20; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 2.
Comment: the emphasis is on two girls who are drawn as at the front with Mr Crawley facing away from us and towards the others. He is talking to and patiently controlling the children. The girls whisper to one another; we distinguish benches. The lack of hair-styling and gowns of the children mark them as working-class. This is how this man spends part of his day. The picture can communicate to the modern reader ironies about how society has never valued or paid teachers very much, especially teachers of poorer people.
The Full-Page Illustration: '
"I love you as though you were my own", said the schoolmistress'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 30; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No. 2; also 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p. 50. Reprinted and discussed in N. John Hall, Anthony Trollope and His Illustrators, pp. 115-18.
Comment: this is a picture of a fairly young woman. Her plumpness suggests she is no more than 20. She is a suppliant on her knees to a kindly older woman. It is often said that women kneel to men in the original illustrations to Trollope; rather the less powerful character, one with lower status, kneels to the more powerful one with higher status. The room is exquisitely detailed, from the elegant wallpapers, to the pictures on the wall, flowers on furniture, a mantelpiece with fringe, a mirror, pillows scattered about, and the two women's dresses, hair. Hall praises Thomas for having created pictures 'reminiscent of Millais; they are, however, much less idyllic and more alert, older, as delicate, but worried. This picture is actually as good or better than many a Millais -- as are a number of the Thomas illustrations for The Last Chronicle.
Cheers to all, Ellen Moody
To: trollope-l@egroups.com
Subject: [trollope-l] Last Chronicle of Barset, Pictorial Art for Instalments 1 & 2
Ellen, thank you for "posting" the pictures for us. I was especially interested in the description of Crawley and his wife in his little sanctuary, and the comment that he looked slightly deranged.
This book really grabbed my attention from the very beginning. I think partly because I already know the characters. Yes, my curiosity has gotten the better of me once again and I was anxious to see what everyone had been doing since our last visit.
Dagny
To Trollope-l
July 2, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 3 & 4
Instalment 3 (Chapters 7-8)
Vignette:
We see a small picture of decidedly elegant young gentleman knocking at a solid door with the sign 'The Misses Prettyman'; vignette for Chapter Seven ('Miss Prettyman's Private Room'). Sources: Harper Last Chronicle, p. 32; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 3.
Comment: Here is Major Henry Grantly. He is not young (in the way Johnny Eames was), but rather a man in his mid-thirties. He is luxuriously dressed: there's a shiny top hat, a two-toned overcoat, a cane. Very much the aristocrat. As Trollope says, this man emerged from Plumstead Episcopi. We can feel how this widower, with a child, come to court the relatively and poor young Grace Crawley is himself a plum.
Full-Page Illustration:
'Mr Crawley Before the Magistrates'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 41; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No 3; also serves as frontispiece to 1997 Trollope Society edition of The Last Chronicle. Reprinted and discussed Hall, AT and His Illustrators, pp. 118-19.
Comment: This is a superb picture; this is a close imitation of the man we saw in Millais in 'The Crawley Family', except now, as Trollope said of Millais's picture of Lady Mason early in Orley Farm (see Annotated Commentary 1, 'There was sorrow in her heart, and deep thought in her mind') Mr Crawley is worn. He is bending (I use Trollope's words of Lady Mason) to find within himself 'in spite of all that [he] had gone through . . . .more of strength, -- more of the power to resist all that this world could do to [him]. Housman has posed Crawley as he was in the near-by picture of himself with the respectful children; now his audience is indifferent or hard and well-dressed, with authority over him. He is tired and stiff; Mrs Crawley sits veiled at his side. The two men at the side of the table and in the center of the picture space are finely detialed, grim, whispering. Hall writes that the 'entire crowded scene has movement and tension'.
Instalment 4 (Chapters 9-11)
Vignette:
We see a small picture of two girls bent over their sewing by candlelight; vignette for Chapter Nine ('Grace Crawley Goes to Allington'). Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 43; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 4.
Comment: this is a lovely, delicate drawing. We see a plain deal table, the two heads of the two girls bent at their task, one more poorly dressed than the other. One does fine sewing, and the other has some study cloth. placing directly next to dialogue between Lily Dale and Grace Crawley. They are becoming sympathetic friends.
Full-Page Illustration:
'"A Convicted Thief", repeated Mrs Proudie'. Sources: Harper & Bros _Last Chronicle_, p. 52; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No 4. Reprinted in James Pope Hennessy, Anthony Trollope, from Mansell Collection, p. 155 (excellent copy); reprinted and discussed in Hall, AT and His Illustrators, pp. 117-21.
Comment: the depiction is expressive rather than realistic: the psychology on the face of Mrs Proudie is exaggerated: she is pig-like rather than pugnacious, supercilious to the point of a theatrical sniffing. However, what is visualised is what Mrs Proudie feels like to the reader, our experience of her as the worst of self-righteous blind bullies. The Bishop is in shadows, holding his hands still. Again the room is exquistely detailed; it is well-appointed with curtains, rugs, handsome table, books.
Ellen Moody
Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 21:44:32
To: trollope-l@egroups.com
Subject: [trollope-l] Last Chronicle of Barset, Full-Page Illustration, Instalment 2
Rory commented on my description of the Full-Page Illustration for Instalment 2: '
I haven't seen this illustration or read the discussion in Hall referred to above. It is Grace Crawley telling Miss Prettyman that she wishes to leave and go home. When you say her "plumpness" gives the impression of her youth, is she drawn well covered or slender?'
Since I posted it sometime last week, here it is again: '
The Full-Page Illustration: '
"I love you as though you were my own", said the schoolmistress'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 30; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No. 2; also 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p. 50. Reprinted and discussed in N. John Hall, Anthony Trollope and His Illustrators, pp. 115-18.
Comment: this is a picture of a fairly young woman. Her plumpness suggests she is no more than 20. She is a suppliant on her knees to a kindly older woman. It is often said that women kneel to men in the original illustrations to Trollope; rather the less powerful character, one with lower status, kneels to the more powerful one with higher status. The room is exquisitely detailed, from the elegant wallpapers, to the pictures on the wall, flowers on furniture, a mantelpiece with fringe, a mirror, pillows scattered about, and the two women's dresses, hair. Hall praises Thomas for having created pictures 'reminiscent of Millais; they are, however, much less idyllic and more alert, older, as delicate, but worried. This picture is actually as good or better than many a Millais -- as are a number of the Thomas illustrations for The Last Chronicle.'
I am looking at the reproduction of this woodcut as it appears in N. John Hall's book (p. 116). I would use the word plump for the upper part of the girl's body, but perhaps others might settle for rounded. She has a full face we see from the side; it is not lined at all. She is drawn well-covered. The blouse part of the dress is what in the US was once called a shirt- waist style. It is severe. The collar is high round her neck, a thin line suggesting a white band with a triangle in the middle. She wears long fullish sleeves with cuffs around her wrists. The dress has a tight waist and then flairs out, but not too much; there's enough material to suggest abundance without rich folds. Very lightly sketched in between her arms which rest on one of Miss Prettyman's hands which are in Miss Prettyman's lap we can see lines which suggest a neat bosom, not too full, not too flat.
I'm no expert on style, but I get the feeling from what I have seen Miss Grace Crawley is dressed plainly, but not humbly. Such a dress would have been regarded as fancy by Jane Eyre -- who we recall had very austere ideas about fashion. It seems in the same style as Mrs Proudie's, though Mrs Proudie's looks satiny and plush and very full. Again I may be wrong, but Miss Prettyman's cap looks old- fashioned to me. All those frills and the held back hair in it seem an older style. Her dress is quietly rich, lots of material, with layers of of white glimpsed under the sleeves.
Hall quotes seomthing Trollope wrote about this illustration:
The best figure [in a whole group] is that of Miss Prettyman in No. 2. Grace is not good. She has fat cheeks, & is not Grace Crawley. Crawley before the magiestrates is very good. So is the bishop. Mrs Proudie is not quite my Mrs Proudie.
Hall remarks: 'Miss Prettyman is indeed delicately drawn, and the close detail of the room very reminiscent of Millais; Grace Crawley does appear fat-cheeked and her face has none of the fine delineation of which Thomas was at times capable.'
In a later illustration of Grace accompanying her father into the courtroom for his trial, G. Housman Thomas has mended his ways. Grace has a much thinner face; it is wan, strained and looks disturbed and drawn in. She is also a thinner figure, more angular.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 11:52:49 +0100
To: trollope-l@egroups.com
Subject: [trollope-l] Last Chronicle of Barset, Full-Page Illustration, Instalment 2
At 22:44 00\07\04, Ellen Moody wrote:
"Rory commented on my description of the Full-Page Illustration for Instalment 2:I'm no expert on style, but I get the feeling from what I have seen Miss Grace Crawley is dressed plainly, but not humbly."
I think this is what we would expect - she is a school assistant (school mistress in posse, perhaps?) and would be as well dressed as she could afford, having regard to what she sends home to her family, but most certainly not overdressed. The Misses Prettyman would certainly ensure that she was not in rags, for the sake of the school's reputation.
Ellen also wrote:
"Hall quotes seomthing Trollope wrote about this illustration:Grace is not good. She has fat cheeks, & is not Grace Crawley.
That is what I was getting at - I think Trollope was suggesting what we would nowadays regard as the "gamine" figure (think Audrey Hepburn). [Pause while all think of Audrey Hepburn...]
"In a later illustration of Grace accompanying her father into the courtroom for his trial, G. Housman Thomas has mended his ways. Grace has a much thinner face; it is wan, strained and looks disturbed and drawn in. She is also a thinner figure, more angular."
I'm glad the artist later revised his concept of Grace Crawley. I think one of the hurdles Grace has to overcome is the impression in other people that she is a mere child and Henry Grantly, a young widower with a small child, is "baby-snatching", in the sense that he has fallen for an insignificant chit, who could not care for a "ready made" family. It should be mentioned that Henry Grantly has been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery in the UK even still, this is a clue that he must therefore be recognized by the reader to be decisive and unfearing.
One of my favorite passages in all Trollope is the interview between Archdeacon Grantly and Grace Crawley. This is a joy yet to come for those who haven't yet read The Last Chronicle; on reading it I think you will see why I am dwelling on the importance of the correct representation of Grace Crawley.
Thanks for the supplemental description and quotes, Ellen; they have been very helpful.
Rory O'Farrell
To Trollope-l
July 9, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations to Chs 12-16:
Chs 12-14
The Vignette:
We see a small picture of a desolate landscape. This a place where people work hard for their living. Vignette for Chapter Twelve ('Mr Crawley Seeks for Sympathy'). Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 54; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 4.
Comment: this little sketch is superb, ought to be better known. It might help offset the common idea that Trollope's books are wholly about the rich and upper class and show little or no knowledge of how the average working man of England lived. We see a realistic depiction of a brickshed, straw on top, tools inside. Nearby is a hard-worked well, a little farther off another frail-looking structure. A small wooden bridge crosses a stream; agricultural tools are stewn in the distance. This is the scene after the men have left a hard day's labour. It recalls water scenes in Dickens's novels with the difference that nothing melodramatic has or is about to occur. The sky is lowering but clear at the edges (through a light and heavy use of lines).
The Full-Page Illustration:
"Speak Out Dan!". Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 52; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No 5.
Comment: this one also ought to be more frequently reprinted. We see Mr Crawley sitting by the fire, warming himself, looking up to a working man who scratches his head. Crawley isn't rigid with pride here. The wife is seen in shadows by the threshold and not carefully drawn; on the floor are straw baskets; on the table a teapot. The picture is placed precisely over the dialogue where Crawley asks Dan for advice and solace. The two are on Crawley's side, but don't know what to say or how to help. They don't understand the importance of words to Crawley. It looks forward to the picture later in the volume where Crawley again appeals to a working man and is told '"It's dogged as does it"' (the frontispiece for the 1878 8 volume set, see below). It is subtle, quieter, though not as well drawn as the latter.
Chs 15-16:
The Vignette:
We see a small picture a gentleman seen from the back; he is sitting in a comfortable chair in a well-furnished room; there is a massive, handsome fireplace, and a wall of books to his left; on his right, we see a drink on a handsome table; he has a wastebasket by his feet; vignette for Chapter 15 ('Up in London'). Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 66; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 6.
Comment: here we have the mature John Eames, now a handsome elegantly-dressed gentleman about town who has made a success of his profession. From the side we can see a young face; he is beardless, has only long whiskers.
The Full-Page Illustration: 'Grace Crawley is introduced to Squire Dale'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 66; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 6; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p. 146.
Comment: we see an ostentatiously crest-fallen and submissive young woman who looks down at the floor in plaintive blankness as an older elegant gentlemen bows to her. They are standing in front of a church, with a complacent older Lily to one side. It reveals how the Victorian reader saw and accepted Grace Crawley's behavior and status as lowly and the Squire's as high and self- assured. (This reader hopes others gag as they look at this one too.) Grace also contrasts strongly with the self-assured older aristocratic gentlemen in the earlier vignette to Chapter Seven.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
To Trollope-l
July 16, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations to Chs 17-22
Instalment 7:
The Vignette:
We see a small picture of clergyman determinedly walking into a church; he is seen from the back; at the entrance gate are some working men who look unwelcoming and rough. This is the vignette for Chapter 17 ('Mr Crawley is Summoned to Barchester'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 77; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 7.
Comment: here we see Rev Crawley braving the loss of respect he now must endure as he goes into his church. Not enough work has been done on the Crawley figure, but the working man who looks belligerently out from the left-corner of the picture is well done, as is the somewhat gentlemanly man who stands just back of him (in lighter lines) repeating the same attitude.
The Full-Page Illustration
'Farmer Mangle and Mr Crawley'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 81; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 7.
Comment: this is a superb illustration which ought to be better known. We see two large figures sitting together on a cart, all on the right side of the picture. To the back the landscape is wintry (bare trees, thin grasses) and the white makes it chill. The farmer has a pleasant sturdy expression on his face as he urges his horse on; he is well-bundled up, prosperous, good-humoured. Mr Crawley's outfit is elegant, but looks thin; his expression is glum, glowering, tired. The horse is beautifully drawn. Here is Mr Crawley taken to the Bishop's palace in comfort in spite of his anguished pride.
Instalment 8:
The Vignette: We see a small picture of two gentleman conferring in someone's study; one scratches his head, the other leans forward to make an impression This is the vignette for Chapter 22 ('What Mr Walker Thought About It'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 88; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 8.
Comment: here is our old friend Mark Robarts come to ask Mr Walker's opinion. The dialogue faces the picture on the next page of the Harper edition so it is dropped in beautifully. One can make out Mark's clerical collar; the room is small; Mr Walker who faces us, looks perturbed.
The Full-Page Illustration
'"She's more like Eleanor than any one else"'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 97; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 8; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p. 194.
Comment: we see an old frail man sitting somewhat hesitantly on a couch as he looks down at a young female child, blonde. To the right standing behind them are an elegant gentlemen in his thirties and a much older one whose hair is gray and grizzled; a middle aged lady bows to the little girl while talking to her. This is Mr Harding, who is drawn far less sentimentally and absurdly than Millais's figure. He is simply frail; Dr Grantly has aged, is stout and looks a bit tired. Perhaps Mrs Grantly is made too young to be the mother of Major Grantly who now appears in a larger clearer drawing. Like Johnny Eames, he lacks a beard -- in fact almost no one has a beard in these drawings. The picture does not come off to this modern reader because the child is a fetish object; her face is actually far too adult and knowing, her eyes recall those of glamour cartoons in early 20th century magazines. She is a kitsch drawing.
Separate modern note: the blond curly hair and nubile body, almost slightly twitching, flirty, with those eyes reminds of that poor child who here in the US was possibly murdered by her mother or parents after she was put into beauty contests. In fact you'd think Thomas has seen this modern icon of beauty contests. The similarity suggests to me we have a type here who appeals -- there's an illustration for The Claverings by Mary Ellen Edwards of Florence in which you'd think Celia Johnson had sat for the drawing. Again some idealised sentimental type which these real people happened to embody.
Ellen Moody
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 06:34:53
To: trollope-l@egroups.com
Subject: [trollope-l] Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations to Chs 23-27
[Back again from West Sussex, about which I will try to write late tonight or tomorrow night. I did heed the advice of many on the list and my husband, daughter, and I visited the Open Air Museum, the Roman Villa at Bignor, Chicester Cathedrale close and much more; for now, here are this week's illustrations]
General Comment: as the evidence demonstrates that Trollope suggested which scenes to depict, we should notice all four illustrations for this week's chapters focus our attention on the most unpastoral world of London. Our attention is swerved away from Barsetshire, onto a letter, and to the world of money, prestige, and to art as a business. Dalrymple chooses a scene which has salacious connotations; that's why it appeals. We are invited to read it as a self-reflexive allegorical commentary (using the text of the Bible) on Trollope's subplot about the Van Sievers, Dobbs Broughtons, Dalrymple, and Madalina Desmoulins. I suggest Trollope is restless with his Barsetshire material, except insofar as it concerns the Rev Crawley v the Proudies. He wants to bring Lily to London.
Instalment 9: The Vignette
We see a small picture of elderly postman handing a letter to a maid standing at a gate. This is the vignette for Chapter 23 ('Miss Lily Dale's Resolution'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 100; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 9.
Comment: this scene is not dramatised in the text; instead we are given Adolphus Crosbie's letter to Lily's mother in which, now that his wife is dead, he attempts to begin a romance leading to marriage with Lily once again. This is another of Trollope's great letter texts which we should talk about. The postman looks old and frail, not well-dressed; the maid has a cross expression on her face, but the latter may be just inadequate engraving. The effect is to emphasise the rural quiet world of Barset into which the letter arrives as disruptive and from a real world.
The Full-Page Illustration '
"I am very glad to have the opportunity of shaking hands with you"'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 107; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 9. Reprinted as frontispiece to 1964 Houghton Mifflin edition of The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire, ed. Arthur Mizener. As Mizener writes, we see 'Adolphus Crosbie stepping across the Dobbs Broughton's drawning-room to shake hands with Johnny Eames. On Johnny's right sits Madalina Desmoulines; next to her is Augustus Musselboro, and next to him Mrs Vansiever. the two (male) figures in the background are Mrs Broughton and Conway Dalrymple.
Comment: there is an intendedly strong contrast with vignette of postman and maid; we see an elegant party going on, with richly dressed ladies and gentleman, the world Crosbie married to get into, the world from which his letter came, the world which has turned him into more than a little of a sleaze. As with Millais's depiction of 'Lady Lufton and the Duke of Omnium' for Framley Parsonage (see Annotated Commentary 1 on my website), the focus is on an older woman's face: this time, it's the avaricious, mean Mrs Van Siever, a measure of the difference in mood in this book's presentation of high life and that of Framley Parsonage). Pace Mizener's denigrating commentary, this picture is as effective in its way as Millais's: the woman in the center is the spirit of the place; Crosbie's outstretched hand is accompanied by a cold supercilious expression on his face; Madalina has an anxious, expectant and demanding look at she faces Johnny whose face is depicted looking away to Crosbie.
Instalment 10:
We see a small picture of an artist painting on an easel; in the background a man sits watching and smoking. This is the vignette for Chapter 25 ('Miss Madalina Desmoulins'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 112; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 10.
Comment: Just below in the American edition we read the following ironic passage: '
"I don't think you care two straws about her", Conway Dalrymple said to his friend John Eames, two days after the dinner party. The painter was at work in his study, and the private secretary from the Income- Tax Office, who was no doubt engaged on some special mission to the West End on the part of Sir Raffle Buffle [oh doubtless], was sitting on a lounging chair and smoking a cigar.
Considering the importance of the picture in the story, the choice is right from many points of views. Alas, not enough time has been taken on the engraving, and the figure of Dalrymple is simply recognisable as artist from his beard, palette, and smock. For some reason Thomas rushes this job -- as he did not the picture of Miss Prettyman's study. A lost opportunity. It seems to me Thomas does not work hard on the vignettes; in The Small House Millais did.
The Full-Page Illustration: '"What Do you Think of it, Mrs Broughton?"'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 117; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 10.
Comment: Mrs Dobbs-Broughton is very well drawn -- as N. John Hall would say, much in Millais's manner. She is intently looking at the picture in which we can see the outlines of the Sisera- Jael story. She is proud, intelligent, beautifully dressed; Dalrymple backs away hesitantly. The problem with the picture is Clara Van Siever's face: what is meant to be jealousy comes across as a distanced flat expression. The room is that of a wealthy woman, lovely lace curtains on the window; to the side on a pedestal, a naked woman kneeling, an arm drawn across her breast is the best touch (even if not sufficiently carefully engraved). Clara is dressed in an absurdly beribboned, bemuffed, belaced young way which is precisely appropriate to the means her mother has used to imprison her all her life thus far.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
July 30, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Chs 28-32
Instalment 11 The Vignette:
For Chapter 28 (Showing How Major Grantley Took a Walk'), the vignette is a small picture of elegantly-dressed gentleman bringing a horse and chariot into a stable. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 112; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 11.
Comment: through shadows lightly etched, not carefully engraved (through distinct lines) we see Major Grantly arriving in the yard of the Red Lion, preparatory to walking to Mrs Dale's house to see Grace. This is the same man of aristocratic bearing who came knocking on Miss Prettyman's door.
The Full-Page Illustration
'Squire Dale and Major Grantley'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 126; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 11; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p 258.
Comment: this is a good landscape picture. We see the quiet Barsetshire countryside lovingly delineated; picturesque treatment. Two gentleman (the Squire and Major Grantly) are walking and conversing by a old thick tree; in the distance two women are walking in a pair (Grace and Lily). The Squire is bent over, intent; Major Grantly listening. As is typical throughout all the original illustrations, the Squire is made far younger and more elegant than Trollope meant him to look. It seems illustrators and novelists thought the public did not care for elderly unhandsome people. (Mrs Dale is also made too young by both Millais and Thomas.)
Instalment 12:
The Vignette:
For Chapter 32 (Mr Toogood'), the vignette is a small picture of a man coming to his place of business; Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 135; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 12.
Comment: perhaps since this turn in the story is important, Thomas has taken some time over the picture. Mr Toogood, as his name indicates, is a deliciously 'good' character, a moral touchstone in the story; Thomas did take a bit more time over these pictures because he suddenly repeats the gestures, gait, whole appearance of Millais's first depiction of Mr Harding in _The Small House at Allington_. Compare Millais's '"There is Mr Harding coming out of the Deanery"' (see my Annotated Commentary 2). Mr Toogood is, however, dressed a bit too elegantly for the plain man Trollope suggests. He is also unlike Mr Harding in the hawklike clarity or vigilant step given him; Mr Harding looks frail in Millais's depictions.
The Full-Page Illustration
"Never mind, Mr Henry"'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 126; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 12.
Comment: this is a good one and deserves to be better known. We see a heavy-set rich-looking, large and imposing man, our Dr Grantly, on a strong horse talking to the keeper. The keeper is not intimidated but talks earnestly up at him with his own dog at his feet. Grantly listens intently as the keeper tells him a word from him would go far to making the Ullathornes do whatever he wishes; the reference is to Grantly's desire to please and to make his son into a fox-hunting gentleman. To hunt foxes is to be a gentleman, and Henry's desire to do so soften the Archdeacon. Thomas has been careful to make Grantly consistent throughout. This is the same portly older man we saw in an earlier full-page illustration in the book. He is not depicted as young, but is clearly middle-aged. The figure looks much older than the figure for Squire Dale (which of course does not follow the fiction; in the fiction Squire Dale is the elderly man.)
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
To Trollope-l
August 6, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 13 & 14
Here is a description of the illustrations for this week's instalments.
Instalment 13:
The Vignette:
For Chapter 34 ("Mrs Proudie sends for her lawyer'), the vignette is a small picture of a stout, domineering woman in enormous black dress. In the near distance to her in the room a man sitting at a desk holds his head. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 145; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 13.
Comment: the background is poorly sketched; however, it is recognisably the same study we saw in '"A Convicted Thief"' (Instalment 4). Here Mrs Proudie is visualised as a thrusting hard woman making the figure who covers his face with his hand in the background miserable.
The Full-Page Illustration
'"Lily wishes that they might swear to be brother and sister'. Sources: Harper & Bros _Last Chronicle_, p. 154; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 13; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p. 322. Reprinted and discussed in Hall, AT and His Illustrators, p. 122; Hennessy, p. 21.
Comment: there is a closely similar picture in Henry Woods's series for The Vicar of Bullhampton, 'Sunday Morning at Dunripple' (see Annotated Commentary 6), also an autumnal scene where we see two people who do not become lovers, Walter Marrable and Edith Brownlow, walking side-by-side. Both Thomas's and Woods's pictures visualise touchingly quiet loss and stoic acceptance as the common experience of life. The delicacy of the intimation is conveyed by, as Hall says, the 'depersonalised faces', the stylisation, the 'sterile atmosphere' between two people walking in parallel lines at a distance amidst 'late afternoon shadows, leafless trees and, in the case of Thomas's picture, a huge stump. The same 'rigid upright posture' and quiet parallel walking apart is depicted in Thomas's and Woods's pair of people where sex is sublimated, made out of the qustion, could and maybe ought to have happened.
Instalment 14:
The Vignette
The vignette for for Chapter 36 ('Grace Crawley Returns Home') is a small picture of two young women saying goodbye to one another at a door, one in cloak and bonnet; in the distance an older one looks on. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 158; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 14.
Comment: Grace seems sad to leave; her posture is one of reluctance. It's noteworthy that in the Harper Bros edition, just below this vignette and surrounding the full-page illustration (also of a character responding to a letter) we have the texts of Major Grantly's, Grace's and then the mother's letter asking her daughter to come home to her father.
The Full-Page Illustration
'She read the beginning -- "Dearest Grace"'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 159; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 14.
Comment: Another exquisitely realised depiction of an intimate moment in a bourgeois interior. We see Grace in a high collar looking a bit older (probably because of the bun) and Lily whose dark hair is tied back. Both are reading their respective letters while a full-bodied Mrs Dale reads a newspaper. Thomas provides many details: the steaming tea, an open ham, a toast rack, bread and butter all laying on a cloth-covered table. The breakfast comforts of the English middle class of the period, a sense of quiet sociability and dignity, which Grace must now leave.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
To Trollope-l
August 13, 2000
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 15 & 16
Instalment 15:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 39 ('A New Flirtation'): a small picture of gentleman bowing ever so slightly to lady who curtseys deeply before him. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 169; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 15.
Comment: John Eames takes up with Madalina Desmoulins. It is very lightly, even carelessly sketched. There is, though, a significant detail. The gentleman shows his leg: in the Victorian this gesture was seen as mildly salacious or teasing. In The Egoist Meredith has a scene where Sir Willoughby Patterne shows his leg to the 'nymph' he is courting, and the nymph's low curtsey suggests he can see her décolletage.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'"Mama, I've got something to tell you"'. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 179; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 15.
Comment: deep in the shadows of a bare room, we see a young woman leaning on an older one; beyond a door threshold is a bed. Mr Crawley lies sick.. A great deal of trouble has been taken over the details of the dresses, the thin drugget on the floor; the small round table with its cup of tea. In the American edition, beneath the picture we read the dialogue where Grace tells her mother of Major Grantly's visit and her response.
nstalment 16:
The Vignette
The vignette for Chapter 42 ('Mr Toogood Travels Professionally') is a small picture of man walking up to or alongside a tavern. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 181; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 16.
Comment: this is an effective vignette. The man seems so small, dwarfed, a mere dark shadow, against the large lit tavern detailed enough to show us the many-panelled windows, stairwell in to where there are bright lights (all white) against the shadowy silent cobbled streets. Here is Mr Toodgood arriving at the Dragon of Wantly where there is sleuthing to be done if the sleuth be clever enough.
The Full-Page Illustration
'Mr Toogood and the Old Waiter'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 154; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 16; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicl, facing p. 384.
Comment: a wonderful picture, one of the best of the original illustrations to Trollope's novels. It is filled with good feeling emanating from the faces of the two men: the waiter is very old, his face very wrinkled as he stands at attention. His is a real face alive with alert consciousness. He is not glamorised; his outfit is wrinkled (like his face), a bit shabby; he has on thin slippers, and one of his hands is on the table between himself and his customer, Mr Toogood. Mr Toogood leans back in his chair, comfortably holding a smoking cigar as he looks up respectfully and genially at the waiter; they are talking. Mr Toogood has a liquor set-up on the table, is wearing flapping slippers. The lines are all carefully done to indicate the different objects in such a room (picture of a man hunting on the wall), back nondescript piece of wooden furniture.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 17 & 18
Instalment 17:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 44 ('I suppose I must let you have it') is a small picture of one gentleman approaching another who sits down at a desk. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 192; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 17.
Comment: Trollope's illustrator focuses us on the first moment when Crosbie has to ask for the loan. Thomas gives us a Butterwell who looks up from his desk with a stubborn, unfriendly grimace on his face; Crosbie is pictured reaching into his jacket for a paper. In the Harper & Bros American edition, the dialogue appears just below the vignette.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'They pronounced her to be very much like a lady'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 195; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 17.
Comment: Lily is wearing the same striped dress we saw in an earlier illustration; there is good feeling emanating from the old man's face: Mr Dale leans over the table watching Lily looking at a photography (again how up-to-date, up-the- moment and unnostalgic is Trollope) of Emily Dunstable who will now become Bernard Dale's wife. This illustration is meant to recall the women at the breakfast table of InstalmentNo. 14 ('She read the beginning -- "Dearest Grace"'). This novel is filled with good domestic pictures, and was read as a deeply-felt reflection of the life of the middle class at the time.
Instalment 18:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 48 ('Dr Tempest at the Palace') is a small picture of man leaning over a table attempting to write a letter. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 203; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 18.
Comment: as can be seen from the passage 'dropped' just below, here is Bishop Proudie struggling with the difficult task of writing to Mr Tempest to ask him to come to the palace to set another investigation on foot which neither he nor Dr Tempest want. The figure looks unusually light and intelligent: we are told by our narrator that the Bishop was good at writing such letters and this to Mr Tempest was and is effective in just the way the Bishop wants. The Bishop's relative ease also reflects the absence of Mrs Proudie. This is the first picture of the Bishop in which Mrs Proudie does not appear.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'"As right as a trivet, uncle"'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle p. 213; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 18.
Comment: this is a beautifully drawn, elaborated picture of John Eames walking along with Mr Toogood at his side. Mr Toogood looks very concerned; Johnny holds his head down; he has a heavy cloak on one arm and a round rather than top hat. We see a train next to them, and shadowy people at work on top of it loading the luggage onto the train. John is setting off on his chivalrous mission to save Mr Crawley; he is ever troubled by his desire for Lily and betrayal of her with Madalina, and his assertion he is not bothered at all suggests he is indeed personally disquieted about his relationships with women.'
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody.
Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 19-21
Instalment 19:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 49 ('Near the Close') is a picture of a small picture of elderly man looking out the window, troubled. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 215; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 19.
Comment: it's interesting to consider that this figure could be either Dr Grantly or Bishop Proudie or Mr Harding. The picture occurs above the passages aabout how troubled Dr Grantly is over Henry; nearby we also hear about Proudie's troubled soul. Still it is very like the drawing of Mr Harding by Millais and the moving passages of Mr Harding looking out the window fit: the man gazes through a floor to ceiling window. He's thin, a cleric -- of course all three males in this chapter are clerics.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'Posy and her Grandpapa'. Sources: Harper & Bros _Last Chronicle_, p. 219; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 19; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p. 464. Reprinted Hennessy, p. 127; Super, p. 240, No 12.
Comment: this really is an appalling picture; the blonde child has a come-hither look on her preternaturally alert face; the old man clearly dotes on her. Lavish attention has been paid to details of the child's full dress, hair and shoes; a picture on the wall depicts a wealthy bourgeois woman overlooking another child.
Instalment 20:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 52 ('"Why don't you have an 'it' for yourself?"') is a small picture of woman in a dark dress handing a hat to another woman who is attempting to refuse it, but has already taken hold of a riding whip; there is a riding cloak lying on a nearby chair. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 233; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 20.
Comment: the text which surrounds the picture dramatises how Emily Dunstable maneuvers Lily into going horseback riding in the park (where they meet Crosbie).
The Full-Page Illustration:
'Mrs Dobbs-Broughton Piles her Faggots'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 230; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 20.
Comment: Clara is recognisably the same young girl we saw dressed up in frilly 19th century garb; here she is dressed for her sexy Biblical role, with Mrs Dobbs-Broughton (in the same dress she appeared in the earlier illustration), fixing the scarf which is to be wrapped round Clara's head. We see Dalrymple from the back looking back from a canvas to watch them. Clara's face is again not well done; it's as if Thomas didn't know what expression to give her. Mrs Dobbs- Broughton is again intent on her task, alive with intensity.
Instalment 21:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Ch 53 ('Rotten Row') is a small picture of elegant older man bowing to an elegantly-dressed lady while another older woman looks on; Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicl, p. 237; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 21.
Comment: here is Lily encountering Crosbie with her friend looking on. Thomas has gotten compassion into the other woman's face, sketchy as the drawing is.
The Full-Page Illustration
"I can be nothing to you because of Papa's disgrace"'. Sources: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 21; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle facing p. 528.
Comment: another of Grace Crawley whose story becomes more central in the pictures, suggesting something of the nature of the audience for whom the illustrations were drawn. Grace is submissive, plaintively looking down, all shame and self- abnegation. She stands before Major Grantly and a comfortable looking Mrs Robarts (who wears a lovely shawl). He at least looks appalled. There is again something about the delineation of the face (its shape and expression) which recalls that of Celia Johnson (see Annotated Commentary 3 on the depiction of Florence Burton, 'Florence Burton Makes Up a Packet', an illustration by Edwards for The Claverings).
Ellen Moody
Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 21:58:52
To: trollope-l@egroups.com
Subject: [trollope-l] Last Chronicle, Illustrations for Instalments 22-24
Instalment 22:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 56 ('The Archdeacon Goes to Framley') is a small picture of heavy-set clerical gentleman pointing to a sign with his umbrella or cane. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 248; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 22.
Comment: An effective vignette of Dr Grantly at a significant moment. The gingerliness with which he touches the sign he finds so awful makes it exquisitely right. The pictures visualises externally what would be the instinctive gesture of this character, were his son publicly to sell his property to others as things the son cannot afford to keep or give away.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'"But it will never pass away", said Grace'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 258; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece for No 22.
Comment: this is the same Dr Grantly we saw in the illustration of Posy and her grandfather. He looks down fondly at the uncomfortable young woman who cannot meet his eyes. All concern he, he holds her hand in his. Thus do we see Dr Grantly coming to accept Grace Crawley. He is made pretty in the picture; her face has more sharpness and wit in it than in the others. Trollope's pre-Freudian insight into the sexuality of a man's response to a woman is clear.
Instalment 23:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 58 ('The Cross-Grainedness of Men') is a small picture of an older gentleman listening to a working man explain something as a somewhat younger looking gentleman looks on. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 259; Smith, Elder _Last Chronicle_, No 23.
Comment: here is the gamekeeper, Flurry, explaining the situation over the foxes to Dr and Major Grantly. That it is not a genial scene, but one of dominance and submission and the class discomfort and parental-filial tensions are made apparent.
The Full-Page Illustration
"Honour thy father -- that thy days be long in the land"'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 264; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 23.
Comment: here we have a rare deathbed scene in the original illustrations to Trollope's fictions. There is another in Phineas Redux (see Annotated Commentary 7, '"He may soften her heart"'). Most of the time Trollope's illustrators chose scenes after someone has died, or of grief in another room; Trollope is more oblique; he is also interested in the response of the living to death; death itself he shies away from. Perhaps because Mr Harding means so much to the Barsetshire series; the visitor is Major Grantly. Mr Harding's face is that of a death's head. I suggest a moral to this picture is don't do anything to someone in life which you will regret after the individual has died and it is too late to make amends; this is the moral of many of the ghost stories of the period.
Instalment 24:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 60 ('The End of Jael and Sisera') is a small picture of a torn canvas, and suddenly abandoned palette, with brushes and cloth left on a table. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 270; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 24.
Comment: I like the conception. It's a synecdoche which sums up what happened concisely. The tear is a harsh black triangle against a canvas where we see a flailing fist held up. Admittedly, as with many of these vignettes, Thomas's or the final engraver's execution leaves something to be desired: it's too sketchy; not enough time (=money) has been spent.
The Full-Page Illustration: 2 Versions
'"It's Dogged as Does it"'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 24. Reprinted in Trollopiana, 42, p. 13.
Comment: Thomas's much rougher more realistic picture has been supercseded by Francis Arthur Fraser's much more graceful austere pair of men (see below) in the sense that most 20th century discussions and reprints are of Fraser's illustration.
In Thomas's picture Hoggett the brickmaker is a rougher man, with a wide girth to the upper part of his body; he has no grace or elegance of any kind; his legs are thin and bent, his boots worn and clumsy. He points downward with one hand (for emphasis) and grasps Mr Crawley's hand with the other. Mr Crawley holds his coat tight shut against the wind. The day feels soaken through with water seen in the grasses (lines on the ground) and the leafless large tree behind them.
This is a good illustration; Hoggett is alive with feeling and the landscape around them. Mr Crawley is slightly more cartoon-like. It ought to be better-known, and certainly along with the breakfast table, and the vignettes of Barsetshire ordinary life, one of those reprinted in modern editions of The Last Chronicle. The decision to reprint the lubricious depictions of Polly Arabin with her grandfather is hard to understand.
In the 1878-8 edition of Barsetshire chronicles, one of the six frontispieces by Francis Arthur Fraser illustrated this scene. Source: Hall AT and His Illustrators, pp. 142-43. Fraser's Mr Crawley looks more like Millais's, and the elegance of Millais's depictions is kept up in both figures. Perhaps the figures are too stiff, too austere, yet they leave a memorable impression. They stand there monumentally, proud, grim, dogged. The monumentalism recalls the illustrations towards the close of Orley Farm. One feels how cold and wet and dreary is the spot they stand on without feeling soaked -- the sky and trees are brilliantly made real through many tiny dark lines. For the rain we get tiny elongated tears of white. Superb.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
Thank you Ellen for once again posting your illustration commentary for us.
Of particular interest to me was the one where Dr. Grantly sees the notice for the sale of his son's belongings. I found this scene in the book to be very moving, the beginning of his re-thinking of the situation after his discussion with Lady Lufton. He is horrifed to find that this is going forward, even to the sale of the gelding that he recently gave to Henry. He pokes at it angrily with his umbrella and it falls to the ground. He does not condescend to pick it up.
We will see later in the read another case of a missive being angrily thrown to the ground when Lily Dale receives a noxious letter. Poor Lily picks it up and throws it down again and even goes so far as to stomp upon it. It is easier for her to let her emotions out in her instance than in Dr. Grantly's situation.
Dagny
Re: The Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 25 & 26
Instalment 25: The Vignette
The vignette for Chapter 62 ('Mr Crawley's Letter to the Dean') is a small picture of a thin, worn Mr Crawley sitting at his desk. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 280; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 25.
Comment: the dark shadows on the man's face, and his pose of grit and determination are perfect. The letter one of the great ones by Trollope. This sort of scene -- a man sitting at a desk composing a letter -- occurs in numbers of the novels (Ralph the Heir, Orley Farm). The frontispiece for Kept in the Dark by Millais is of a young woman near a window from which we see a characteristically Roman building; she sits at a desk trying composing a letter in which she tells her bethrothed that she was engaged before; alas, she never sends it.
The Full-Page Illustration
'Mrs Proudie's Emissary'. Sources: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 25.
Comment: we see an elegant man who has something of a sycophantic or submissive posture returning to a sad-looking horse tethered to a fence; his hand is held out towards those in the house as if in explanation. This is Mr Thumble stiff and uncomfortable. At the threshold we see a head we recognise as Crawley's; the young man next to him with the moustache is Major Grantly. We can see the worn cottage wall, a rough garden. This is an effective illustration of the moment after the scene we are about to read.
The Vignette
The vignette for Chapter 64 ('The Tragedy at Hook Court') is a small picture of a man's body lying across a threshold; his head is unseen; beyond is an inner courtyard where we glimpse the window of an office. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 290; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 26.
Comment: a synecdoche-like illustration tells the end of Dobbs-Broughton. It seems appropriate that the crises of this subplot are done in synecdoches as we have the story only in sketches. We hardly ever see poor Dobbs. Another closely violent suicide occurs in The Bertrams; there too the suicide is a man who has lost all his property and his position and who blows his brains out with a gun.
The Full-Page Illustration
'"You don't know what starving is, my dear"'. Sources: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 26; 1997 Trollope society Last Chronicle, facing p. 638.
Comment: the drawing of the women's faces is very poor; Mrs Van Siever is a witch in a cartoon; Clara looks out at the world theatrically annoyed. The dresses are rich enough. As with the pictures of the sexy Arabin grandchild, one wonders who could chose to print this illustration as opposed to the many good ones.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
Re: The Last Chronicle of Barse, Illustrations for Instalments 27 & 28
Instalment 27:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 67 ('In Memoriam') is a small picture of an old man facing a fireplace, holding his face in his hands. His housekeeper watches him from afar. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 27.
Comment: These small vignettes towards the end of the novel are uniformly effective. They are tasteful indications of broken people, broken vows, loss. Each works through visual synecdoche.
The Full-Page Illustration:
"They will come to hear a ruined man declare his ruin". Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, facing p. 674. Reprinted and discussed in Hall AT and His Illustrators, p. 119.
Comment: This is a moving depiction of Mr Crawley's sense of a final ordeal to be gone through as he walked into church with Jane on his arm. The Millais-like grace and elegance that Thomas has chosen for the scene fits; so too the rugged head. Mr Crawley's head is now skull-like; the dark colours with which his clothes are filled in contrasts with Grace's white dress and its heavy lines for folds. Yet people will come to see such things -- all the more because the central figure has a deeply-feeling sensibility. Mr Crawley is a curiosity.
Instalment 28:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 50 ('Mrs Arabin Is Caught') is a small picture of a young man asleep inside a train compartment. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 28.
Comment: We glimpse the sea outside the train window; across the way on the other seat is a book, some papers. Here is John Eames, on his way. Another synecdoche, this time summing up the chivalrous rescue.
The Full-Page Illustration:
"No Sale After All". Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 28.
Comment: Dr Grantly's joy is conveyed through this magnificent full portrait of a stables. We see buildings, beautiful horses, well-tended fences; a man is placing a newspaper on a post pillar. Towards the right of the illustration we see a man with a high hat (Dr Grantly) telling another man, "No sale". Again another illustration which ought to fomr the ordinary repertoire of the original illustrations worth reprinting with editions of this novel.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody
To Trollope-l
September 24, 2000
Re: The Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 29 & 30
Instalment 29: The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 73 ('There is Comfort at Plumstead') is a small picture of older clergyman on one side of a table, with an elegant much younger gentleman on the other side of the table pouring some wine out of a decanter into a stemmed wineglass.
Comment: Here is Archdeacon Grantly in yet another of these scenes of men sitting together around a table drinking. There are a number of these in the original illustrations to the novels. The feeling is good, one of implicit congeniality. There is a suggestion of paintings on the walls, and more glass decanters on other tables. The Archdeacon certainly has a comfortable home.
The Full-Page Illustration: '
"These are young Hogglestockians, are they?"'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece for No. 29.
This is a large illustration depicting a genial full-bodied man holding out his hand to children in a schoolroom who crowd about him. We see Crawley to the left coming to greet him. The feeling is, again right: here we have the now Dickensian Toogood. It would come off but for the careless drawing (or engraving). In other words, the execution is poor, but the choice of moment (probably Trollope's) and the conception are right.
Instalment 30:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 76 ('"I think he is light of heart"') is a small picture of a man in black, bundled up, carrying a doctor's bag. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 30.
Again the focus is Mr Toogood. It's another effective synecdoche. Mr Toogood hurries away for a flying visit to London; he is for the moment not needed.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'The Last Denial'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece for No 30.
Comment: Beautifully achieved visualisation of Lily standing behind the curtains, looking out of glass window as she watches a man walk away. The drawing is slightly stiff, but adequate. Thomas captures Lily's presence, her grief, her loss, her pride; it's a melancholy scene which is perfect to end on. There is one very like it, only very poorly drawn drawn of Mrs Hurtle at the close of The Way We Live Now (see Annotated Commentary 8, 'Then hiding herself at the window, she watched him as he went along the street'. I suggest that the focus on the lady or gentleman saying a specific no to a specific individual is not what Trollope's texts are about: they are about staying true to the experience known over the course of the text which requires a sense of regretted loss.
Ellen Moody
To Trollope-l
October 1, 2000
Re: The Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 31 & 32
Instalment 31:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 79 ('Mr Crawley speaks of his coat') is a small picture of Grace Crawley returning to the Crawley household. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 31.
Comment: The technique once more is that of the synecdoche. We see a lady opening the door of a fence, quiet, hesitant, shy, but determined. What is interesting is that the picture could also be of Lily Dale returning home to Allington.
The Full-Page illustration '
"What is it I behold?"'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece for No. 31; 1997 Trollope Society Last Chronicle, facing p 768.
Comment: this is a badly drawn picture of Madalina falling on Johnny Eames; the woman is far too large; were she to stand she'd tower over the man. She seems not to be falling. Rather she is leaning on him, and the sense is for quite some time. John attempts to push up the deadweight. At the door we see an older woman who has a sour expression on her face and sad eyes. This is supposed to be Johnny's final scene with Madalina. Why the Trollope Society chose to reprint this one is puzzling. It is so poor. It's funny for the wrong reasons.
Instalment 32:
The Vignette:
The vignette for Chapter 82 (The Last Scene at Hogglestock') is a small picture of an older elegantly-dressed young man who is coming down from a horse; next to him stands a young gentlewoman. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 32.
Comment: this is recognisably the same young gentleman who knocked on Miss Prettyman's door in Instalment 3, Chapter 7 at the opening of the novel. We are now at closure. Th blonde girl is also Grace who is still waiting for her prince. If sketchy, the lines of the drawing are elegant and graceful.
The Full-Page Illustration:
'"Peradventure he signifies his consent"'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 32.
Comment: This picture is the appropriate one with which to end this book, and, indeed, the chronicles of Barsetshire. We see a ravaged man sitting by a bare table; he reads a letter, his face all anxiety, strained. Behind him stands a figure who is recognisably Grace, and slightkly sketched in behind is the mother. Here are real people caught in the desperate grips of their own psychology, whose central elements have been formed by contact with other and powerful people, as ever dependent upon those powerful. That Mr Crawley held back (much to the derision of Dr Grantly) makes him the man he is. He must, however, give in. He must even be grateful. It is interesting that the last full-page illustration of Phineas Finn, the second book of the Pallisers is also a picture of a man sitting reading a letter which offers him a small position in Ireland so he may marry and live in minimal respectability and comfort. Over Phineas's head we see Mary Floyd Jones in a similar posture to that of Mr Crawley's daughter Grace. Here is the modern world: people dependent on the indifferent largess of others to give them a niche, a niche which is offered somewhat grudgingly. The two echoing pictures are worth many words; I have no doubt Trollope chose the subject or moment both times.
Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody