Norris Outwitted. Phiz (Hablot K. Browne). 1866. Wood engraving. Errym's A Mystery in Scarlet. Courtesy Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. Click on image to enlarge it.

Text Illustrated

Over went Norris, chair and all, the king having the greatest difficulty to save himself from the general wreck (274).

Commentary

The duplicitous valet Norris (left) is poisoned by George II, having unsuccessfully attempted to kill the king with his (the king's) own poisoned cough lozenges. Phiz depicts Norris as he usually does: small, crumpled up in an undignified position on the floor, with a dominant male figure towering above him. As in other illustrations of A Mystery in Scarlet, the scene is silently observed by a mirror (centre).

Image scan by the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. Commentary by Rebecca Nesvet, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. Formatting, color correction, and sizing by George P. Landow[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and Indiana University and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Errym, Malcolm J [James Malcolm Rymer]. A Mystery in Scarlet, leading serial of The London Miscellany. Ed. James Malcolm Rymer, 1, no. 18 (1866): 1. From the copy in the collection of the Wells Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. Courtesy Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington.


Last modified 13 July 2019