The Haunted Man and the 'Waif' with the Phantoms by Charles Green. 1895. 11 x 14.5 cm, exclusive of frame. Dickens's The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain. A Fancy for Christmas Time, Pears Centenary Edition (1912), in which the plates often have captions that are different from the short titles given in the "List of Illustrations" (15-16). For example, the illustration has beneath it a direct quotation that illustrates the metaphysical nature of Redlaw's experience with the Phantom and the spirit of Milly Swidger, "Beyond the boy, so that his sleeping figure lay at its feet, the Phantom stood, immovable and silent, with its eyes upon him" (120, quoted from the bottom of the page preceding).
The Passage Illustrated
As the last chord died upon his ear, he raised his head to listen to its lingering vibration. Beyond the boy, so that his sleeping figure lay at its feet, the Phantom stood, immovable and silent, with its eyes upon him.
Ghastly it was, as it had ever been, but not so cruel and relentless in its aspect — or he thought or hoped so, as he looked upon it trembling. It was not alone, but in its shadowy hand it held another hand.
And whose was that? Was the form that stood beside it indeed Milly's, or but her shade and picture? The quiet head was bent a little, as her manner was, and her eyes were looking down, as if in pity, on the sleeping child. A radiant light fell on her face, but did not touch the Phantom; for, though close beside her, it was dark and colourless as ever. ["Chapter Three: The Gift Reversed," Pears Centenary Edition, 119-21]
Commentary
Right: Barnard's melodramatic composite woodblock engraving of the scene at the opening of the third chapter, "You speak to me of what is lying here," the Phantom interposed (1878).
Green's illustration resembles the dark plates pioneered by Dickens's chief illustrator, Hablot Knight Browne in Bleak House. Specifically, Green imparts a weird glow to the face of Milly's shadowy spirit while leaving Redlaw a mere silhouette against the lamp, which nevertheless casts a faint light upon the sleeping street-boy. Green has created a more dramatic interpretation of the scene that Fred Barnard’s in the Household Edition illustration "You speak to me of what is lying here," the Phantom interposed.
Green responds here more to Dickens’s text than to the original 1848 illustrations by the team of artists led by John Leech. He also has not drawn upon the fresh ideas of Barnard and E. A. Abbey, the seventies illustrators of the British and American Household Editions of The Christmas Books, Indeed, one might argue that he is filling a gap in the original series by depicting Milly as a spirit of love, contrast to the baleful Phantom who has thus far dogged Redlaw's steps with ill-effect upon almost anybody whom the professor encounters, the exceptions being the savage street-boy and the beatific Mrs. William.
Previous illustrators have depicted Milly Swidger as an "Angel in the House" whose beneficent influence counteracts the dreadful "gift" of Redlaw's Phantom or baneful double. Frank Stone juxtaposed her to the poor student, "Denham," and to the Tetterby family (see below). Green updates and and refines the original conception of the saintly character that depicted her as very human. He depicts an aetherial presence in the darkness of Redlaw's rooms that reflects the bleakness of his spirit.
Relevant illustrations from Various Editions, 1848 through 1910
Stone's elegant realisation of Milly's saintly nature, Milly and the Children. Centre: Stone's statuesque grouping Milly and the Student, showing an etherial Milly who embodies the spirit of Christian charity. Right: Harry Furniss's angular beauty ministering to the sick student in Milly (1910) is not a particularly angelic type.
Illustrations for the Other Volumes of the Pears' Centenary Christmas Books of Charles Dickens (1912)
Each contains about thirty illustrations from original drawings by Charles Green, R. I. — Clement Shorter [1912]
- A Christmas Carol (28 plates) Vol. I (1892)
- The Chimes (31 plates) Vol. II (1894)
- L. Rossi's The Cricket on the Hearth (22 plates) Vol. III (1912)
- The Battle of Life (28 plates) Vol. IV (1893)
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [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 (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Cohen, Jane Rabb. "The Illustrators of the Christmas Books, John Leech." Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus: University of Ohio Press, 1981. 141-151.
Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998.
Dickens, Charles. The Haunted Man; or, The Ghost's Bargain. Illustrated by John Leech, Frank Stone, John Tenniel, and Clarkson Stanfield. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848.
_____. The Haunted Man. Illustrated by John Leech, Frank Stone, John Tenniel, and Clarkson Stanfield. (1848). Rpt. in Charles Dickens's Christmas Books, ed. Michael Slater. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971, rpt. 1978. II, 235-362, and 365-366.
_____. The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain. A Fancy for Christmas Time. Illustrated by Charles Green, R. I. (1895). London: A & F Pears, 1912.
_____. Christmas Books. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867.
_____. Christmas Books, illustrated by Fred Barnard. Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1878.
_____. Christmas Books, illustrated by A. A. Dixon. London & Glasgow: Collins' Clear-Type Press, 1906.
_____. Christmas Books. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. London: Educational Book, 1910.
_____. Christmas Stories. Illustrated by E. A. Abbey. The Household Edition. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1876.
_____. The Haunted Man. Christmas Stories. Illustrated by Felix Octavius Carr Darley. The Household Edition. New York: James G. Gregory, 1861. II, 155-300.
Created 5 September 2015
Last modified 10 April 2020