"Mr. Dawson prevents Laura from entering the sick-room" — John McLenan's uncaptioned headnote vignette for the twenty-fourth weekly number of Wilkie Collins's "The Woman in White" in <span class="book">Harper's Weekly</span> (5 May 1860)

[Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> John McLenan —> The Woman in White —> Next]

Mr. Dawson prevents Laura from entering the sick-room

John McLenan

5 May 1860

10.4 cm high by 5.4 cm wide (4 by 2 ⅛ inchess), vignetted.

The uncaptioned vignette clearly indicates that the attending physician rather than Fosco or Glyde is turning Laura away from her sister's sick-room. The physician blocks Laura's way, just as Fosco has made way for Laura's entry.

[Click on the image to enlarge it.]

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.

Mr. Dawson prevents Laura from entering the sick-room — staff artist John McLenan's headnote vignette (composite woodblock engraving) for the twenty-fourth weekly part of Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White: A Novel, published on 5 May 1860 in Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, "The Narrative of Eliza Michelson, Housekeeper at Blackwater Park," p. 275; p. 155 in the 1861 volume.

Passage Illustrated: Laura Turned Back (as Narrated by Mrs. Michelson)

Before Mr. Dawson could answer, before the Count could leave us, the door was opened from the sitting-room, and we saw Lady Glyde on the threshold.

“I must and will come in,” she said, with extraordinary firmness.

Instead of stopping her, the Count moved into the sitting-room, and made way for her to go in. On all other occasions he was the last man in the world to forget anything, but in the surprise of the moment he apparently forgot the danger of infection from typhus, and the urgent necessity of forcing Lady Glyde to take proper care of herself.

To my astonishment Mr. Dawson showed more presence of mind. He stopped her ladyship at the first step she took towards the bedside. “I am sincerely sorry, I am sincerely grieved,” he said. “The fever may, I fear, be infectious. Until I am certain that it is not, I entreat you to keep out of the room.”

She struggled for a moment, then suddenly dropped her arms and sank forward. She had fainted. [Part 24: "The Narrative of Eliza Michelson, Housekeeper at Blackwater Park," p. 275; p. 155 in the 1861 volume.]

Related Material

McLenan's regular, full-scale illustration for the twenty-third weekly number in serial: "Good-morning, Mr. Dawson." for 5 May 1860
Fred Walker's poster: The Woman in White for the Olympic's October 1871 adaptation

Bibliography

Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White: A Novel. New York: Harper & Bros., 1860.

Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White: A Novel. Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization. Illustrated by John McLenan. Vols. III-IV (16 November 1859 through 8 September 1860).

Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. Ed. Maria K. Bachman and Don Richard Cox. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert and F. A. Fraser. Toronto: Broadview, 2006.

Peters, Catherine. "Chapter Twelve: The Woman in White (1859-1860)." The King of the Inventors: A Life of Wilkie Collins. London: Minerva Press, 1992. Pp. 205-25.

Vann, J. Don. "The Woman in White in All the Year Round, 26 November 1859 — 25 August 1860." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. Pp. 44-46.

Created 19 July 2024