"Walter and Laura Fairlie" — Fourth uncaptioned headnote vignette by John McLenan for Wilkie Collins's "The Woman in White" — <span class="book">Harper's Weekly</span> (17 December 1859)

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Walter and Laura Fairlie

John McLenan

17 December 1859

10.4 cm high by 5.5 cm wide (4 ¼ by 2 ⅛ inches), vignetted.

Fourth uncaptioned headnote vignette for Collins's The Woman in White: A Novel (17 December 1859), 805.

[Click on the image to enlarge it.]

The illustration offers us a charming scene of Laura and Walter Hartright examining prints in a portfolio; there is no scene in the text that corresponds precisely to the portrait of the lovers in the headnote vignette.

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.

Walter falls in love with Laura. — staff artist John McLenan's fourth headnote vignette (composite woodblock engraving) for Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White: A Novel, Instalment 4, published on 17 December 1859 in Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, Vol. III. Part One: "The Story Begun by Walter Hartright, of Clement's Inn, Teacher of Drawing." "Not a day passed, in that dangerous intimacy of teacher and pupil, in which my hand was not close to Miss Fairlie's; my cheek, as we bent together over her sketch-book, almost touching hers." Chapter VIII, 805; p. 31 in the 1861 volume.

Passage: The emotional turmoil beneath the polite banter

“I suppose it is the change in the wind,” said the old lady. “The winter is coming — ah, my love, the winter is coming soon!”

In her heart and in mine it had come already!

Our morning meal — once so full of pleasant good-humoured discussion of the plans for the day — was short and silent. Miss Fairlie seemed to feel the oppression of the long pauses in the conversation, and looked appealingly to her sister to fill them up. Miss Halcombe, after once or twice hesitating and checking herself, in a most uncharacteristic manner, spoke at last.

“I have seen your uncle this morning, Laura,” she said. “He thinks the purple room is the one that ought to be got ready, and he confirms what I told you. Monday is the day — not Tuesday.”

While these words were being spoken Miss Fairlie looked down at the table beneath her. Her fingers moved nervously among the crumbs that were scattered on the cloth. The paleness on her cheeks spread to her lips, and the lips themselves trembled visibly. I was not the only person present who noticed this. Miss Halcombe saw it, too, and at once set us the example of rising from table. [Chapter X, 805; 62 in the volume edition]

Related Material

McLenan's regular, full-scale illustration for the fourth weekly number in serial: She waited a moment, turned her face full on me, and, reaching across the table, laid her hand firmly on my arm for 17 December 1859.
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., 1861 (first printing, 15 August 1860; reissued in single-column format in 1902, 548 pages).

Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White: A Novel. Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization. Illustrated by John McLenan. Vols. III-IV (26 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. London: Minerva, 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. 205-225.

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

Created 6 July 2024