‘The Liberated Bird,’ by Edward Frederick Brewtnall

The Liberated Bird

Edward Brewtnall

1869

Wood engraving by the Dalziels

5¾ x 4½ inches

An illustration for Isabella Fyvie’s poem, in Good Words for the Young (1869), 413.

A sweetly sentimental design to an equally sentimental poem about the release of a bird. Brewtnall’s focus is on the easy living of the genteel, placing the croquet-playing girls in a luxuriant garden. The vitality of the plant-life reflects the young women’s health and well-being. Brewtnall’s style conforms to the poetic realism of ‘The Sixties,’ balancing naturalism and deep emotion.

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke, Senior Editor and Editor for Book Illustration and Design [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.]

References

Good Words for the Young (1869).

Created 15 September 2026