She turned away her face, and resigned her hand to me in silence — composite woodblock engraving for Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's A Strange Story, first published simultaneously in All the Year Round and Harper's Weekly, Vol. V (7 December 1861), 11.5 cm. by 11.5 cm. (4 ½ inches), framed, p. 782. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Anticipated: Lilian seems unreceptive to Allen's attentions
She turned away her face, and resigned her hand to me in silence. Silently I held it in mine, and my emotions nearly stifled me. One symptom of regret, of reluctance, on her part, and I should have fallen at her feet, and cried, “Do not let us break a tie which our vows should have made indisoluble; heed not my offers, wrung from a tortured heart! You cannot have ceased to love me!” But no such symptom of relenting showed itself in her, and with a groan I left the room. [Chapter XLII, page 782]
Commentary: The Baleful Effects of Margrave's Visits Confuse even Lilian Herself
Lilian is fascinated and even mesmerized by the handsome, vivacious Margrave, but she is also repulsed by him. As for her fiancé Allen Fenwick, the illustration only partially describes how she now feels about him. But Allen, having assessed what the girl's mother told him in the Ashleighs' garden at the Abbots' House near the Monks' Well, is determined to persevere in his relationship with her. The outcome is uncertain: Margrave (convinced that she possesses the second sight enjoyed by the priestesses of the ancient oracles) continues to exercise some sort of "animal magnetism" mind control over her, and she remains vey much under his influence, even though he has temporarily left town to peruse the books in the library at Sir Philip's estate.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned it and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward G. D. A Strange Story. Illustrated by John McLenan. Harper's Weekly V, 10 August — 8 March 1862.
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward G. D. A Strange Story. Illustrated by F. O. Freeman and J. N. Hyde. Boston: Gardner A. Fuller, 1862.
Bulwer Lytton, Edward (Lord Lytton). A Strange Story. The Works of Edward Bulwer Lytton, Vol. VII. New York: P. F. Collier, n. d. Pp. 7-242.
Lytton, Victor A. (Lord Lytton). The Life of Edward Bulwer, First Lord Lytton. Vol. II. London: Macmillan, 1913.
Created 21 November 2007 Last modified 1 August 2026