"The little beast, cowardly and cross-grained as pet dogs usually are, looked up sharply," etc. (11.5 by 8.8 cm, or 4 ½ by 3 ⅜ inches), vignetted, and "Miss Halcombe was not long in writing the note." (11.1 by 8.7 cm, or 4 ½ by 3 ⅜ inches), vignetted — John McLenan's pair of regular composite woodblock engravings for the eighth serial instalment of Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White: A Novel, published on 14 January 1860 in Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, page 21. Part 8: "The Narrative of Vincent Gilmore, Solicitor of Chancery Lane, London," Chapter 1, pp. 55-56 in the 1861 volume. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Passages Illustrated: Marion writes to Mrs. Catherick; Sir Percival and Laura's Dog
With those words Miss Halcombe rose from her place and went to the writing-table. Sir Percival thanked her, handed her a pen, and then walked away towards the fireplace. Miss Fairlie’s little Italian greyhound was lying on the rug. He held out his hand, and called to the dog good-humouredly.
“Come, Nina,” he said, “we remember each other, don’t we?”
The little beast, cowardly and cross-grained, as pet-dogs usually are, looked up at him sharply, shrank away from his outstretched hand, whined, shivered, and hid itself under a sofa. It was scarcely possible that he could have been put out by such a trifle as a dog’s reception of him, but I observed, nevertheless, that he walked away towards the window very suddenly.
Miss Halcombe was not long in writing the note. When it was done, she rose from the writing-table, and handed the open sheet of paper to Sir Percival. He bowed, took it from her, folded it up immediately without looking at the contents, sealed it, wrote the address, and handed it back to her in silence. I never saw anything more gracefully and more becomingly done in my life.
“You insist on my posting this letter, Sir Percival?” said Miss Halcombe. ["The Narrative of Vincent Gilmore, Solicitor of Chancery Lane, London," Chapter 1, p. 21; p. 57 in the 1861 volume]
Commentary: Gilmore as the Observant Narrator of the Drawing-Room Drama
The illustrator now introduces the novel's chief antagonist, Sir Percival Glyde, into the narrative-pictorial sequence. McLenan suggests his age (and therefore his unsuitability as Laura's husband) through balding pate and rigid manner. The twin images that accompany Marian's writing at Sir Percival's expressed wish to Mrs. Catherick contrast the awkward baronet and the competent companion. She is to write and have posted a note that will clarify Anne Catherick's being incarcerated in a London asylum with the knowledge and approval of the girl's mother, and what creditable role Sir Percival played in the affair. The scene with the greyhound becomes somewhat different under McLenan's pen, for instead of hiding under a sofa the greyhound of whippet proportions defends herself by snarling and bearing her teeth at the discomposed owner of the country-house. The illustrator establishes the setting through the furnishings, background paintings, the window curtains, and the ornate fire-screen in Sir Percival's being put out by the defensive pet, whose behaviour suggests Marian's true feelings about the inflexible suitor.
Related Material
- Fred Walker's poster: The Woman in White for the Olympic's October 1871 adaptation
Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
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 (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. 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 7 July 2024