The Reckoning from Chapter XLVIII, "The Day of Reckoning," and serving as the frontispiece for the November 1845 edition issued by William Curry, Junior, in Dublin, and illustrated by "Phiz" for the eleven-month serialisation of Charles Lever's The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago (January through November 1845).
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 photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Commentary
Clearly, the defenestration in the frontispiece has nothing to do with events in the opening chapters. The illustration, indeed, refers to a much later chapter, and was one of the last engravings Phiz executed for this serialised novel by Charles Lever. Since there are twenty-six engravings but only eleven monthly instalments, Curry did not issue the frontispiece until the ultimate, "double" monthly number (November 1845).
Bibliography
Lester, Valerie Browne. Phiz: The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.
Lever, Charles. The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago. With 26 engravings by Phiz [Hablột Knight Browne]. Dublin: William Curry, Jun., 1845.
Lever, Charles. The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago. Illustrated by Phiz [Hablột Knight Browne]. Novels and Romances of Charles Lever. Originally published by William Curry, Jun., Dublin: 1845. In One Vol. Project Gutenberg. Last Updated: May 11, 2010.
Stevenson, Lionel. Chapter VIII, "Heretic Among Tories, 1844-1845." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 128-145.
Sutherland, John A. "Lever, Charles." The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford U. P., 1989, rpt. 1990, 372-374.
Created 9 August 2023 Last updated 6 January 2024