The Queen. Phiz (Hablot K. Browne). 1866. Wood engraving. Errym's A Mystery in Scarlet. Courtesy Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. Click on image to enlarge it.
Text Illustrated
The look of surprise with which she regarded Lucy Kerr and Agnes Bellair had something almost comic about it (210).
Commentary
The satirical eye that distinguishes Phiz’s most iconic work, such as his Pickwick, is most evident here in his depiction of the petty, ignorant, alcoholic overseer of Queen Caroline’s ladies in waiting, Lady Grumpsch (left). This obviously inebriated old woman “assumes an oratorical attitude” (211) and shows as much cleavage as the young waiting lady Lucy Kerr (right of center), confidante of Lady Agnes Bellair (far right.) The smiling Queen Caroline (left center) indeed looks surprised in an “almost comic” way. The Marquis of Charlton (right, foreground) and Lady Agnes now look like a couple (as “from that moment she loved him,” 209), while Bertha (right but one) hangs back, consoled by the page Mr. Osborn (far right).
Image scan by the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. Commentary by Rebecca Nesvet, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. Formatting, color correction, and sizing by George P. Landow[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 Indiana University and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Errym, Malcolm J [James Malcolm Rymer]. A Mystery in Scarlet, leading serial of The London Miscellany. Ed. James Malcolm Rymer, 1, no. 14 (1866): 1. From the copy in the collection of the Wells Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. Courtesy Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Last modified 13 July 2019