[The Resurrection Man attacks Lady Ravensworth] — illustration for G. W. M. Reynolds’s “The Mysteries of London” by G. Stiff

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The Resurrection Man attacks Lady Ravensworth

G. Stiff

1846

Wood engraving

Source: The Project Gutenberg version of G. W. M. Reynolds’s The Mysteries of London

This plate, which like the others in the book, has no caption, and appears in Chapter 245, “The Excursion,” but illustrates a passage in the next chapter.

Click on image to enlarge it and see see passage illustrated below.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit Project Gutenberg and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. — George P. Landow]

Passage illustrated

Slowly did one of those folding-doors open; and for an instant, in the wild turmoil of her feelings, the unhappy woman half expected to behold the spectre of Lydia Hutchinson appear before her.

But—no: it was a man who entered.

The lights flared with the draught created by the opening of that door; and for a few moments Adeline could only perceive the dark form, without being able to distinguish his features.

Not long, however, did this painful uncertainty last; for as the intruder advanced towards the almost fainting lady, the light suddenly shone full upon his countenance;—and, with feelings of indescribable horror, she once more found herself in the presence of the Resurrection Man. [Chapter 248, “An Unpleasant Exposure”]

Stiff creates a somewhat more dramatic illustration than the text warrants, since Reynolds describes the Resurrection Man pushing Adeline, Lady Ravensworth, on the couch or grabbing her neck.

Bibliography

Reynolds, George W. M. The Mysteries of London. vol 2. London: George Vickers, 1846. Project Gutenberg EBook #51294. Produced by Richard Tonsing, Chuck Greif, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. Web. 3 October 2016.

Last modified 5 October 2016