By Karin Wiberg
An enthusiastic 36 people attended JASNA-NC’s March meeting with Deb Barnum’s presentation “200 Years of Illustrating Persuasion.”
The 1821 French version was the first version illustrated. Because Persuasion often appears with Northanger Abbey, that often affects the illustrations, e.g., Northanger Abbey is often on the cover. Or the number of illustrations per book may be more limited. For instance, Hugh Thomson normally has 40 illustrations per book; with NA and Persuasion published together, he had only 20 each. (Deb also has the publishing history of Persuasion on her blog. )
In viewing illustrations over time, you can see how the artists may have influenced each other. Deb led us through a discussion of how illustrators might choose what to illustrate.
Considerations
What sort of illustration should be used? The frontispiece (at the front of the book) should be an importance part of the story, but you probably don’t want it to give away the plot. You might also have full text (full page) illustrations or text illustrations (smaller illustrations in the text).
In terms of style and depiction, you probably don’t want the illustrations to interfere with the text. Some books’ illustrations are very generic; some very specific.
What could you choose to illustrate?
There are three major ways to consider what to illustrate: settings, people, or scenes.
Settings
If you focused on setting, you could illustrate Kellynch Hall, Uppercross Cottage, Lyme Regis, Bath, or the Cobb. Some artists choose almost all settings to illustrate (i.e., few people).
If you are focused on setting, how much detail do you include? In some editions, the settings are barely sketched; others have intricate architectural detail. One edition has end papers with the map of locations.
One illustrator had a headpiece at the beginning of chapter one depicting Uppercross, but we don’t actually get to Uppercross in chapter one!
People
People of course are illustrated regularly. We see the major characters—Anne, Captain Wentworth. We also see Lady Russell, Admiral and Mrs. Croft. Mrs. Smith is often depicted acquainting Anne with Mr. Elliott’s real character. One edition even has end papers with all the characters depicted.
Captain Benwick gets a number of images. Why? At times we are led to believe he and Anne might become a couple. We also see Benwick and Louisa.
William Elliot tends to be portrayed as “proud” like Sir Walter. Charles Hayter gets one little image. Lady Dalrymple is reminiscent of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mrs. Clay tends to be overlooked, but we do sometimes see her father.
Occasionally we see odd or very minor characters, such as the old man by the sea (Doctor Shirley, the rector). Charles Musgrove gets few images, but there is one of him rat hunting!
A question came up whether the naval officers should be portrayed as wearing the uniforms on land. One person had attended a JASNA lecture where the speaker said naval officers often had no other clothes but their uniforms. Someone thought the wearing of them might have been related to whether or not a war was on. Someone else noted it was related to being on full pay or half pay. So perhaps more research is needed on the point; however, one member pointed out that if the illustrators drew Wentworth in uniform, it was easy for readers to identify the character—similar to costuming in a movie.
Interesting side note: Lisa Brown, military costume enthusiast and BINGO creator, says the illustration in the French edition actually showed an army uniform rather than navy.
One participant observed that Brock, who illustrated two editions, seems to have had a clear image of the characters—their “look” remains the same even though the artistic style changes somewhat. Deb noted that Brock found correct fashions and architectural accessories and set up models to pose for him.
scenes
Illustrators choose certain scenes most often, and completely overlook others that you might expect. And some illustrators choose the oddest scenes, such as Hugh Thomson’s image of the little Durands at the concert.
When the number of illustrations is limited, the most commonly depicted scenes are Anne sitting in the hedgerow overhearing Louisa and Captain Wentworth’s conversation, Louisa jumping off the Cobb, and the final letter scene.
When there’s room for a few more illustrations, we tend to see children climbing on Anne’s back and Captain Wentworth removing them, as well as William Elliott’s first meeting with Anne on the steps at Lyme as Captain Wentworth looks on.
Other common images: Anne looking depressed and playing piano with everything going on around her; Anne arriving at Uppercross; Anne and Wentworth on the same sofa with Mrs. Musgrove in between them; the concert where Anne takes initiative.
A scene that makes little sense but is often done is Admiral Croft looking in the print shop window; even in editions with fewer illustrations, the artists often choose to include it.
A scene we might envision but that is not often done is Wentworth placing Anne in the carriage with the Crofts when they are out on the long walk.
As you consider a scene, how do you illustrate it? Consider:
- Louisa jumping – Some illustrations show Louisa jumping, some show her lying helpless, some show Wentworth pleading for help.
- The letter – Do you show Anne talking to Harville? Wentworth writing? Wentworth giving Anne the letter? Anne reading it?
- The ending – Do you show Anne and Wentworth in the street, at a party, or just walking? One edition ends with the image of Sir Walter writing in The Bartonetage!
What would you illustrate?
When attendees were asked what they would choose if they were illustrating Persuasion, some of the ideas that came to mind (in addition to those already discussed) included the passage where the reader is introduced to the disorderly Great House at Uppercross: “The portraits themselves seemed to be staring in astonishment”; Mrs. Musgrove’s “large, fat sighings”; colorful scenes of autumn when the party walks to Winthrop; the riotous scene at Christmas with the children in the great house.
One of our member-authors noted: “When an illustrator chooses to focus on setting and shows characters only from the back, the reader is free to imagine the appearance of the characters. Romance cover designs don’t show the heroine so the reader can imagine herself in the story.”
Thank-you to Deb
The group enthusiastically thanked Deb for her excellent presentation and there was a general consensus that we would all be paying more attention to Persuasion illustrations going forward. Many of the attended also commented that they would be happy to hear any of Deb’s other presentations in the future… Thanks, Deb!
Deborah Barnum is the owner of the online bookshop Bygone Books. She formerly ran the JASNA-Vermont Region, compiled the annual Jane Austen Bibliography for JASNA, now writes the annual Frances Burney bibliography, is a Board Member of the North American Friends of Chawton House, and blogs at “Jane Austen in Vermont” and “Reading with Austen: Returning the Lost Sheep of Godmersham.”