... there is no doubt Doyle’s work is a sort of bridge between the anarchic rudeness of the eighteenth century and the development of ‘good taste’ and ‘gentlemanliness’ in the Victorian ‘age of improvement.’ W. M. Thackeray thought the humour too restrained, an emollient only good enough to raise a smile but rarely a laugh (19); nevertheless, H. B. defined a new direction for graphic satire that was taken up by the cartoonists of Punch, the situational comedy of John Leech and John Tenniel, and in the droll, wistful reflections of his more famous son, “Dicky” Doyle. — Simon Cooke
Biographical Material
Works
- The Late Catastrophe
- The Great Moth
- A Dying Swan
- The Harpies Attacking the Daughters of Pandarus (after Flaxman)
- An Extraordinary Animal
- 'The last rose of summer blooming alone; all his lovely companions have faded and gone'
Links to Related Material (Doyle's sons)
- Charles Altamont Doyle (son)
- Henry Edward Doyle (son)
- James William Doyle (son)
- Richard "Dicky" Doyle (son)
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (nephew)
Bibliography
Conan Doyle, Arthur. Memories and Adventures. 1924; rpt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Engen, Rodney. Richard Doyle. Stroud: The Catalpa Press, 1983.
Everitt, Graham. English Caricaturists. London: Swan Sonneschein, 1893
‘Obituary; John Doyle.’Art Journal 30 (March 1868).
Thackeray, W. M. An Essay on the Genius of George Cruikshank. London: Hooper. 1840.
Williamson, George. ‘John Doyle.’ Catholic Encyclopaedia.. Online edition.
Created 18 November 2023