"Emma and Dolly rescued" — Harry Furniss's twenty-fourth illustration for Dickens's "Barnaby Rudge" (1910)

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Emma and Dolly rescued

In an instant Gashford was felled like an ox in the butcher’s shambles — struck down as though a block of marble had fallen from the roof and crushed him — and cheerful light, and beaming faces came pouring in — and Emma clasped in her uncle’s embrace; and Dolly, with a shriek that pierced the air, fell into the arms of her father and mother.

Harry Furniss

1910

13.8 cm x 9 cm (5 ½ by 3 ½ inches), vignetted

Dickens's Barnaby Rudge, The Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910), facing VI, 560.

[Click on the images to enlarge them.]

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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Context of the Illustration: A Nick-of-Time Rescue

"Ay!" cried a loud voice, which made him start. "Quite ready! Stand back here, for your lives!"

And in an instant he was felled like an ox in the butcher’s shambles — struck down as though a block of marble had fallen from the roof and crushed him — and cheerful light, and beaming faces came pouring in — and Emma was clasped in her uncle’s embrace, and Dolly, with a shriek that pierced the air, fell into the arms of her father and mother.

What fainting there was, what laughing, what crying, what sobbing, what smiling, how much questioning, no answering, all talking together, all beside themselves with joy; what kissing, congratulating, embracing, shaking of hands, and falling into all these raptures, over and over and over again; no language can describe. [Chapter LXXI, 558-59]

Commentary: Differing Interpretations of the Rescue

Furniss has placed Edward Chester and Gashford prominently in the foreground to underscore the fate from which the young man has just rescued Emma Haredale. Clearly Gashford intended to enact his designs one he had "liberated" her from the captivity imposed upon ger and Dolly by Hugh and Sim. In the original 23 October 1841 illustration, in contrast, Phiz had emphasized the reunion of Dolly and her parents, placing Em,ma and Edward well into the background and subordinating the figure of Gashford.

Relevant illustration from the Original Serial Edition

Above: Phiz's parallel scene shows Joe and Edward Chester rescuing the young from Gashford: A Joyful Meeting" (23 October 1841).

Related Material including Other Illustrated Editions of Barnaby Rudge

Charles Dickens’s Barnaby Rudge (homepage)
Cattermole and Phiz — First illustrators: A Team Effort by "The Clock Works" (1841)
Cattermole's Seventeen Illustrations (13 Feb.-27 Nov. 1841)
Phiz's Original Serial Illustrations (13 Feb.-27 Nov. 1841)
F. O. C. Darley's frontispieces and extra illustrations for the novel (1862 and 1888)
Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s Diamond Edition Illustrations (1867)
Fred Barnard's 46 illustrations for the Household Edition (1874)
A. H. Buckland's illustrations for The Collins' Clear-type Press Pocket Edition (1900)

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. Barnaby Rudge in Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Phiz and George Cattermole. 3 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1841; rpt., Bradbury and Evans, 1849.

________. Barnaby Rudge. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. VI.

Created 24 July 2020

Last modified 16 December 2020