Pesca extols the appointment. — staff artist John McLenan's initial headnote vignette (composite woodblock engraving), 8.8 cm high by 5.4 cm wide (3 ½ by 2 inches), vignetted, for Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White: A Novel, Instalment 1, published on 26 November 1859 in Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, Vol. III. Part One: "The Story Begun by Walter Hartright, of Clement's Inn, Teacher of Drawing," Chapter I, 753 (top); p. 5 in the 1861 volume.
Passage: The excitable Pesca is convinced that Hartright should accept the offer
Although I myself was gratefully sensible of the kindness of Pesca’s motives, my spirits were hardly so much elevated as they ought to have been by the prospect of future employment now placed before me. When the Professor had quite done with my mother’s hand, and when I had warmly thanked him for his interference on my behalf, I asked to be allowed to look at the note of terms which his respectable patron had drawn up for my inspection.
Pesca handed me the paper, with a triumphant flourish of the hand.
“Read!” said the little man majestically. “I promise you my friend, the writing of the golden Papa speaks with a tongue of trumpets for itself.”
The note of terms was plain, straightforward, and comprehensive, at any rate. It informed me,
First, That Frederick Fairlie, Esquire, of Limmeridge House, Cumberland, wanted to engage the services of a thoroughly competent drawing-master, for a period of four months certain.
Secondly, That the duties which the master was expected to perform would be of a twofold kind. He was to superintend the instruction of two young ladies in the art of painting in water-colors; and he was to devote his leisure time, afterwards, to the business of repairing and mounting a valuable collection of drawings, which had been suffered to fall into a condition of total neglect.
Thirdly, That the terms offered to the person who should undertake and properly perform these duties were four guineas a week; that he was to reside at Limmeridge House; and that he was to be treated there on the footing of a gentleman.
Fourthly, and lastly, That no person need think of applying for this situation unless he could furnish the most unexceptionable references to character and abilities. The references were to be sent to Mr. Fairlie’s friend in London, who was empowered to conclude all necessary arrangements. These instructions were followed by the name and address of Pesca’s employer in Portland Place — and there the note, or memorandum, ended. [Chapter II, 753; pp. 8-9 in the 1861 American volume edition; p. 9 in Ch. III, in the single-volume Sampson Low edition of 1861]
Commentary: The Amusing Professor Pesca, Former Italian Revolutionary
The illustration presents the first important moment in the opening scenes. Here, the Hartrights' old family friend, Professor Pesca, jubilantly announces to the young drawing-master, Walter, that he has received the offer of a lucrative appointment at a great country house in the Lake Country, at Limmeridge House in Cumberland. Naturally, American readers of the opening number initially must have wondered what is in the paper that has made the little Italian so excited. Collins will deploy Pesca strategically in the opera house scene and exploit his background as a member of the clandestine Brotherhood at the close of the novel.
Related Material
- McLenan's regular, full-scale illustration for the first serial number: "I turned on the instant, with my fingers tightening round the handle of my stick." for 26 November 1859
- Fred Walker's poster: The Woman in White for the Olympic Theatre's October 1871 adaptation
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) scredit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL.]
Bibliography
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White: A Novel. New York: Harper & Bros., 1861 (first printing, 15 August 1860; reissued in single-column format in 1902, 548 pages).
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White: A Novel. Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization. Illustrated by John McLenan. Vols. III-IV (26 November 1859 through 8 September 1860).
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. London: Sampson Low, 1861; rpt. with illustrations by F. A. Fraser and Sir John Gilbert, Chatto & Windus, 1875.
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. Ed. Maria K. Bachman and Don Richard Cox. Illustrated by Sir John Gilbert and F. A. Fraser. Toronto: Broadview, 2006.
Peters, Catherine. "Chapter Twelve: The Woman in White (1859-1860)." The King of the Inventors: A Life of Wilkie Collins. London: Minerva Press, 1992. Pp. 205-225.
Vann, J. Don. "The Woman in White in All the Year Round, 26 November — 25 August 1860." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. Pp. 44-46.
Created 6 July 2024 Last updated 10 August 2024