The Fisherman's Home (Frontispiece) and title-page and vignette by "Phiz" for the final number in the Chapman and Hall twelve-month serialisation of Charles Lever's Barrington; Tales of the Trains (February 1862 to January 1863). [Click on either image for further details.]
Commentary: Playing to Irish Stereotypes
Clearly, the equestrian on the title-page is not Dinah, Peter Barrington's younger sister (depicted on the frontispiece), but the daring horsewoman Polly Dill, whose actions in The Wager and at "Barrington's Ford" (Chapter XIV) result in her unwillingly being rescued by Fred Conyers. The title-page vignette, then, refers to a much later chapter than the frontispiece, and was one of the last engravings Phiz executed for Charles Lever.
Since there are twenty-five engravings but only twelve monthly instalments, whereas Chapman and Hall undoubtedly did not issue the engraved title until the ultimate (January 1863) monthly number, The Fisherman's Home clearly belongs with the first instalment (February 1862) as it anticipates a scene in the opening chapter, whereas the vignette is reflecting on the more adventurous aspects of the narrative.
Related Material
- A Synopsis of Charles Lever's
- The Novels of Charles Lever, 1839-72
- Charles Lever (1806-1872): Anglo-Irish Novelist, Physician, and Diplomat
- Phiz: "A Good Hand at a Horse"
- Hablot Knight Browne, 1815-1882; A Brief Biography
Scanned images 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) credit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Lester, Valerie Browne. Phiz: The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.
Lever, Charles. Barrington; Tales of the Trains. Illustrated by 'Phiz'. London: Chapman and Hall, 1863.
Steig, Michael. Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U. P., 1978.
Sutherland, John A. "Barrington." The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford U. P., 1989, rpt. 1990, 48-49.
Created 9 November 2007
Last modified 10 October 2026