Anne Anderson ~ Stories from Chaucer ~ 1913

Anne Anderson
Cover Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Anne Anderson
Title Page for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Anne Anderson
Frontispiece for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

In attendance on the Knight was his son.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Emily could be seen below.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

At once the fight began.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

The Man of Law was a discreet person.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

The bride entered the city.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Once more she was adrift.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

Griselda was entirely reclothed.

Anne Anderson
Illustration for Stories from Chaucer
Retold by Emily Underdown
London ~ Thomas Nelson and Sons ~ 1913

"What think you of my new wife's beauty?"

In another early volume of Anne Anderson's illustrations, the viewer is once more transported, this time into the world of three of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as retold by Emily Underdown, who also wrote under the name Chester Norley.

Please see my companion post, Aucassin and Nicolete, for another of Anne Anderson's early published work, where you will also find a brief biography and additional links.

To see the illustrations in their original context and to read the stories, click HERE.

Text © 2014 Art of Narrative

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale ~ Idylls of the King ~ 1913

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Tennyson
Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Guinevere

As in the golden days.

~ See All 21 Illustrations Below ~

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1871-1945) created these illustrations for Tennyson's Idylls of the King, published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1913. Follow the link on her name to read her biography, and click *here* to read the poems and to view the images in their original context, where the illustrations are framed by lovely borders.

All 21 illustrations are presented here. Click each image from Enid, Vivien, Elaine and Guinevere for high resolution, and guess which may be my favorites.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Frontispiece, Illustration for Vivien

Sir Lancelot went ambassador, at first,
To fetch her, and she took him for the King.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Enid

To make her beauty vary day by day,
In crimsons and in purples and in gems.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Enid

Enid

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Enid

Yniol's rusted arms
were on his princely person, but thro' these
Princelike his bearing shone.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Enid

They rode so slowly and they look'd so pale.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Enid

And many past, but none regarded her.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Vivien

At which the King
Had gazed upon her blankly and gone by.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Vivien

O master do you love my tender rhyme?

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Vivien

Nor saw she save the King, who wrought the charm.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Vivien

And in the hollow oak he lay as dead,
And lost to life and use and name and fame.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Elaine

Elaine

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Elaine

Then to her tower she climb'd, and took the shield,
There kept it, and so lived in fantasy.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Elaine

But to be with you still, to see your face,
To serve you, and to follow you 'thro the world.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Elaine

So those two brethren from the chariot took
And on the black decks laid her in her bed.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Elaine

Farewell, fair lily.

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Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Guinevere

The Queen who sat betwixt her best
Enid, and lissome Vivien, of her court
The wiliest and the worst.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Guinevere

It was their last hour,
A madness of  farewells.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Guinevere

Before the coming of the sinful Queen.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Guinevere

They found a naked child upon the sands
Of dark Dundagil by the Cornish sea;
And that was Arthur; and they foster'd him
Till he by miracles was approven King.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Guinevere

As in the golden days.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
London: Hodder & Stoughton ~ 1913

Illustration for Guinevere

The sombre close of that voluptuous day
Which wrought the ruin of my lord the King.

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Text © 2012 Art of Narrative

Helen Stratton ~ The Lily of Life ~ 1913

Helen Stratton ~ The Lily of Life

London: Hodder and Stoughton ~ 1913

The Lily of Life, by Marie, Crown Princess of Roumania, was published in 1913 by Hodder and Stoughton. Queen Marie was a prolific writer. She wrote several famous works, including The Dreamer of Dreams and The Stealers of Light, both illustrated by Edmund Dulac. Little has been written about Helen Stratton. One source lists her birth year as approximately 1867, and her date of death as June 4, 1961, at the age of 95, and a kind reader has helped to verify that information (see comments below this post). I love her illustrations for The Lily of Life, and I will be seeking out more of her work to share.

The Lily of Life is the story of two good sisters who fall in love with the same man, Prince Ilario, who then becomes ill. I skimmed the story and read bits and pieces of the narrative through to the end. There are parallels, it seems, between this work, written years before it, and The Lord of the Rings, in this sense: Corona must cross a bog filled with death and evil things, climb stone steps to reach the top of a treacherous cliff, and plunge into dangerous depths, in her quest to find a cure. Corona has a faithful servant who loves her. He follows after her into the sea, and she fears he will drown. After he clambers into her boat, later, she leaves him behind, because she must complete her quest alone, and in silence.


Click each image for great detail.

Helen Stratton ~ The Lily of Life

London: Hodder and Stoughton ~ 1913

Frontispiece

Helen Stratton ~ The Lily of Life

London: Hodder and Stoughton ~ 1913

Title Page

But why, at the end of the quest, when all has been set to selfless rights, and Prince Ilario has recovered from his illness, and Ilario and Corona's sister, Mora, have wed, must the heroine die? Why cannot Corona, who suffered so much, and exhibited so much courage, not find the strength to live? Even in 1913, must she literally die of a broken heart?

If you read the text, you will appreciate Helen Stratton's illustrations all the more. She captures the descriptions of the characters, the settings, and the actions with accuracy; and yet, a beautiful subtlety, choosing details that will illuminate, rather than sensationalize, the grimmer aspects of the story.

Click the title, The Lily of Life, to view the illustrations in their original context and to read the story.

Please leave your comments. I'd love to know what you think.



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