Mervyn Peake – derrickjknight

Stevenson’s Treasure Island

I spent the day completing my rereading, reviewing and scanning the illustrations of

First published in 1883, this perennial work was issued in this form by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1949 and repeated by Methuen Children’s Books Ltd in 1976.

It is perhaps every boy’s dream adventure involving a map of hidden treasure, swashbuckling heroes, piratical villains, skullduggery, marooning, betrayal, impossible heroics, murder, battles on land and on sea, a mystery island, and much more, crafted by that master storyteller, Robert Louis Stevenson, with full use of his excellent flowing prose descriptive of trees, shrubs, terrain, sea, and landscape, with his symbolism of night and day, light and dark, and the vagaries of the weather.

His depicting details of struggling with seamanship and wrestling with dense foliage take the reader into that world to share the exertions.

Peake’s numerous drawings convey the drama and the characterisation of the author.

Robert Newton, in Disney’s first full length feature of the eponymous 1950 film, portrayed Long John Silver as the quintessential pirate, even to the extent of all future pirates following his diction.

This evening we all dined on meaty sausages and fried onions, creamy mash, carrots, spinach and tasty gravy, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Garnacha Old Vines.

Treasure Island Taster

This morning I watched recordings of last night’s rugby World Cup matches between Tonga and Romania and between Fiji and Portugal – the latter being the very last of the pool stage fixtures, and the most thrilling.

Having remembered that my copy of R.L.Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” was illustrated by Mervin Peake it seemed a good idea to reread this for my next Books post. I therefore read half of it today, and if I can complete it tomorrow will review this powerfully illustrated version.

In the meantime I offer a scan of the book jacket which has to be presented in two sections since it is too large a format for my scanner.

This evening we all dined on rolled breast of lamb; boiled new potatoes; carrots, cauliflower, broccoli stems, and meaty gravy with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Garnacha Old Vines.

Doctor Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Early this morning I watched a recording of last night’s rugby World Cup match between South Africa and Tonga.

Later I posted

Moons For Denzil

being a submission for the latest challenge from denzilnature.com

The whole world knows that the phrase Jekyll and Hyde indicates a person with two sides to their personality – one good and one evil. But how many people, even if they know that this originates in Robert Louis Stevenson’s masterpiece of insightful depiction of humanity’s dual nature; still more how many of us know the detail of the mystery, horror, and science fiction encompassed in this short novel?

Mervyn Peake, author and illustrator of his own Gormenghast trilogy, was an inspired choice of illustrator for

of which

these are the boards.

With honest revelations of his own duality Stevenson made use of his personal early life in producing a first version which pleased him, in three days, then falling into a rage when his wife – his best critic – told him it wouldn’t do. The next day he burnt it, acknowledged that she was right, and wrote what we have today in three more days. I am indebted to John Hampden’s knowledgable and literary introduction for this information.

The author’s complex and insightful observation of human nature is used to full effect as he explores his theme.

Having presented the illustrations as double spreads in order to display some of the prose I trust I have not really given too much detail of the story which is the author’s vehicle for his exploration. The results of a disastrous experiment are only revealed after the climax.

Stevenson’s customary use of weather conditions; the play of light and dark; and night and day in order to portray the mood of the story even penetrated my own reading experience. The morning had been dull, dry, warm, and overcast. Suddenly, in mid afternoon, a flash of lightning was seen through our window; we were plunged into darkness, before which we had had no need of our electric lights; a clap of thunder sent the garden birds scattering as if a raptor were in the air; and glistening leaves on the trees threw off bouncing raindrops. This was when I had reached the crescendo of the book.

Later, as in one of the last pages I read a description of bright spring day, I realised we didn’t need our electric lights any more.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s chicken jalfrezi and korma according to our preference; peshwari naan; pilau rice; and vegetable samosas, with which she finished the Zesty and I drank more of the Shiraz.

Droll Tales 30

By returning to the “Beautiful Imperia” whose tale introduces these stories, Honoré de Balzac has travelled full circle in the last, “The Married Life of Fair Imperia”, which tracks our heroine’s transformation from haughty beauty making the most from her charms, certainly not freely given, yet widely distributed among the rich, into a faithful wife in love for the very first time.

From continuous festivities she turns to staunch constancy with her equally devoted, much younger, husband who she does not wish to see her grow old, despite his conviction that, as Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Mark Antony’s friend Enobarbus, “age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety”.

I will say no more for fear of spoiling the author’s swansong.

Mervyn Peake has produced one drawing for the Folio Society edition;

and Gustave Doré provides his own veritable swansong for The Bibliophilist Society.

Further details of the publications are given in https://derrickjknight.com/2023/01/06/droll-tales-1/except that there are no pictures here by Jean de Bosschère as I do not have any of the third Decade by him.

Droll Tales 27

The Folio Society entitle story number 27 in this series “About a Beggar known as Old Parchemins”. The Bibliophilist Society adds a hyphen to their version, in Par-Chemins thus clarifying the origin of the nickname which could be translated as “about the roads”, because that is where this homeless vagrant was always to be found.

I find this a story of two halves, in that, after squandering an inherited fortune this man wandered the roads studying “philosophy in a bird school” where we are treated to the author’s straightforward delightful descriptions of the lanes and their avian residents. We are then shocked, as was his sleeping victim by this aged gent’s sudden rape of a young woman, and the familiar prose of double entendre takes over.

We have learned about Parchemins’s success in gambling with dice; was he to succeed in gambling with his sexual prowess to save him from the gallows?

Here is Mervyn Peake’s illustration for The Folio Society:

and those of Gustave Doré in the other publication.

Droll Tales 25

A short tale with the author’s customary salacious double entendres this story describes how the young lady, with the help of the maid, outwits the magistrate attempting to wriggle out of a finding of rape because of the perpetrator’s wealth and standing at Court. The Folio Society entitles the tale “How the Portillon Beauty Scored over the Magistrate”; for The Bibliophilist Society it is “How The Pretty Maid of Portillon convinced her Judge”.

Here is Mervyn Peake’s illustration for the first of these;

and Gustave Doré’s for the second.

Droll Tales 24

“Bertha the Penitent” according to The Bibliophilist Society is the 24th story in Balzac’s set; The Folio Society entitle it “Magdalene Bertha”.

Bertha’s first conception, within marriage to a much older man, was not technically immaculate, but it might as well have been as she had no real idea of how it had happened, and was certainly ignorant of any sexual delights. With less suggestive wordplay than is his wont, the author relates how the very young woman was tricked into learning the joy of sex, and the inevitable consequence. Shocked to learn the truth of her behaviour, she forces herself and her lover into celibacy over the next dozen years. I will not report the eventual outcome.

Here is Mervyn Peake’s drawing for the Folio Society:

and those of Gustave Doré for the Bibliophilists

Droll Tales 22

Demonstrating that The Folio Society have fully understood the wordplay romp that is the story they have entitled “Of a Justiciary who did not Recall Certain Parts”, they differ from, “Concerning A Provost Who Did Not Recognise Things”, the version of The Bibliophilist Society.

This tale of trickery perpetrated on the victim of cuckoldry is packed with Balzac’s double entendres, puns and other wordplay. The translator has retained “la voir” and “l’avoir” (to see her and to have her) in the original French.

Here is Mervyn Peake’s Folio Society drawing;

and here those of Gustave Doré for the Bibliophilist Society.

Droll Tales 20

“Desperate Love”, “Despair in Love”, and “Love’s Despair” are the varied title translations of the last story in the second Decade of Honoré de Balzac’s largely scurrilous selection, illustrated respectively by

Mervyn Peake, with his mastery of the simple line;

by Gustave Doré with his packed detail;

and by Jean de Bosschère who produces his own particular interpretation.

This is a short story telling of a handsome and melancholy young man enamoured of a great lady, yet becoming tongue-tied and limp-limbed when attempting to translate the fiercely erotic energy imbued into his skilful sculpting to the wooing of the tantalising temptress.

Further details of each of these publications is given in https://derrickjknight.com/2023/01/06/droll-tales-1/except that the second Decade is published by New York’s Covici, Friede in 1929. It is America’s first edition thus and is a limited copy. The illustrations are not protected by tissue but the book’s condition is quite good and covered by a cellophane wrapper.

Droll Tales 19

The story entitled by The Folio Society as “The Succuba”, and by the other two publishers under consideration as the more normal “The Succubus” Is the longest story in Balzac’s collection.

The tale explores the nature of this female demon believed to have had sexual intercourse with sleeping men – in this case the “sleeping with” is not today’s euphemism for not actually sleeping. The case against, in what is essentially a 13th century witch hunt and trial, following the determination of the equivalent of our Crown Prosecution Service that there is a case to answer. Evidence is amassed, and a conclusion reached after a veritable Inquisition. I will not detail this for fear of spoiling the story, but must warn that anyone reading too much of the text accompanying Doré’s illustrations may get the idea.

Although there is plenty of the author’s entertaining wordplay to keep us engaged, some repetitions, for example the lists of participants ( the reason I never finished Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur”) does bore a bit.

Here are the illustrations of Mervyn Peake in the Folio Society edition;

those of Gustave Doré published by The Bibliophilist Society;

and Jean de Bosschère from Covici Friede.