| H03072 THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE-EDITIONS QUESTIONS 8/23/03 HARDY FORUM ARCHIVE |
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From: DMSECK@aol.com Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2003 19:55:30 EDT Subject: Re: The Mayor of Casterbridge Having found Hardy novels edited by Norman Page, Robert Schweik, and Rosemarie Morgan quite valuable, I would appreciate a recommendation for editions of Mayor and Native that would provide quality commentary as well. Also, discussions on the forum are providing me wonderful food for thought -- thank you! Donna Seckrater CSU San Bernardino |
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Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:33:46 +0100 Subject: Re: The Mayor of Casterbridge From: Angelique Richardson <A.Richardson@exeter.ac.uk>
Dear Donna Phillip Mallet s edn of the Mayor of Casterbridge (Norton, 2001) is excellent. Based on the Wessex edn of 1912 (revised and corrected by Hardy), it includes vital contextual and source material, contemporary reviews and a wide range of criticism (by e.g. Virginia Woolf, Michael Millgate and George Levine). All best Angelique -- Dr Angelique Richardson Senior Lecturer in English University of Exeter |
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Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:44:58 -0400 From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu> Subject: Re: The Mayor of Casterbridge
You might wish to weigh the Norton edition against the Penguin World Classics Edition, edited by Keith Wilson (1997). Aside from providing an excellent annotated bibliography (including feminist readings), this edition reproduces Hardy's first edition (Smith Elder, 1886) which, as Professor Wilson elucidates in his "A Note on the History of the Text," is itself but one of several variant versions published at the time (see also Appendix 1).
If getting close to the original, historical text[s] is of interest to you this would be a most illustrative edition for you to use demonstrating, as it does, the manner in which Hardy's imaginative work accommodates flux -- a constant state of evolution -- even in the first flush of creation. An additional merit here is that this first edition has suffered minimal intervention at the hands of editors over the past century or so -- unfortunately a perpetual hazard with the Wessex Editions (eg., the current Norton edition of FFMC still prints previous editorial errors).
Cheers. Rosemarie |
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Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:50:54 -0400 Subject: Re: "The Mayor of Casterbridge" in Serial: Barnes's Illustrations for "The Graphic" From: Philip Allinghan <apalling@tbaytel.net>
All the modern editions I've seen of "The Mayor of Casterbridge" give scant information about the original, serial text in "The Graphic" and do not reproduce the wonderful, large-scale visual accompaniments produced by staff artist Robert Barnes. The serial text is much more sensational than the volume's, featuring a truly devious Lucetta and some wildly improbable coincidences, but reading it certainly puts one in touch with Hardy's understanding of popular taste in the mid-1880s. The illustrations underscore the physical power of Henchard and Farfrae's resemblance to him (at one point, Henchard says Donald reminds him of his dead brother), and make Elizabeth-Jane a significant figure in the narrative, both pretty and knowing. Throughout the sequence, Barnes's detailing is excellent, offering interesting insights into Hardy's serial text. Although her step-father is physically more impressive (Barnes shows him as an almost monumental figure, his clothing suggestive of the Victorian patriarchy against which the novel's women struggle), Barnes's Elizabeth-Jane is consistently more appealing, glancing directly at the reader in the second and eleventh illustrations. Her glance towards the reader in the March 13th illustration, "She knelt down on the hearth, and took her friend's hands excitedly in her own" (293), suggests at once that she shares with the reader the knowledge that Lucetta is the 'unfortunate friend' who (according to the confessional narrative delivered in the third person) has compromised herself with two men. Barnes has achieved, then, a double vision temporally and narratively, for the glance may suggest one of two moments in Ch. 24. Either it is a wistful look that denotes the moment given in its title, Elizabeth's reflecting on her lost romance with Farfrae, after whom she has just "demurely" inquired, surmising that Lucetta has seen him by her friend's eyes having a "heightened brightness" and her cheeks an "advanced colour" (294). Or it is a knowing, ironic glance at the reader that suggests Elizabeth's not being "beguiled" by Lucetta's confession once removed? The look extends the picture beyond the comfortable drawing-room of High Place Hall and into the reader's own world, establishing a rapport between Elizabeth and the reader through the knowledge that only that character and the reader share. That the throne-like chair which Farfrae occupies in the 17 April illustration resembles that in which Captain Newsome (with appropriate sailor's mutton-chop whiskers) sits uneasily, as if about to rise, may be Barnes's way of revealing that both scenes are set in the same room.
Although the serial text of "The Well-Beloved" has been published, to my knowledge the radically different "Graphic" version has not, and the only access one has to the plates is via the Victorian Web.
Is there a recent edition that addresses these issues? |
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From: "Richard Nemesvari" <rnemesva@stfx.ca> Subject: Re: The Mayor of Casterbridge - Editions and Illustrations Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 11:36:23 -0300
A full discussion of the serial illustrations for *Mayor* and their representation of Elizabeth-Jane may be found in Pamela DalzielÕs excellent article "Whatever Happened to Elizabeth Jane?: Revisioning Gender in *The Mayor of Casterbridge* (*Thomas Hardy: Texts and ContextÕs,* ed. Phillip Mallet, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, pp. 64-86). This piece also reproduces six of the illustrations. Further, just to completely confuse Donna, and at the risk of re-opening the "eclectic text vs. single version" editorial debate we've already had on Hardy-L, I would recommend Dale Kramer's Oxford WorldÕs Classics edition of *Mayor,* which uses the manuscript as its copy text while including Hardy's later revisions, and which provides a strong introduction. Actually I own all three versions so far recommended (Phillip's Norton, Keith's Penguin, and Dale's Oxford), all of which provide me with much needed information, and all of which are admirably and rigorously edited. So I think we've pretty much managed to cover all the bibliographical bases (text based on manuscript, text based on first edition, text based on Wessex Edition). What do you think Angelique and Rosemarie? Want to do the whole thing again for *Return of the Native*? Richard Nemesvari Department of English St. Francis Xavier University rnemesva@stfx.ca |
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Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 08:54:41 -0400 Subject: Re: "The Mayor of Casterbridge" in Serial: A Barnes Illustration without a Referrent From: Philip Allinghan <apalling@tbaytel.net>
Dear Keith (but with others as an intended audience, too):
Since it has been over ten years since I have had to set a book list for university English class, I am delighted that the W. W. Norton Critical Edition of "The Mayor of Casterbridge" is no longer the benchmark it was when I taught that text in a second-year "Introduction to the Novel" course. Without your timely advice, I would not have not from its description on the Chapters-Indigo website that the original serial illustrations are included in the March 2003, re-issue of the Penguin edition. Many thanks for the tip, as a result of which my Freshmen will be using your edition in January for "Introduction to Literature Written in English 2" at Lakehead University. You may not have gathered as much, but I was hired three years ago to teach not the Victorian novel (my doctorate from UBC is actually in Dickens, not Hardy), but secondary English curriculum and instruction. As a result of the Harris government's eliminating Grade 13 and the graduation of the "Double Cohort" last June (of no interest to people outside Ontario, I'm sure), I find myself back in an English department (well, partly) and teaching Victorian novels after a decade doing other things--hence, my lack of "product knowledge." By the way, am I correct in assuming that the "re-issued" Penguin "Return of the Native" contains the Hopkins illustrations from "Belgravia"? In your edition, aimed at the General Reader, I am quite interested to see how you have "placed" one of Barnes's illustrations for "The Mayor of Casterbridge," since the exact moment in the letter-press to which it refers has no exact equivalent in the volume edition. I am referring to the plate for 27 April 1886: "Well, Lucetta, I've a bit of news for ye," he said gaily. "I think poor Henchard is going to console himself by speculating in a wife once more. I met him courting just now." Donald is ensconced in a throne-like chair and Lucetta is hovering over him, the whole apparently a charming scene of upper-middle class domestic bliss. However, Hardy has had to cut the innocuous scene because of what immediately preceded it in the serial, when Lucetta attempted to persuade Henchard to return her love-letters.
A piece of melodrama cut for volume publication is Farfrae's detecting a "female figure" (422)- -in fact, his wife Lucetta--emerging from the Ring in company with Henchard. Ironically, Farfrae has "no suspicion as to the personality of his [Henchard's] companion" because she is wearing unfamiliar clothing. Credibility is further strained by Farfrae's sketching in for Henchard his plans for the seedshop while Lucetta walks on the other side of Henchard: "They had walked on together through the gloom, Henchard drawing Lucetta's arm through his own to lend a delusive aspect to the rendezvous he had been surprised in, and keeping her on the outside." Wisely Hardy chose to remove this highly awkward scene from the volume, but in doing so also eliminated the line uttered by Donald after Lucetta has surreptitiously crept back into the house and "restored herself to her natural hues. . . ." When she encounters her husband in the dining-room, he cheerfully retails to her the news that Henchard is again wooing: "Well, Lucetta, I've a bit of news for ye," he said gaily. "I think poor Henchard is going to console himself by speculating in a wife once more. I met him courting just now."
Although the irony must have been delicious to Hardy, the whole incident for the sake of probability had to go. This paragraph, which closes the serial version of Chapter XXXV, is the basis for the April 27th number's illustration by Robert Barnes, a picture of Lucetta and Farfrae rendered almost meaningless to the modern reader deprived of these deleted plot machinations worthy of the author of "Desperate Remedies."
Philip Allingham, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario. |
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From: DMSECK@aol.com Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 12:28:01 EDT Subject: Re: The Mayor of Casterbridge - Editions and Illustrations
In a message dated 8/24/2003 7:38:01 AM Pacific Standard Time, rnemesva@stfx.ca writes: "Further, just to completely confuse Donna, and at the risk of re-opening the "eclectic text vs. single version" editorial debate we've already had on Hardy-L, I would recommend Dale Kramer's Oxford World's Classics edition of *Mayor,* which uses the manuscript as its copy text while including Hardy's later revisions, and which provides a strong introduction. Actually I own all three versions so far recommended" Thank you to Angelique, Richard, Keith, and Rosemarie for so willingly supplying specific strengths for each edition noted. Perhaps I will eventually own all three! "For obvious reasons I don't want to get into a debate about the relative worth of the various scholarly editions of The Mayor of Casterbridge currently available, especially since all have their merits and logical audiences. [...] My edition for Penguin Classics (available for more than six years as part of the comprehensive modern scholarly edition of Hardy's novels put out under the general editorship of Patricia Ingham and recently re-issued by Penguin under a new ISBN number in conjunction with the relaunch of all Penguin Classics) not only contains all the Barnes illustrations, placed at the appropriate place in the text to match the episodes to which they relate, but also provides a brief appendix relating to them." I greatly appreciate the recommendations you have offered, as I now have a starting point. Regards, Donna |
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Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 13:11:11 -0400 From: Keith Wilson <kgwilson@uottawa.ca> Subject: Re: "The Mayor of Casterbridge" in Serial: A Barnes Illustration without a Referrent
A brief reponse to your interesting question, Philip.
1. The illustration you mention that appeared in the Graphic serialisation on April 17th (not 27th) was one of three omitted from the American serialisation in Harper's Weekly: so it appeared in only the English serial. For the sake of comprehensiveness, it is included in the Penguin edition adjacent to the end of the relevant chapter, and the reader is told, by a note beneath the illustration, that the episode was removed for the book edition and is referred to a textual note that explains the whole modification. Incidentally, the identificatory quotation under the Graphic illustration is limited to "'Well, Lucetta, I've a bit of news for ye,' he said gaily."
2. Similarly, there is no textual equivalent in the first English edition (used as copy text for most -- though not all -- of the Penguin editions of the novels, including The Mayor) for the illustration that appeared with the Graphic 15th May instalment. This relates to Henchard's return to Casterbridge for Elizabeth-Jane's wedding, which was excised for the English first edition. Again, the illustration is included in the text at approximately the place it would have appeared, and beneath the illustration the reader is referred to the Appendix that gives the full deleted text (taken from the American first edition) of the episode. The return of Henchard was, of course, subsequently (1895) restored in modified form to English editions. All this is explained in a preliminary "Note on the History of the Text."
By the way -- just to avoid any confusion -- the illustrations are included not only in the March 2003 re-issue of the Penguin but also in the original 1997 issue. The only changes made are minor (revised suggested reading etc.), and the pagination is identical.
Hope this provides the information in which you were interested.
All best wishes,
Keith Keith Wilson Department of English University of Ottawa 70 Laurier Avenue East (Room 313) Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1N 6N5 Tel: (613) 562-5800, Ext. 1160 Fax: (613) 562-5990 e-mail: kgwilson@uottawa.ca |
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Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:30:13 -0400 From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu> Subject: Re: "The Mayor of Casterbridge" in Serial: A Barnes Illustration without a Referrent
Note to Hardy scholars: you can view all the Barnes iIllustrations to MC on TTHA's *NOVELS* page at:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~ttha/index_of_subjects.htm
They are accompanied by subtitles and references as supplied by Keith Wilson's Penguin World Classics text.
Further details (including mention of illustrations) of the Penguin Classics edition of MC may also be found on TTHA's CHECKLIST on the Members Resources page.
TTHA is indebted to Birgit Plietzsch for her invaluable and up-to-date work on the *NOVELS* page, and to Bob Schweik for providing a comprehensive, up-to-the-minute checklist of all current publications on or by Hardy.
All best, Rosemarie |
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Without your timely advice, I would not have not from its description on the Chapters-Indigo website that the original serial illustrations are included in the March, 2003, re-issue of the Penguin edition. Philip Allingham |
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Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:38:59 -0400 From: Rosemarie Morgan <rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu> Subject: Re: The Mayor of Casterbridge - Editions and Illustrations
And thank you Donna, for truncating previous messages in your rejoinders: limited access users in certain countries across the globe who suffer not only time but also space restriction on Internet access will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
With every good wish,
Rosemarie |