Phiz

'Phiz' - Hablot Knight Browne - was the great illustrator of Dickens' fiction. For over twenty-three years they worked together, and Phiz's drawings brought to life a galaxy of much-loved characters, from Mr Pickwick, Nicholas Nickelby and Mr Micawber, to Little Nell and David Copperfield. But, from [...]
Visa längre beskrivning

'Phiz' - Hablot Knight Browne - was the great illustrator of Dickens' fiction. For over twenty-three years they worked together, and Phiz's drawings brought to life a galaxy of much-loved characters, from Mr Pickwick, Nicholas Nickelby and Mr Micawber, to Little Nell and David Copperfield. But, from the mystery of his birth onwards, Phiz himself led a life as rich as any novel. He came from an old Huguenot Spitalfields family, ostensibly the fourteenth child of debt-ridden parents: but his eldest sister Kate had been engaged to a Captain of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, who disappeared, presumed dead, at Waterloo- In late 1815, Phiz arrived. Soon his official father too vanished without trace. The Browne children struggled on. In this vivid, lively memoir - the first full biography, long-awaited by Victorian scholars - his great-great-granddaughter Valerie Browne Lester tracks Phiz's path to marriage and fame, his travels around England and Ireland and work with Dickens, Trollope and the Irish best-selling novelist Charles Lever, and his packed private life.He was hopeless with money and had far too many children yet remained an eternal, sunny optimist until his death in 1882 - marked by a poetic obituary in Punch. In his inimitable way, Phiz was a memorable artist and his story bustles with character and adventure, celebrations and arguments, laughter and tears. Hunting for her ancestor, the author pursued a quest that took her around the world, unearthing a hoard of unpublished material. Her enchanting book, packed with surprising and delicious illustrations, is a perfect present for all who love Dickens, art and the hidden byways of Victorian life, rich as a round plum pudding.