In accordance with his own proposal, Mr. Fildes prepared two or three designs from "Copperfield," one of which fulfilled the requisite condition that it should contain a representation of a pretty girl, the subject selected being the scene depicting Peggotty embracing Little Em'ly after the announcement of her betrothal to Ham. Dickens considered these drawings so eminently satisfactory that he desired the artist to call upon him at his temporary residence, No. 5 Hyde Park Place, for the purpose of consulting him regarding the illustrations for "Edwin Drood." The eventful day at length arrived when author and artist met for the first time, and the auspicious occasion is thus pleasantly recalled in the following note from Mr. Fildes (written for "Charles Dickens by Pen and Pencil"), in response to my inquiry respecting his earliest impressions of the novelist's personality:—
"I can tell you so little of Dickens that is 'terse, graphic, or vivid.' It's so long ago! He passed by me so like a vision. At least it seems so to me now. When I first saw him, I felt a little oppressed—I don't know why—he loomed so large, and was so great in my imagination. He rose from his writing-table to greet me. He was dressed in dark clothes; I cannot quite recall the cut of coat, but it was loose and unbuttoned,—a black silk neckerchief was loosely tied, with hanging ends, round his throat. His general appearance, with the 'cut' of his head, gave me the idea—perhaps reminded me somehow—of one who was, or had been, connected with the sea. But I thought so much of the Man, and had so affectionate a respect, that it never occurred to me then nor since to take an inventory of his features or the details of his clothes. I could possibly be contradicted on nearly every point were I to attempt it. What I do remember—and it is as clear to me as yesterday—is the indescribable sweetness and kindness of manner—a frank affectionate way that drew me towards him the moment I saw him. I don't know what it was, or how—perhaps his smile, the clasp of his hand, the drawing me down to sit beside him—but I felt like one does with one's own father, that you 'get on with' when a boy. That impression never left me."
Plate LXIII
STUDIES FOR EDWIN DROOD
Facsimile of Original Sketches by
LUKE FILDES, R.A.
This figure appears in the Illustration entitled 'At the Piano.' Vide "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."
Lent by the Artist.
When, at this memorable interview, Dickens had expressed his requirements, Mr. Fildes (as he himself informs me) explained to the novelist that, while fully appreciating the honour of being selected as illustrator of "Edwin Drood," he would be compelled most reluctantly to forego the privilege if it were really a sine qua non that the designs should be of a humorous character, following the lead of the versatile "Phiz." He conceived it advisable to make it clearly understood, there and then, that comic drawing was not his metier, and ventured to remind the novelist that his stories, in view of the fact that they possessed an intensely serious side as well as a jocular one, lent themselves admirably to a graver style of Art. After pondering for a moment, Dickens observed that he was "a little tired" of being regarded by his illustrators mainly as a humorist,—a remark, however, which he qualified in a manner that did not at all suggest dissatisfaction with those artists, but implied, rather, that he was not averse to the more solemn incidents in his writings being considered by his pictorial interpreters; his agreement with Mr. Fildes in this respect might well have arisen from what he knew would be the leading characteristic of his last romance (certainly not humorous), which would give scope only to the "serious" artist. The interview resulted in the appointment of Mr. Fildes as illustrator of the forthcoming story, and in a letter to James T. Fields (of Boston, U.S.A.) the novelist said: "At the very earnest representations of Millais (and after having seen a great number of his drawings), I am going to engage with a new man; retaining, of course, C. C.'s [Charles Collins's] cover." So content was Dickens with his choice of this artist, that he could not refrain from expressing his satisfaction to his friends.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1870.As the date fixed for the publication of the first number of "Edwin Drood" was rapidly approaching, it became necessary that Mr. Fildes should immediately begin to prepare his designs. Receiving the proof-sheets of each number, he studied them so diligently and carefully that he allowed no incident or personal trait to escape him. Indeed, Dickens himself (as Mrs. Meynell tells us in The Century of February 1884) was astonished at the way in which his mind found itself mirrored in that of his coadjutor, both as regards the pictorial exactness of inanimate things and the appreciation of individual human character. The artist, however, was at first considerably perplexed in being kept in total ignorance of the plot, as Dickens volunteered no information respecting either the characters or the various parts they played, and although Mr. Fildes was much puzzled, before the plot began to develop, in discovering who was the hero and who the villain of the story, he hesitated to interrogate the novelist, because he surmised that there was a particular motive for his reticence. "He did, at my solicitation," observes Mr. Fildes, "occasionally tell me something—at first charily—for he said it was essential to carefully preserve the 'mystery' from general knowledge to sustain the interest of the book, and later he appeared to have complete confidence in my discretion."
Dickens, it seems, was seldom in advance with his manuscript, and each number was barely completed in time for the printers, thus necessitating excessive promptitude on the part of the engravers as well as the designer. The subjects of the earlier illustrations were selected by the author, who marked on the proofs the particular incidents to be depicted. In thus trotting after the novelist, the artist experienced a sense of restraint, and felt unable to do himself justice. At length, when Dickens proposed that one of the incidents to be delineated should be that in which John Jasper steals up a winding staircase in absolute darkness with murder on his face, Mr. Fildes courteously protested by pointing out the artistic disadvantages of illustrating such a scene, adding that it was already so graphically recounted that further elucidation became superfluous. Apropos of this, Mr. M. H. Spielmann remarks: "It is curious to observe how Dickens's dramatic sense obtruded itself when arranging for the drawings. He would always wish that scene or tableau to be illustrated on which he had lavished the whole force and art of his descriptive powers—naturally the one that least required or justified illustration." By this time the novelist realised the advisability of leaving the responsibility of selection in the hands of the artist, who thenceforth was relieved of the limitations and restrictions hitherto imposed upon him.