This is the fourth in our ‘Five Reasons’ series, which could carry the alternative name of ‘Forgotten Victorians’, since every writer we’ve looked at so far has belonged to that period: our previous posts have been on George Meredith, Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and Ernest Dowson. Now it’s the turn of George du Maurier (1834-96), or George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier, to give him his full name. Here are the five reasons we’ve discovered for why we should all know this Victorian writer.
1. He was also a talented cartoonist, who drew what is perhaps the most famous Victorian cartoon. The cartoon in question, ‘True Humility’, appeared in Punch magazine for which du Maurier drew many cartoons from the 1860s onwards. The cartoon (see right), is the origin of the phrase ‘curate’s egg’, used to refer to something that is ‘good in parts’ – a mixed bag, in other words. Well that is what the phrase has come to mean, anyway. It’s something of a mangling of the original sentiment behind the cartoon: the curate, presented with a bad boiled egg by the vicar, is too polite to tell the truth and so assures him that ‘parts of it are excellent’ (the joke being that if parts of an egg are not excellent, then the whole thing is ruined). In another cartoon, du Maurier coined the term ‘bedside manner’ in a satirical cartoon on medicine.
2. He illustrated the first ever detective novel. The Notting Hill Mystery, which appeared under the author name Charles Felix in 1862-3 (though the real author was possibly Charles Warren Adams), predates the more famous claimant for the first detective novel, Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone, by five years. Du Maurier illustrated this novel, thus helping to make him a little part of (semi-forgotten) literary history.
3. He (indirectly) inspired Peter Pan. This is because he was grandfather to the five boys who inspired J. M. Barrie’s play.
4. He was the grandfather of Daphne du Maurier. So, had he not lived, we would not have had two more classic novels, Jamaica Inn and Rebecca!
5. He gave us trilby hats. Well, in a sense. He gave us the name for them. His 1894 novel Trilby is about a woman (the Trilby of the title) who is a humble artist’s model until she is transformed, under hypnotism, into a hugely successful singer. The hypnotist responsible for this transformation is named Svengali, which is where the word comes from for a person who has a mesmeric power over another. But the linguistic legacy of this novel went further than this. It was so popular that numerous tie-in products were given the name ‘trilby’: soap, toothpaste, and, of course, the famous hat which is the lasting legacy. Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary records the sense of ‘trilby hat’ only third on the list under the entry for ‘trilby’: the name was initially attached to feet, of all things, and then to shoes, before the hat. Nobody appears to know for certain whether the hat was named a trilby after the stage adaptation (where one was worn on stage) or from the novel: the novel makes no mention of the hat, but one of the illustrations features it. Trilby also had a lasting legacy beyond the hat: a city in Florida is named in honour of it, and Gaston Leroux was inspired by the novel’s plot for his Phantom of the Opera (which in turn, of course, would inspire Andrew Lloyd-Webber). The phrase ‘in the altogether’ (meaning completely naked) was also, according to some language historians, first used in this novel.
Image: True Humility © 1895 George du Maurier, public domain.
Reblogged this on 1WriteWay and commented:
Five *Interesting* reasons why you should know George du Mauier (and, yes, one of them concerns a certain descendant of his).
Thanks, Marie!
My pleasure!
While I always love your posts, I think there are more reasons to appreciate George du Maurier than you listed, and while his novel Trilby is wonderful, Peter Ibbetson is a really incredible novel about dreams like none that was ever written before. If you haven’t read it, it’s well worth it, and the old black and white film version with Gary Cooper is great too. As for his novel, The Martian, I haven’t read it yet, but I understand it has themes of reincarnation in it, which is also probably a first or very early in novels of the period.
I didn’t know about either of those, so thank you! Maybe I’ll need to do a follow-up post…
good writing – learned of Du Maurier through Henry Miller’s The Books In My Life
I’ll have to seek out Miller’s book – sounds good, thanks!
The plot of The Notting Hill Mystery centres on an evil mesmerist named Baron R – I don’t know if he inspired the character of Svengali, although there was a thirty-year gap between the two books.
The British Library gave me permission to use some of their Du Maurier illustrations on my blog – see http://pastoffences.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/charles-warren-adams-the-notting-hill-mystery/
Ooh that’s an intriguing link – thanks, will have a look at your blog post!
And now, because of your article and because of that certain descendant, I will be sure to take a closer look at Mr. du Maurier’s work as well. Thank you for this.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing this. I learn something. Blessings and love to you ♥
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it!
“Trilby” you say!!! Gotta read this now
It’s well worth reading – if only because it was such a hit in the 1890s. Enjoy!
Thank you. A very informative article. Interesting to know the connection with Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca was an all time classic.
Thanks – glad you enjoyed the article!
Fascinating facts, thank you.
Glad you liked them, Guy!
Excellent! Makes me want to read “Trilby,” if only for the original Svengali!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy Trilby – well worth a read :)
As a bona-fide “Wilde” girl it was hard for me to devoid myself from bias when reading this post about Du Maurier. Back when I was a Lit student (Wilde was my focal research) I declared war on “Du Mau” for his attacks on my Oscar and the Aesthetic movement. Now I realize that the man was a simply a product of his time and place; his attitudes, even his sense of humor, was the same as that of any other Victorian whether prudish or not. Hence, I forgive him now ☺. It is impossible to deny the talent and genius that is evidenced all over his body of work. It is also refreshing to read facts that make artists all the more human and approachable. I really enjoyed this post and look forward to many, many more!
Good point – I’d forgotten that du Maurier didn’t much care for the Aesthetics. Glad to hear you’ve forgiven him! Glad you enjoyed this! :)
Very interesting post. I will have to read Trilby–and the other novels mentioned above!
Enjoy Trilby – it’s worth reading just to see how it inspired such a diverse legacy. And thank you!
Great post! A nice complement to this: http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article1288777.ece
Thanks for this link!
I am always begging friends for new Victorian writers to read. Thanks for this intriguing and exciting post.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the post :)
Fascinating, as usual. I thought Poe is credited with the first detective novel, being Murder at Rue Morgue.
Thanks for the stop by and Happy New Year😎📚
Enjoyed Trilby many years ago, but have not read his other works, and knew little about the man. Thank you once again for a great post.
Reblogged this on 365 posts a year and commented:
The Du Mauriers have been haunting me since I started reading bios of J.M. Barrie
I have just found Trilby in a Oxfam shop, so I will now read it with renewed interest.
No hats for sale unfortunately..
Thank you so much for this blog entry – very informative!! You can see a nice photo portrait of Du Maurier at the following link as well as as read about the leading magazine he worked for at the time, Punch http://thevictorianist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/a-loud-mocking-clamour-of-noise-punch.html
I love Du Maurier’s cartoons, he was so talented. However, I have to say…I love that he’s Daphne’s grandfather a whole load more because she’s one of my favourite authors!! Great post, love coming to your blog to stock up on my literary trivia!! I love how influential all these old guys turn out to be. Grandfather to Peter Pan (in a sense) inventor of the Trilby, Illustrator de force!
Grandfather and granddaughter both great writers, and so different. A real family business changing with the generations. Good to be reminded of all the charm and tension of Trilby.
Finally got to reading / reviewing it! http://thepageaholic.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/svengali-in-the-altogether-george-du-maurier-trilby/
Trilby is now on my “to read” list!
Added “Trilby” and Henry Miller’s “The Books in My Life” to my list to read!