April, 1894, Page: 3b
Page Dimensions: 31.8 x 25.6 cms
Artist:
Title: The Dark Tower, Chapter 1
Date: 1894
Inscription: 1 page of text. Part of 7 pages of text with one full–page illustration
Keywords: fairy tales
Material: Pen and ink
Commentary: This story of the triumph of virtuous courage over adversity is drawn from several sources. The main one is the folk tale Childe Rowland which is referred to in Shakespeare’s King Lear and Browning’s poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came”. The occupation of the hero may have been taken from Hans Christian Anderson’s story “The Swineherd” and his name from that of the Danish mythical hero Svend Faelling. This is chapter 1 of a three part story. Only this and chapter 3, however, appear in the Magazine [see also November part 1894: pp. 13–16]