Quite right - it was Nigel's comparison - and a good comparison it is too!
I agree the brick wall in George Brook's illustration is better drawn...and as has been said, Maxey would have missed out the wall altogether, LOL.
It's funny how we see the characters as depicted by different illustrators. In my minds eye Janet has always had dark bobbed hair rather than the blonde hair of the original. But then again, don't most of the characters have blond hair in the original illustrations? Or maybe that's just how I imagine it!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
Robert Houghton wrote:But then again, don't most of the characters have blond hair in the original illustrations?
No. I see three of them with dark hair here — four if you count the fact that Peter looks fairly dark-haired, although he seems more blond in the previous illustration with Janet:
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
True. It sort of proves that I don't identify at all with these depictions! I couldn't name any of those characters with certainty, and the illustrator uses so many thick lines that often it's hard to tell what colour their hair is meant to be, except by looking on the covers. I much prefer the Secret Seven covers of the original versions to the inside illustrations.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
I've only read one of the Secret Seven books, so I don't have a childhood attachment to them, but I instinctively identify with those original depictions (by George Brook) over the Derek Lucas ones, comparing them now. So it's all individual, I guess.
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
Goodo - thanks, Pete! Robert's picture from when he was twelve stands up well next to the original. Derek Lucas's illustration of the candle near the fireworks is scary!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Robert's depiction of Peter as the guy is a lot more sinister than Derek Lucas'. The illustration where Peter and Janet's father's car is stolen doesn't seem right to me, the picture doesn't reflect that this happened at night.
John Pickup wrote:Robert's depiction of Peter as the guy is a lot more sinister than Derek Lucas'. The illustration where Peter and Janet's father's car is stolen doesn't seem right to me, the picture doesn't reflect that this happened at night.
Thanks John.It would be interesting to compare how Bruno Kay illustrates the same scene.
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane - Society Member
Not much differently, Pete. In my copy (Brockhampton Press 6th Impression 1964) Bruno draws the two car thieves running away from the vehicle as two shadowy figures and there is some dark shading at the top of the illustration. It doesn't take up half a page (Page 53). On Page 55 he draws Peter in the phone box calling for help as Janet shines her torch. This is quite clearly a night scene.
Great to see so many of these Derek Lucas illustrations (with Robert`s being mighty fine as well) which bring back very fond memories from my childhood. I mostly had the photo covers as a kid and, while I know I am probably alone in this, they also stir up some nostalgic feelings whenever I see them.