Tag Archives: Period story

The Double Life of Coppelia Brown / The Double Life of Dolly Brown [1969/1976]

M&J, Mandy, , , , , , ,
  • The Double Life of Coppelia Brown – Mandy: #128 (28 Jun 1969) – #138 (06 September 1969)
  • Reprinted as The Double Life of Dolly Brown – Mandy: #482 (10 April 1976) – #492 (19 August 1976)
  • Reprinted as The Double Life of Coppelia Brown – Mandy #818 (18 September 1982) – #828 (27 November 1982)
  • Reprinted as The Double Life of Dolly Brown – Mandy #1188 (21 October 1989) – #1198 (30 December 1989)
  • Reprinted as The Double Life of Dolly Brown (as Mandy Classic) – M&J:  #297 (18 January 1997) – #307 (29 March 1997)

Plot 

Note: The main character went by different names in different prints of the story, in this summary, I’ll just refer to her as  the most commonly used “Dolly Brown”

In Victorian times, traveling around fairs Gus Grimby shows off his amazing mechanical doll invention that can walk, talk and obey commands with no strings attached. Although if the audience could look closer, they would see it was actually a girl in makeup, straining to stay still and not blinking. While not on stage Dolly Brown is forced to slave for Gus and Ma Grimby. Dolly cannot remember her past, but has been told by the Grimbys that she committed a crime and she owes them as they protect her from being sent to prison. A torn wanted poster with her picture convinces her that  they are telling the truth, and she must stay being a puppet.

Despite her hard life and supposed criminal past, Dolly still shows kindness to others like pretending to freeze up on stage to point out a thief, being kind to an ill girl or rescuing a kitten, even though it risks punishment later . She is forced by the Grimbys to give a way the kitten to an audience member. The recipient comes back to thank the doll and seeing servant girl, Dolly, the family seem to think she looks familiar, whether they are recognising her as doll or from some place else is unclear, beginning the mystery of who really is Dolly Brown.

Dolly gets a clue to her past when she helps an injured girl during a storm, the girl seems to recognise her when she says “Dolly! Willow Wood..”. Dolly doesn’t get a chance to see the girl again to question her more, as the police move the Grimbys on. This also raises doubts about the Grimby’s honesty regarding Dolly’s past. Gus Grimby tells Dolly they had to move on because the police were sent after the girl recognising her, but Dolly had overheard the actual conversation, that the police is moving them on because the squire doesn’t want fairs on his land so she knows he is lying.

In the meantime she continues with her double life. She stills shows kindness to others, although she finds out not everyone is deserving of it. She is tricked by a girl into borrowing the dolls shoes, but the girl then tries to sell them, luckily they are returned but that doesn’t stop Dolly getting a beating and the Grimbys implying she was in on the scheme being a criminal herself. She never gets any sympathy from the Grimbys, even when she is sick they ignore her suffering and force her to continue to perform. When she does collapse, not wanting to lose their source of outcome they do temporarily get better lodgings and someone to look after her. After waking up from her fever in a comfortable bed, a confused Dolly first asks if she is at Willow Wood. The woman looking after her remembers a story about Willow Wood,  that a child disappeared from there, alongside valuables.

Not wanting to miss a good money opportunity, the Grimbys head towards Maybury, where Dolly supposedly committed her crime. Ma Grimby is nervous about being so close to there and tells Dolly to keep out of sight. Dolly  can’t stay hidden when a fire breaks out at a nearby tent and she rescues a baby, a comment from crowd says she has look of a gentry family named Harding. Deciding to investigate further thinking that Willow Wood must be close by Dolly takes an opportunity to sneak off to look for it. She locates the large house and immediately recognizes it, but before she can look around, the groundskeeper spots her and drives her away, assuming she’s there to pry into others’ misfortunes. Later that evening, the man goes to view the show, Dolly thinks he has recognised her, until realising it is Gus Grimby he is looking at. After the show the man confronts Gus Grimby, as Dolly is still dressed as a doll, Gus is forced to let her stay. The man, Gem Baker claims he remembers him from the night Grimby and his gang robbed Willow Wood. Grimby ever the charming con man, weasels out of it claiming it was his brother that he must have seen. Having heard it all Dolly believes they were all part of robbery.

When they are asked to do longer show, Dolly knows she must endure if she is to stay in Maybury and find out more about her past. Dolly investigates further and she meets a girl, Susie, who’s mother now works at Willow Wood. She feels the house is familiar and a feeling of happiness, when she hears the story of the robbery, that Mr Harding was struck down and crippled during the robbery and the housekeeper’s daughter disappeared at the same time, she concludes she must be that girl who betrayed her mother and Mr Harding by letting the thieves in.She doesn’t wait for Susie to tell her the rest of the story.

Having enough of her double life and wanting to atone for her crimes, she decides to turn herself in to the police. Suspicious, Ma Grimby catches her and stops her,  when Dolly tells them she knows she was daughter of the housekeeper who betrayed Mr Harding, the Grimbys suddenly act nicer to her. Later she hears them say that they are safe as she still doesn’t remember who she is, they plan to keep a closer eye on her and board up her room’s window. Dolly is surprised she still doesn’t know who she is, but she won’t keep up this life any more and with no other option, in the middle of the act on stage she shouts out for help and give up the ruse.

The Grimbys make a quick get away with her, but crash the caravan. Cutting their losses they leave the unconscious Dolly for dead and get away. Dolly wakes and makes her way to Willow Wood, knowing she will be safe there. Collapsing at the house when her makeup is removed, she is revealed to be Mr Harding’s granddaughter. She had seen the robbery and lost her memory with the shock of seeing him struck down. The Grimbys kidnapped her so she wouldn’t be able to give evidence against them. Finally home her memories come back,  the Grimbys are found and arrested and Dolly packs away her doll costume never having to live double life again, but she will not forget her time, and those less fortunate than her.

Thoughts

Clearly a well received story, as it was reprinted 4 times. In the original story the girl’s name was Connie Brown, and the doll was named Coppelia. The doll’s name and title clearly a reference to the Coppélia ballet, where a man becomes infatuated with a mechanical doll that an inventor has created and his previous love, dresses up as the doll to rescue him. In the reprint the name is switched to Dolly Brown, the next reprint has the title changed back to Coppelia Brown again, but oddly in this case the girl is no longer called Connie, instead both her and the doll are called Coppelia. The next two reprints they keep with the Dolly Brown name.

As with other stories, we see variants pop up, such as The Secret of Penny Farthing where a girl is blackmailed into pretending to be a ventriloquist dummy or Ballerina on a String where a girl performs as a dancing puppet. Due to being one of the first or perhaps because of its many reprints, this story is one that sticks in the mind more.  There is also added mystery in this story, as Dolly has amnesia and we don’t know who she is or what she supposedly did. Throughout the story and Dolly’s acts of kindness, despite her own circumstances, the reader must find it hard to believe that she could have committed such a terrible crime. Meanwhile the Grimbys are deceitful, cruel guardians, forcing her to perform and slave for them, beating on her when she doesn’t meet their standards. When the truth comes out, that not only are they blackmailing her with the crime they committed, but also that they kidnapped her from a loving home, they certainly rank top among the despicable villains to appear in these comics.

The build up of clues to Dolly’s past and wondering if she will ever be free of her false life keeps readers engaged. When Dolly finally decides to break away, going to turn herself in to the police, there is one more obstacle as the Grimbys stop her, and it seems she is trapped again. Revealing herself on stage makes for a more exciting climax and the panicked escape with the Grimbys taking Dolly, it is relief to see her finally escape their clutches and get her happy ending. As with a lot of theses older stories, there is a panel of info dump explaining how Dolly ended up with the Grimbys, but overall an exciting and satisfying conclusion to the story.

 

Selina’s Search / Selina’s Sketches (1985)

Picture Story Library, , , , ,

Published: Selina’s Search – Debbie PSL #91 (1985)

Reprint: Selina’s Sketches – Mandy PSL #249 (1996)

Artist: Unknown

Plot

Mr James is a struggling, ailing Victorian artist. He has been commissioned to paint a picture of the opening of the new merchants’ hall. But during the ceremony he finally collapses, leaving the sketch six people short for his painting. If he can’t finish it, this will mean no payment, and they really need the money.

Fortunately the Guild of Merchants provided a preliminary plan of where the dignitaries were during the ceremony. His daughter Selina is going to use it to track down the six people and take sketches of them. But tracking them down is only half of it. Somehow, Selina has to get these six important-sounding people to sit for her. And she does not think this will be easy.


Selina’s first stop is a servant named Jem, who was a page at the ceremony. However, the maid won’t let her in to sketch a picture of Jem. Fortunately Jem overhears, and arranges a secret meeting with Selina. He does not have enough time to be sketched, but Selina finds a way to change the maid’s mind and let her in to sketch Jem – a drawing of her and her sweetheart. All of a sudden Selina is a welcome guest and given all the time in the world to sketch Jem in the outfit he wore at the ceremony.

Next is the French ambassador, who will be returning to France next day. But the constable at the French embassy won’t let Selina in. Then a coach knocks over a road sweeper and Selina sketches its coat of arms to identify the reckless driver. Impressed, the constable finds a way for Selina to sketch the ambassador: at Waterloo station where the ambassador is boarding his train for home.

Two down, but the merchants want the picture done in five days. So, although Dad is still not well enough, he has to start painting it now, and he is. The race against time has Selina braving the streets after dark for number three, Dr Armitage, who is the medical advisor for the guild.

Unfortunately Dr Armitage is out on call at the arches under the bridge. Selina finds this means he is tending to homeless children under the bridge, and he is more concerned with treating them than helping her with her sketches. To win him over she entertains the children with shadow pictures to help them forget the pain while he treats them. Dr Armitage agrees to the sketch on condition she also draws a poster to raise funds for the children. Dr Armitage also gives Selina’s father some medical treatment.

Number four is Septimus Swann, a leading member of the Guild and owner of a posh ladies shoe shop. However, Swann has left instructions not to be disturbed while he selects designs for his next collection. Then Selina discovers Swan has rejected the latest designs from his shoe designers and hits upon the idea of asking the customers what they want in a Swann shoe to design a shoe for Swann that will meet the customers’ wants. Swann is impressed with the design – and surprised that all Selina wants in return for it is a sketch of him for it rather than the ten guineas he offers.

However, Selina is rather annoyed that the conceited old peacock keeps her hours drawing copies of him to show his friends. This has eaten up valuable time she needs to track down the remaining two.

Dad anticipates no problems with number five, a Mr Toby Maitland. But he has not counted on Maitland falling ill too. Selina discovers Maitland is ill because he was put in charge of minding the guild regalia from the ceremony, but someone has stolen it. On the case is the constable from the French embassy, and he has to tackle the problem of conflicting descriptions of the thief, which sound pretty pantomime. Selina uses her sketches and pantomime posters to put together a composite, which matches the description of a criminal named Beanpole Beckett. Sure enough, they find the regalia when they raid Beckett’s house. In return, Maitland not only sits for Selina but also gives her a letter of introduction to the last person on her list: the Duchess of Dorian.

But even with this letter of introduction there are problems in getting the sketch. The duchess is up at Dorian Castle, Sussex, which is miles away. Fortunately, Selina matches to get a lift from her town residence, which is packing up and moving to the castle. However, the duchess is in the middle of organising a banquet and a bit busy to sit for a sketch. Then Selina uses her sketches to help a lady organise the flowers for the table. It turns out to be the duchess herself, and she is so grateful she is only too happy to sit for Selina.

Thanks to Selina’s sketches, Dad is able to complete the picture in time, and he acknowledges it at the unveiling. Dad is paid handsomely, and now many of the merchants want Dad to paint pictures for them too. But there’s more – the duchess was so impressed with Selina’s sketch book that she has the Director of Sarum School of Art award Selina a free scholarship.

Thoughts

This is a delightful, engaging story, and it has nice, simple artwork that lends itself really well to the setting. It’s a race against time that becomes a rags to riches story in the end. Selina didn’t quite intend it that way; she just wants to help her father get his work done in time and save face and receive his much-needed payment. We feel for Dad too, who is struggling with ill-health as well as poverty, and though he is still sick, he still has to get that painting finished on schedule. And no matter how sick he is, he has to make that painting a masterpiece.

The story doesn’t delve too far into the dark side of Victorian times. However, we still get hints during Selina’s search of it with the lives of servants, the homeless waifs under the bridge and the doctor who wants to help them, and Beckett the thief. The Jameses themselves are part of the dark side of it. They clearly live in poverty, have little money, and it’s no wonder Dad’s health is suffering. He not only needs the payment from that commission but the prestige and hope of more work from it as well.

There are some touches of humour, such as Jem the servant who’s a likeable scallywag to boot and is not going to have the maid turn Selina away like that. And there is the crook who looks like he’s straight from a pantomime, and pantomime posters help bring about his downfall.

Of course everything comes down to Selina not only being a brilliant artist who is able to sketch well enough to help Dad, but also use quick wits to get those people to sit for her. Getting the people to sit for her or overcoming difficult people who stand in her way turns out to be easier than she thought, even if it is extra work, because she uses her artwork to do them good turns first, from tracking down criminals to doing fashion designs. It always seems to happen that way. So they all get something out of having Selina sketching for them, and it is only fair that Selina receive an extra reward – the art scholarship.

Lady Locksley’s Secret [1967]

Judy, ,

Plot

The second wife of Lord Locksley fakes the death of her stepdaughter so that her own daughter will inherit. The stepdaughter is taken to an orphanage. Some years later, while Lord Locksley is away in the army, Lady Locksley gets the child back to Locksley Hall as a servant to keep an eye on her.

Notes

Appeared

  • Lady Locksley’s Secret – Judy: #412 (2 December 1967) – #417 (6 January 1968)

Annie’s Orphans [1967]

Bunty,

Plot

In the wake of the Great Fire of London, Annie Besson rescues seven orphans. They go to live on a barge where Annie is trying to teach them to read and write. They are joined by a mudlark, Jonno, who steals whatever he needs. Annie is trying to cure him of stealing, but Jonno eventually ends up in court.

Notes

Appeared

  • Annie’s Orphans – Bunty: circa #484 (22 April 1967) – (?)

Gwyneth of Golden Valley [1965]

Bunty,

Plot

Gwyneth Jones and her family live in a  Welsh coal mining town during the industrial depression of the 1920s. A prophecy says the Joneses will become owners of the House on the Hill. Its current owner, Mr Andrew Melville the mine owner, wants to buy the Joneses out because their cottage is spoiling his view.

Gwen finds gold in the stream and traces its source to a disused mine. She becomes trapped in the mine. The Melvilles discover this but refuse to help her. Instead, they use her plight to blackmail Gwen’s grandfather into selling his cottage to them.

Notes

Appeared:

  • Gwyneth of Golden Valley – Bunty: circa #375 (20 March 1965) – (?)

Mark of the Witch [1966-67]

Bunty, ,

Plot

In 1588, Liza Trott’s mother Betsy is accused of witchcraft by Sir Edward, the current owner of Mullion Manor, and imprisoned to await trial at the assizes. Liza is branded “W” as the daughter of a witch and turned out of the community. She goes to London to get help for her mother from the previous owner of Mullion Manor. But when Sir Edward realises where Liza is headed, he goes in pursuit of her.

Notes

  • Artist: Hugh Thornton-Jones
  • Not to be confused with “Mark of the Witch!” from Jinty

Appeared

  • Mark of the Witch – Bunty: #458 (22 October 1966) – #469 (7 January 1967)

The Prisoner of Craven Castle [1977]

Debbie,

Plot

Evelynne Creely lies very ill at Craven Castle, and she is mistress to Clara Munnings. Evelynne’s evil uncle is trying to force Clara to impersonate Evelynne. Clara is very determined to save her mistress, but eventually the uncle succeeds in forcing Clara to sign the document that will hand the Greely estate over to him.

Notes

  • Reprinted and translated to Dutch as“Gevangene van Rotsburg” – Debbie Groot Mysterieboek #7 (1978)

Appeared

  • The Prisoner of Craven Castle – Debbie: #232 (23 July 1977) –  #241 (17 September 1977)

 

 

Hard Times for Hatty (1978)

Debbie, , , ,

Plot

In 1840, Hatty Clifton is abducted by a pair of swindlers, the Rackhams, while visiting London with her parents. After the parents are fooled into thinking Hatty has died in a drowning accident, the Rackhams force her into helping with their fraudulent sideshows and games of chance at fairgrounds. Hatty’s attempts to escape are proving unsuccessful, and when she gets badly injured on the high wire the Rackhams refuse to get medical attention for her. However, Hatty manages to get the doctor in, who begins to suspect what’s going on. He starts making enquiries with the police and Hatty’s parents.

Notes

  • Artist: Terry Aspin
  • Reprinted and translated to Dutch as “Moelijke tijden voor Betty” – Debbie #34 (1983).

Appeared

  • Hard Times for Hatty – Debbie: #291 (9 September 1978) –  #299 (4 November 1978)

 

Lonely Lucy [1976]

Spellbound, , , , , , ,

Published: Spellbound: #01 (25 Sep. 1976) – #10 (27 Nov. 1976)

Episodes: 10

Artist: Jordi Franch

Plot

The splash page of the first episode of this story immediately establishes that it is set in the days of highwaymen. It’s also set in the days of lingering witch superstitions, as our protagonist Lucy Pilgrim is to find out.

Lucy’s mother has just died and her cruel aunt and uncle have a bombshell for her: her mother adopted her as a baby after she was found abandoned, and her real parents are unknown. Aunt and Uncle don’t want Lucy and are taking her to an orphanage. At least they allow her to retain her bracelet, which has strange marks her adoptive mother never explained. It brings Lucy comfort, and we can guess it’s the key to finding her true parents.

On the way to the orphanage their coach is held up by a highwayman, Gentleman John. When John see how the cruel relatives are making Lucy sit outside the coach with the driver in drenching rain and without any rain protection, he is appalled at their treatment of her. He forces them at gunpoint to take Lucy’s place and has Lucy take their place in the coach. John also reacts oddly to Lucy’s bracelet. He allows her to keep it, saying “Where you’re going ‘tis best kept hidden” and wishes her luck.

The orphanage is just as cruel as Lucy’s aunt and uncle. Even the other children in the orphanage pick on her once they see she comes from a higher-class background, there are a few kinder exceptions. Their bullying grows worse when they see Lucy is left-handed. They call it the mark of evil and brand Lucy a witch. When Lucy faints from her ill-treatment, the staff throw water over her and throw her out on the street for a while, anticipating she will come crawling to be let back in.

Instead, Lucy runs away and bumps into Gentleman John again. John and his horse Midnight got shot in a clash with some soldiers. Lucy, who has been taught nursing by her adoptive mother, tends to both of them. John is outraged to hear what people are calling her because she’s left-handed, but unfortunately for Lucy that’s not the end of it. John also needs food, and the only way Lucy can get it is…to go back to the orphanage. She also finds they’re looking for her as the Governors are coming. She pretends to have fallen ill from the way they treated her earlier, which gets her special treatment and good feeding – with a bit of blackmail she applies on them while the Governors are around. Once they’re gone, Matron has Lucy sleep in the outhouse as punishment for the trouble she caused.

At least the outhouse makes it easier for Lucy to slip back to John. John is recovering, but Midnight is suffering from infection and needs special care. Lucy insists on using the orphanage as the place to get food and supplies from despite its cruelties, as she refuses to use John’s dubious highwayman contacts on principle.

But when the resident black cat seems to protect Lucy from the children’s bullying and becomes friendly with her, her witchy reputation escalates to the point where the children actually believe she’s a witch and become really frightened of her. Matron decides Lucy has to go. She has Lucy boarded out to another position – and pocketing her wages – so she will make a profit into the bargain.

Trust Matron to have Lucy boarded out to a coal mine, with all its horrors, dangers and dreadful working conditions. And again rumours spread that Lucy is a witch once her fellow workers see she is left handed. At least Lucy is not far from John and can slip away to tend to Midnight, who is on the mend. She stays on at the coal mine because she fears running away will lead her pursuers to John. But she gets into big trouble when she speaks out at the colliery owner, Mr Tranter, when his nasty daughter insults her. Tranter orders that Lucy be roundly beaten in front of everyone, much to the delight of his daughter – and then straight back to work without any medical treatment. None of the workers offer Lucy any sympathy because of her left hand, and she’s on the brink of collapse.

But one of John’s men has seen everything and makes a full report to him. John retaliates by holding up the Tranters. But instead of robbing them he deprives them of their coach so they have to make a very long walk, and warns them to repent how they mistreated the “left-handed lass”.

Repent? If they had any brains they would realise there was a link between Lucy and the highwayman and have her arrested. Instead, when word gets back to the mine, the idiots actually think Lucy used witchcraft to summon Gentlemen John! Well, at least their fear prompts them to release her from the mine (so that’s the end of Matron’s profit there) and she is free to nurse Midnight. However, she begins to wonder if John actually knows something about her past because of the way he reacted to the bracelet when they first met. And now there’s no sign of him.

So Lucy goes in search of John, and fortunately Midnight is now well enough for Lucy to ride her. Unfortunately the constables spot her riding John’s horse, so now she is wanted as his accomplice. She traces John to a derelict inn, and is horrified to see he is in league with some cut throats. They are planning a big gold bullion robbery, which John is going along with rather reluctantly as he does not like their talk of murder. They just say, so what? They will be hanged anyway. John says he won’t help them without Midnight, so for this reason Lucy decides not to reveal herself or Midnight to him. She heads out to Hartford Hall, where John said he was hanging around, but hears some talk that suggests Hartford Hall has a sinister reputation.

Then gypsies steal Midnight and threaten to put a curse on Lucy when she tracks them down. She decides to use her left-handed reputation to her advantage and claims she has her own powers with it. When she puts on a witchcraft act with their fierce dogs they fall for it and return Midnight. But as they do so, they say that’s no wonder she has such powers above the ordinary with that bracelet of hers. But they refuse to elaborate and tell her to get the hell out.

As Lucy nears Hartford Hall she hears more sinister rumours about it: it has been taken over by “nameless forces” ever since a tragedy occurred there. She reckons John started those rumours to scare people away from the place. At Hartford Hall she finds John, and tells him what she overheard, and tries to talk him out of it. Instead, he holds her prisoner and leaves her in the care of Nursie Kate.

When Kate sees Lucy is left-handed she says someone very dear to her and John was too. She also says John is a Robin Hood type – he steals only ill-gotten wealth and does not keep it for himself. Lucy tries to escape from the hall and warn someone about John’s plot, only to fall into a deep pool of water and John finds her. He pulls her out and takes her back to Kate for nursing. Kate also reacts strangely to the sight of Lucy’s bracelet.

Lucy falls asleep and dreams of a woman, and she calls her “mother”. Lucy explores the hall and finds a portrait of the woman. The woman in the portrait is left-handed and wears the bracelet, and Lucy realises the woman must be her mother. She then overhears a conversation between John and Kate and learns that John is her father! Her mother had been a gypsy, and her tribe never forgave her for marrying the non-Romany John. When the mother died giving birth to Lucy, John could not bear to set eyes on his infant daughter. So Kate handed her over to the gypsies, who must have abandoned her.

Lucy tries to escape again and give warning, but gets into trouble when she tries to climb a ledge. John saves her. He says he turned to being a highwayman because he was “crazed” by his wife’s death. He knew from the first who Lucy was, but her disapproval of him being a highwayman prevented him from revealing himself to her. He agrees to give up being a highwayman if Lucy will live as his daughter, and she says she knew he was not a highwayman at heart.

Thoughts

The splash panel of the highwayman in the first episode would immediately have anyone hooked into this story. There is something so romantic about the highwayman (though I’m sure the reality must have been very different), and possible spooky connotations as the highwayman is often associated with ghosts and hauntings. The story has a lot to keep the reader engaged. It’s a tight, engrossing plot with a heroine who not only suffers cruelty but also superstitious prejudice, a mystery to be solved, fugitive elements, exploitation, dastardly plots, and an animal to be nursed back to health. The heroine is determined to keep up her nursing of Gentlemen John and his horse even when she is collapsing from a hard day’s work at the mine or enduring the severities of the orphanage. But will she be cut down by a witch-hunting mob or something the way they think about her being left-handed?

The scary thing is, this story is not far wrong in the superstitious prejudice Lucy encounters because she is left-handed. In earlier centuries, being left-handed really could get you accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Lucy also has other skills that could also get her accused of witchcraft, such as her skills with nursing and herbal remedies, the way she handles the gypsies’ dogs, and how the black cat at the orphanage befriends her. It is fortunate for Lucy that she was born too late to become a victim of the witch persecutions themselves or be charged with witchcraft, but the witch superstitions still linger among the lower and less educated classes. And they are enough to make Lucy’s life an additional misery to what she suffers at the orphanage and the coal mine. If not for those superstitions regarding her left hand Lucy would have some helpers and friends among her fellow victims at those places. Ironically, that same reputation also helps Lucy to get out of those same situations by making her oppressors too frightened of her to bother her much further.

From the moment we meet Gentleman John and the kindness he shows Lucy we know he is not a bad sort, even if he is a highwayman. He’s the hero in the story while everyone else Lucy meets (the aunt and uncle, the orphanage staff and children, the coal mine people, the gypsies and the cut throats) is villainous, and he dishes out comeuppances to several of them. We have to wonder why he is a highwayman at all and what made him one when he clearly has no criminal mind. It isn’t hard to guess that it’s something to do with Lucy’s the bracelet from the way he reacts to it, and unlocking the mystery of the bracelet will also unlock the mystery of the highwayman. Like Lucy, we want him to give up being a highwayman, especially when he starts plotting something downright criminal with the evil conspirators. It is at this point we begin to despair of him, and even more so when it looks like he will proceed with the plan when Lucy catches up with him. It becomes even more imperative to unlock that mystery.

It’s certainly a bombshell when Gentleman John is revealed to be Lucy’s father, and he rejected her as a baby because of a bad reaction to his wife’s death. However, this being the reason for him becoming a highwayman sounds less plausible if he using it as a form of crusade, to get ill-gotten gains off unsavoury types. Some other explanation would have worked better, such as him being cheated and robbed by an unscrupulous type who got away with it. But it’s a relief all around when Lucy finally succeeds in getting her father to stop being a highwayman. Let us hope the law does not catch up with him all the same.

 

Was My Mother a Witch? [1979]

Judy, , ,

 

Published: Judy Picture Story Library #190

Artist: Unknown

Writer: Unknown

Halloween is in the offing, which makes it fitting to focus on some more of the spooky publications from DCT.

Plot

The year is 1656. Anne is the adopted daughter of Pastor Septimus Bartholomew. Anne has always been happy there, but then small disquieting things begin to happen. Her father gets oddly upset when Anne jokingly calls one of her siblings “my little imp”, and also when she speaks endearments to a kitten.

These seem such trivial things, but they foreshadow something more worrying when Anne pays a visit to Pendleton, the village of her birth. An old woman (who looks like a witch herself!) tells Anne that her mother was a witch. As she is approaching thirteen, her own powers of witchcraft will soon awaken too, and she would have a Devil’s mark on her body. Following this, Anne begins to doubt herself. She wonders if she has inherited witchcraft from her mother, and whether a mark on her arm is the Devil’s mark like the old woman said.

Mary, the servant woman, tells Anne it’s all superstitious nonsense, and that mark on her arm is not a devil’s mark but a scar from a rose thorn. All the same, Anne has horrible nightmares of being a witch’s child that night and is still full of self-doubts.

Soon after, Anne is given a place as a seamstress to a grand lady, Mistress Latimer at Pendleton Hall – which is in the very village where her alleged witch mother lived. The sewing goes very well, but Anne is still troubled by the story about her mother and the doubts about herself. She grows even more fearful she is a witch when the household dog, Toby, reacts very badly to her for no apparent reason.

Unwisely, Anne tells people in the household that she wonders if she is a witch because of the allegations against her mother. Though Emmie the housekeeper is sensible about it, she does tell Anne that her grandmother was feared because was said to have powers to foretell the future. She also says plague killed the mother and her family, and Anne was the only survivor. However, the ensuing gossip spread by others has Lady Latimer telling Anne to leave the hall the next day.

That night Anne slips out to the ruins of the cottage where her mother once lived. She examines an old cauldron Emmie said was there, but there is nothing untoward or sinister about it.

On the way back Anne rescues the dog Toby from a trap set by the manservant of the hall. Emmie tells Anne that her act of kindness is proof she is not a witch, and gives logical explanations for Toby’s initial hostility towards her. Anne’s mind is now put to rest, but she is so glad when her family summon her home.

Thoughts

The story definitely means well in its message that the old belief in witchcraft was a product of ignorance and superstition. From the sound of it, Anne’s mother was a victim of it rather than being any practitioner of black magic, presumably because her own mother had what would now be called psychic powers. Anne was very fortunate that she experienced little more than self-doubt and some gossip. There have been so many other girls in girls’ comics who suffered full persecution that started with such rumours, such as Ellie Ross in Bunty’s “Witch!” Nor did Anne have any weird experiences that could suggest genuine powers of some sort as her counterparts in stories like “Witch!” did.

As this is a story set in the age of witchcraft persecution itself, it feels so pat and unrealistic that Anne got through it so unscathed and with such little trouble. The 17th century people in the story are not reacting to these rumours of witchcraft with the fear and hysteria that they should have. It is acknowledged that even the 17th century would have had its share of sceptics, who come across so exemplary in the forms of Mary and Emmie. But the others in the story who believe it more are not really reacting as dangerously as they should have been. In those days, once that sort of rumour got going, Anne would have found herself persecuted on all sides from witch-hunting mobs and such. Nor would she have been able to cast off the accusation of witchcraft as glibly as she did. Once the label of witchcraft stuck in those times, it was there to stay. Even if anyone was acquitted of witchcraft in those times, the accusation still cast a long shadow over their lives.

Although the story is well meaning in its intentions and the artwork works well, particularly in the spooky night scenes, the plot feels weak and unconvincing. Also, there is little drama or excitement in the story, while the potential was there to use the 17th century fear of witchcraft and its life-threatening ramifications for Anne to make it a far more intense and thrilling story.