Paintings, Prints & Drawings — 1840
The Tower of London: 41/41, Xit, now Sir Narcissus Le-Grand entertaining his Friends on his Wedding Day
This print shows a scene from Ainsworth's The Tower of London published in 1840. It is entitled Xit, now Sir Narcissus Le-Grand entertaining his Friends on his Wedding Day. It told the story of the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey who was Queen of England for nine days in 1553 before being imprisoned and executed by Mary Tudor.
The novel was partly responsible for entrenching the view of the Tower as a Gothic place of dread and torture due to the vivid descriptions of punishment and imprisonment visualised by Cruikshank.
George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was a prolific illustrator, well known for his searing satirical prints. He illustrated a large number of popular novels, several by William Harrison Ainsworth.
- Category:
- Paintings, Prints & Drawings
- Object ID:
- 74.340/85
- Object name:
- The Tower of London: 41/41, Xit, now Sir Narcissus Le-Grand entertaining his Friends on his Wedding Day
- Artist/Maker:
- Cruikshank, George
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1840
- Material:
paper, ink
- Measurements/duration:
- H 99 mm, W 148 mm (paper), H 375 mm, W 270 mm (paper support)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.