John M. Neale

Good King Wenceslas, illustrated by Arthur Gaskin.

John Mason Neale's classic 19th-century Christmas carol relating the story of how Wenceslas, the tenth-century Bohemian king and saint, set out into a winter maelstrom to deliver firewood, food and good cheer to a poverty-stricken peasant, is paired in this gorgeous little book with the artwork of Arthur Gaskin. Gaskin was a member of the Birmingham Group, a collection of Birmingham artists associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement, and the book opens with an introduction from William Morris, a major force within that movement. The main part of the book is a brief ten pages, with text in bold print on one side of each two-page spread, and an engraving-style illustration on the other. Gaskin was known for his woodcuts, so I would assume that this is the medium used here. The book also contains a gorgeously ornate title page and accompanying illustration, complete with decorative borders:



As someone interested in picture book (and other!) presentations of Christmas carols and songs, I have read a great many titles devoted to Good King Wenceslas at this point, including picture books illustrated by Tim Ladwig, John Wallner, Jamichael Henterly, William Stobbs, Christopher Manson, and Jessie Marion King. I have read the version retold by Jane Seymour and illustrated by Omar Rayyan, the picture book biography done by Pauline Baynes, the carol presentation and history done by Mary Reed Newland, the retelling of Geraldine McCaughrean and Christian Birmingham, and the looser interpretations offered by Elizabeth and Gerald Rose and by Jean Richardson (Stephen's Feast). I have also read two novelized retellings of Wenceslas' life, Good King Wenceslas by Mildred Corell Luckhardt and A Song for Young King Wenceslas by Cecil Maiden.

This presentation of Good King Wenceslas is the fifteenth I have read, and it might be wondered what it brings to the table, that has not already have been encountered, in any of the foregoing titles. The answer to that, of course, is the artwork (and of course, the introduction by a famous figure such as William Morris). I love engravings, and the images here are just beautiful! The title page alone, reproduced above, makes it worthwhile to seek this one out. Recommended to fellow devotees of engraving-style artwork, as well as to those interested in the illustrative styles of the Arts and Crafts Movement.… (meer)

Neale’s 1853 hymn written to inspire Christians to the virtue of giving and hospitality on Boxing Day, the feast of Saint Stephen (December 26), because the song’s monarch treks a league out of his way braving harsh winter weather to provide food and drink to a peasant. Since the middle ages Boxing Day has been traditionally a day for people to take boxes of food and goods to those less fortunate who were in need. As Neal’s final verse emphasizes “Therefore Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing; Ye who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.”

Ladwig’s vivid illustrations alternately contrast warmth and comfort of the King’s larder with the and freezing cold of “the rude wind’s wild lament and the bitter weather.” The picture book introduces the reader to Wenceslas I or Václav the Good the late tenth century Duke of Bohemia—he was later promoted to King by Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great (Otto I, der Grosse, 912-973)—by a picture of his statue in Prague. Following the illustrated, slightly adapted lyrics to the song concludes with a historical note about the hymn noting that the tune is that of a 16th century spring carol followed by the music with the original lyrics.… (meer)