COVE

This illustration by John McLenan (scanned by Phillip V. Allingham) shows the dinner that takes place in Chapter 26 of Great Expectations at Mr. Jaggers' house. While this house is described as being made of stone and wood, readers shouldn't be too hasty to assume that Mr. Jaggers is living below his means. His house in Soho is described as a stately house having a stone hall with a dark brown staircase which leads to three dark prown rooms on the first floor. There are carved garlands on the panelled walls, and bookcases in the room, and a shaded lamp on a little table (Dickens, chap. 26), both of which we can see in the photo. Readers can see that, even though it's a 'stately house', it has ample storage space and plenty of decorations that point to signs of wealth. While readers don't know the specific wood Mr. Jaggers' house is made of, it likely would have been "made from mahogony, rosewood, or walnut" (Dudac), all of which would have been exclusive to those of a higher class who could afford it.

Work Cited

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations, Aug. 1861

Dudac, Yvette. Victorian Woodwork: Common Details, Species, and Finishes. John Canning & Co., 2 Aug. 2023, http://johncanningco.com/blog/victorian-woodwork/

McLenan, John. The Other Image of the Molly, Jaggers' Housekeeper, The Victorian Web, 1861, https://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/furniss/12.html