COVE

John Leech's steel engraved image is featured in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It is a frontispiece accompanying the second stave. It is a caricature-style image illustrating the annual Christmas ball hosted by Mr. Fezziwig in his workplace. In the image, Mr. Fezziwig can be seen dancing with his wife and workers. This image demonstrates the class disparity of the Victorian era, depicting Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig as "comfortable, oily, rich, fat, and jovial" in keeping with Dicken's description of Mr. Fezziwig's voice in the stave. It contrasts with the depiction of his workers, who blend in to the background and lack colour and destinction in Leech's image, alluding to the lack of agency of poor people in the Victorian era, who often had to rely on their employers for security.