CHARLES ROBERT LESLIE, R.A. (BRITISH, 1794-1859)

This is an illustration to Sir Walter Scott’s hugely popular novel, The Heart of Midlothian. Jeannie Deans travels to London, often barefoot to save her shoes, to petition Queen Caroline, wife of King George II, to release her sister Effie, who is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of her son, who has in fact been abducted. She is introduced to the Queen in the grounds of Richmond Lodge by the Duke of Argyll. The Queen is so impressed by her eloquence, conveyed in a broad Scotch accent, that Effie is released. Thereafter the fortunes of the sisters change. Jeannie was held throughout the 19th Century to be a byword for all that is good, upright, honest and sincere. Leslie was renowned for repeating his compositions in various different sizes, and with minor changes of costume. Another version of this picture is in the collection of English Heritage at Marble Hill House, over-looking the Thames at Twickenham, adjacent to Richmond Park.