The Clicking of Cuthbert : Illustration error

In the story Ordeal by Golf, the illustration on Pg 117 has an extra character who is not at the scene. Does the illustrator not read the story and moreover why doesn't FS catch such errors?

I've previously pointed out a similar error in Lorna Doone, with an illustration showing a clean-shaven man who is described on the facing page (and elsewhere) as having a full beard.

>1 bookish_elf:
That's typical of Paul Cox, and a few others. On the cover of one of the Wodehouse series a character described as wearing an ulster (a long cloak-like coat) is pictured in a loud country tweed suit in the middle of London. The author of Kes gives detailed descriptions of the locations in his book, and the illustrator gives detailed drawings of somewhere else. And so on. Who knows if the minders at Folio read any of the books they publish?

Similarly, with Cox's illustration of Three Men on the Bummel, the inside covers depict a map of modern Europe and Germany whereas the story was written and takes place in pre-World War I Europe and Germany.

Maybe FS just makes pretty books. :-) Long on looks and short on substance. lol

>4 vmb443: There is a good modern history book waiting to be written on the ever changing shape of Germany.

What immense changes must have happened for those who had previously lived outside Germany and were then incorporated in it, and of course vice versa.

>3 Jayked: Who knows if the minders at Folio read any of the books they publish?
Well, I would think the process of editing involves reading. But to be fair to FS editors, Cox delivers dozens and dozens of illustrations, and I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect editors to re-read relevant passages for every single illustration to make sure every minute detail matches. Wouldn't it be taking Wodehouse a little too seriously?

Modern map is annoying though and should have been caught.

>7 elladan0891: But making an error as big as inserting a character into a scene where she is not present is a big mistake. It is the job of FS to correct such errors.

>7 elladan0891: I imagine a process where the artist submits the passages they’d like to illustrate, someone approves it, the artist submits the artwork and someone double checks it. That doesn’t seem too complicated or arduous.

They’re then going to sell thousands of copies of this book. Seems like it would be worth it.

>9 U_238: That doesn’t seem too complicated or arduous.

Dunno if it's that simple. The setting and participants in a scene may not have been described in the passage in question. And the appearance of characters is very unlikely to have been.

When reading The Red House Mystery, it seemed to me that the map of the house did not correspond to the text - did anyone else notice this? I felt really frustrated as I couldn't find my way around it. I need to read it again to check I'm not going mad.

>8 bookish_elf: We have different takes on it. For me, context matters. Inserting a character where it doesn't belong might very well be a big mistake. But in case of a Wodehouse book with dozens of illustrations, being precise and uptight goes against the very spirit of Wodehouse, in my opinion. Those illustrations are there for creating an ambience, not for studying them religiously.

>10 Levin40: yep

There was an article I read a while back that sheds a little light on the illustration process. It’s interesting but doesn’t quite answer our questions about how glaring errors like those mentioned above don’t get caught. Worth a look though. Here’s a link: https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/illustration/how-folio-society-desi...

Edited to add: apparently they at least make an effort the catch illustration errors, quote from the article below:

“Although it seems Sheri and Raquel have all the creative freedom in the world, refining each illustration is "such a detailed process" because it has to accurately reflect the narrative. If it doesn’t, people notice.

"When we get roughs in we have to show the editor in case the information is wrong, eg a girl with red hair has been illustrated with brown, or taps that aren’t period accurate," says Raquel.”

>12 elladan0891: When it is clearing mentioned that the character retired to the clubhouse and you see her on the golf course cheering away it does look a lot weird to me as it is a major deviation from the story. This is not some dream scene to take such liberties.

>14 bookish_elf: I agree with you a 100%. I have this book too, although i haven't read it yet. And it's sort of disappointing that more attention wasn't paid. Calling this "uptight"/"anal-retentive" is quite unnecessary. I have loved Woodhouse since i was 12 and i haven't come across any inconsistencies in his writing. Just because an author writes humorous stories doesn't mean that an illustrator is allowed to make his depictions downright incorrect. I love all the illustrations done by Paul Cox for Woodhouse (which is why i own all of the previous Woodhouse offerings by FS), but it would be good if FS as well as the illustrator himself paid more attention to such details.

>15 sekhmet0108: Completely agree with you. Even I'm a big Wodehouse fan and have even a lot of his novels published by Everyman's Library. I also like Paul Cox's illustrations and enjoyed his illustrations in Three men in a Boat, Three men on the Bummel, Hangman's Holiday etc Yes even I'm disappointed when illustrators make such mistakes as the point of illustration is to enhance the stories and not misinterpret them.