Illustration for "Peronnik the Fool": Redemonde on the Staircase

This 1933 engraving illustrates a scene from the Breton folktale "Peronnik the Fool," showing the enchantress Redemonde on a staircase. Stephen Gooden was one of Britain's most accomplished copper engravers, known for his finely detailed, witty, and inventive designs. By 1933, when he created this work, Gooden had already established himself through his illustrations for prestigious publishers like the Nonesuch Press and his decorative work for fine editions of classical texts. His technical mastery of line engraving—building form and shadow through precise networks of lines—is fully evident in this piece. The illustration comes from a period when Gooden was at the height of his powers, having just been elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers that same year. The Peronnik story, about a simple-minded hero who succeeds through innocence where knights fail, was a popular subject for illustrated editions. Gooden's approach would have combined his characteristic elegance with the atmospheric mystery the tale demands. His ability to create depth and texture entirely through engraved lines—a painstaking process of cutting into copper plates—demonstrates why he was also trusted to design British banknotes and the George Medal.