George Egerton

J. Russell & Sons

George Egerton

Photograph, albumen cabinet card,

[ca. 1894].

They had little direct contact, but Mary Chavelita Dunne (1859–1945), who published as “George Egerton,” and Beardsley played important roles in each other’s careers. When her first book was published by the Bodley Head, the firm established in 1887 by John Lane (1854–1925) and Elkin Mathews (1851–1921), Beardsley was given the task of designing it. Her volume of short stories asserted women’s right to freedom, especially in love and sexuality. Not surprisingly, critics quickly linked it to the “New Women” movement, praising or damning it accordingly. Its title of Keynotes alluded to wildness and passion as the “keynotes” of women’s natures, but also to debates over women having their own latchkeys, allowing them to leave the house unchaperoned. Beardsley, who may never have read the contents first, packaged them in a memorable way that helped to create a bestseller and increased his own fame in the process.

From the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press