In 1874, when Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd was published in the Cornhill Magazine, readers were shocked at some of the work’s sexually explicit scenes. Although the Cornhill received complaints, Hardy’s work continued to be in demand. The twelve illustrations accompanying the tale were by Helen Paterson Allingham, a watercolourist whose work also appeared in the Graphic. The scene depicted here shows the farmer William Boldwood on the verge of proposing to the novel’s complex heroine, Bathsheba Everdene.
This early issue of the Boy’s Own Paper (1879-1967) offers insights into the range of diverting material that its publisher, the Religious Tract Society, thought suitable for boy readers. In addition to its weekly serial (in this case by the prolific adventure-writer W.H.G. Kingston), the BOP featured puzzles and games, accounts of sporting achievements, and other articles designed to be morally and spiritually improving. The magazine circulated across the British Empire and became known for its patriotic values.