The Red Redmaynes, by Eden Phillpotts

Eden Phillpotts (1862 - 1960) was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in Mount Abu, British India, educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for 10 years before studying for the stage and eventually becoming a writer.

He co-wrote two plays with his daughter Adelaide Phillpotts, The Farmer's Wife (1924) and Yellow Sands (1926); but is best known as the author of many novels, plays and poems about Dartmoor. His Dartmoor cycle of 18 novels and two volumes of short stories still has many avid readers despite the fact that many titles are out of print

;The Red Redmaynes is a detective story featuring two detectives, Mark Brendon, a young British police inspector who had risen rapidly with a string of successful cases, and Peter Ganns, a much older American, who appears in the second half of this rather long novel after Brendon has failed to make any progress.

The first half of the novel takes place on Dartmoor and then on the weather-beaten coast of Devon, and Phillpotts uses these bleak landscapes effectively to create an atmosphere of impending doom. Mark Brendon is down in Dartmoor on vacation, when something unusual happens: one man disappears in what seems to be a murder, but the prime suspect is also gone. The supposedly murdered man's wife, Jenny Pendean, asks Brendon for help, and so he starts looking into the mystery. The second half of the story is set in Italy, where Jenny visits her uncle Albert Redmayne.

The title refers to Redmaynes' hair colour. Here's an excerpt from the book:

"He is now the last of the red Redmaynes, as our family was called in Australia." "Why the adjective?" "Because we were always red. Every one of my grandfather's children had red hair, and so had he. His wife was also red and the only living member of the next generation is red, too, as you see." "You are not red. Your hair is a most wonderful auburn, if I may say so."

According to reviews, the novel is on the style of Agatha Christie, although it doesn’t follow the format that later became recognisable as the traditional mystery novel. Phillpotts encouraged Christie to write and she dedicated to him the novel Peril at End House (1932). The Red Redmaynes was also admired by Jose Luis Borges, ending up at number 39 in his A Personal Library project that he never had the chance to finish.

..and a final four paintings

Finally, to round off this rally of redheads, we have four more paintings. Each of which are quite unique in their own way.

First up this self-portrait by the artist Celia Frances Bedford.

(Self-portrait)

Next up we have this one. It's by the American artist Guy Pène du Bois, and it's titled Girl in Striped Sweater. Very 20th century.

(Girl in Striped Sweater)

For the third we have this; Portrait of a Woman with a Blue Headband, by the artist Harrington Mann. This is a great image.

(Portrait of a Woman with a Blue Headband)

Lastly we have this - a very warm and richly coloured image, depicting a red-haired Mrs Cyprian Williams, along with her two red-haired children. It's by the British painter Philip Wilson Steer. Mrs Williams was an amateur artist who moved in the same circles as Steer.

(Mrs Cyprian Williams and her Two Little Girls, 1891)

And that's that.

..yet more red-haired artworks :)

An array of images that all have a vaguely Pre-Raphaelite feel now - or at least that's how I've grouped them.

No. 1: Cordelia's Portion by Ford Madox Brown (most definitely in the Pre-Raphaelite oeuvre).

(Cordelia's Portion)

(Cordelia's Portion - detail 1)

(Cordelia's Portion - detail 2)

No.2: The Boyhood of Alfred the Great by Edmund Leighton. (I'm not entirely sure which one's Alfred).

(The Boyhood of Alfred the Great)

(The Boyhood of Alfred the Great - detail)

No.3: This one's a tad more Pre-Raphaelite than the last. It's titled Apples, and is by the English painter Albert Joseph Moore. I really like this one.

(Apples - Albert Joseph Moore)

No.4: I really like this one too actually. Paolo and Francesca by Frank Dicksee.

(Paolo and Francesca)

(Paolo and Francesca - detail)

No.5: Finally, this one. Another beautiful painting. It's titled The Penance of Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, and is by the American artist Edwin Austin Abbey.

(The Penance of Eleanor)

(The Penance of Eleanor - detail)

Madonna(s) With Child - Joos van Cleve

This one's a bit of an odd one - numerous depictions of the Virgin Mary with child Jesus. All looking suspiciously ginger. All by the Antwerp-based painter Joos van Cleve.

There are so many I keep getting deja vu thinking I've uploaded them on here before. We've featured many redheaded Madonna and Child paintings over the years, but I think these ones are all new to the blog. Though we have mentioned van Cleve previously, when we featured his equally ginger Altarpiece of the Lamentation.

So here goes..

(Madonna and Child)

(Virgin and Child)

(Madonna of the Cherries)

(Madonna and Sleeping Child

in a Landscape)

(The Holy Family)

(Madonna with Child)

(The Holy Family)

And finally we have an image of Mary alone in prayer. Again red-haired.

(The Virgin in Prayer)

(The Virgin in Prayer - detail)

Definitely images worth adding to the 'Was Jesus Ginger?' folder.

Glasgow School Cool.

A couple of Glasgow School artists now. Firstly, this piece by Jessie M. King.

(A Spray of Wild Hemlock)

Then next up these two redhead laden images, by the artist David Gauld.

(Music)

(St Agnes)

The Ghosts of the French Heroes - Girodet

This painting is by the French artist Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson. Quite a name. The painting itself is equally complex. In fact, only a segment of the grand array of subjects depicted are red-haired.

It's titled Ossian receiving the Ghosts of the French Heroes, and it depicts French generals who fell during the Napoleonic Wars. (We mentioned Ossian not too long ago in relation to red hair here: Ossian, and his ancient Gaelic redheads _)

I've cropped-in to get a better illustration of the coppery-haired angelic figures that are arced around the bottom-left of the picture.

Judas - Edward Okuń

This one's quite a striking and unique depiction of Judas Iscariot. The contrasts of light and dark are quite stunning. It's by the Polish Art Nouveau painter Edward Okuń (1872 - 1945).