Thrawn Janet (Reverend Murdoch Exorcises Thrawn Janet)

William Strang

This image is based on the Robert Louis Stevenson book "Thrawn Janet" of 1881, written in a now-obscure Scottish dialect. It is a set in Fife, Scotland a supernatural tale about a minister, the Reverend Murdoch Soulis and his young housekeeper, Janet M'Clour, a "witch." The word "thrawn" is a Scottish word for twisted or misshapen, or perverse.

In her case “her neck [was] thrawn, an’ her heid on ae side, like a body that has been hangit, an a girn on her face like an unstreakit corp” (p. 309). Soulis tries an exorcism to drive out the devil that inhabitied her.

Though etched by Strang in 1899 it was not editioned until later by the artist's son, artist and printer David Strang, who signed them.

The National Galleries Scotland notes: "During his lifetime, Dumbarton-born William Strang (1859 – 1921) built up an international reputation as a highly skilled and imaginative printmaker, portraitist and painter. His diverse subjects ranged from the fantastic to the very real, including uncompromising depictions of contemporary life and the effects of poverty and social injustice, landscapes, subjects from the bible, bewildering allegories, and narrative illustrations. He was also a prolific and highly successful portraitist.