Designing for a Penny Dreadful: The Case of the Lady Sannox

Description of Story:

This short story is about a successful, wealthy surgeon by the name of Douglas Stone having an affair with the beautiful, Lady Sannox. They are both married, and do little to conceal their relations. On one cold winter night, Douglas had a visitor at his door, a turkish dressed man wanting him to come attend to his sick wife. Although Douglas had plans with Lady Sannox that night, he agreed when the Turk man gave him a pile of gold. The turk man said that his wife had been poisoned when she fainted and her lip was gashed open due to hitting a poisoned dagger. The Turk man expresses his concerns as he claims he has seen this before, and the only cure was to amputate the part of the body struck with the poison. After hesitation, Douglas agrees to amputate the bottom lip. Douglas slices off the bottom lip and the woman wearing a yashmak jumped up in horror, screaming, and her yashmak fell the the floor. When the yashmak fell, her face was revealed and Douglas realized it was actually Lady Sannox whom he just sliced. Douglas looks in the corner and seed Lord Sannox laughing and the Turkish beard and wordrobe laying on the table. Lord Sannox then said that “it was really very necessary for Marion, this operation” (Marion is Douglas’ wife). The cab driver took Douglas and Lady Sannox back to their separate homes, and Lord Sannox to the Hotel di Roma in Venice where he will now be living.

Process Work:

Inspiration:

Sketches of Characters

Color Drawings