The Water Babies: He Felt the Net Very Heavy

This illustration is from The Water Babies, a children's novel written by the Reverend Charles Kingsley and published as a book in 1863. Before that the story was serialized in Macmillan's magazine in 1862 and 1863. The book was extremely popular and remained a mainstay of children's literature through the 1920s.? This image was illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith in charcoal, watercolor and oil and titled 'He felt the net very heavy . . . and lifted it out quickly, with Tom all entangled in the meshes.' Published in 1916.