Illustrator Charles Stewart (1915–2001) was haunted by the Victorian novel Uncle Silas (1864) for over 40 years. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s tale of Maud Ruthyn, a naïve heiress in peril, inspired Stewart to produce a set of 30 full-page pen and ink drawings, in the manner of the great graphic artists of the nineteenth century.

Taking Charles Stewart’s illustrations for Sheridan Le Fanu’s Uncle Silas as a case in point, Amanda Doran and Sue Bradbury set out to answer the question of how an artist illustrates a story.

Charles Stewart, Black and White Gothic is in the Tennant Gallery until 15 February.