Under the Hill, published six years after Beardsley’s death, is an extraordinary book: its text - his verse, letters and an unfinished novel - have more than an intrinsic literary fascination; its superb illustrations indicate new influences, new directions, in the artist’s work. In Under the Hill he was total master of his media and his subject matter, and words and pictures together demonstrate how frenetically and how fruitfully Beardsley developed his creative imagination during the brief time left to him before his tragically early death.