Victorian Romantic~wheel of fortune

Hello.
Could someone please tell me the significance of this image as I have just received the deck but dont have the book yet.
Thank you kindly,

Michelle

Are you a beggar or a king? Each is subject to ups and downs in life.

Ahh. ok thankyou.
I was thinking the guy sitting was suddenly being offered something out of the ordinary, like maybe he has just been told after a life of hardship, that he is in fact a prince.
What I meant though, sorry I should have been more specific, is what is the etching this is based on, and the story behind it? Can anyone have a quick look in their book for me if at all possible?
Cheers.

Yes, the picture shows a young man being told that he is going to be king. In the story, he is actually out catching birds when the courtiers come to give him the news so his fortune changes very suddenly and dramatically.

In the full story, he has ups and downs but everything works out happily (one assumes). I have to say that I deliberately chose this as a small "nod" to the pattern in older decks (and in emblems) that shows a king on the wheel in four states - and sometimes has captions saying, "I shall reign", "I reign" etc. In other words, I was trying to imply, lightly, that even once he is king, it's not necessarily going to be "happily ever after" all the way.

Scroll down on this page and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'll try to find some better images too.
http://www.letarot.com/pages-vrac/pages/Petrarque.html

Edited to add. This is actually a better link which discusses the iconography - it's the one I was looking for:
http://tarot.com/about-tarot/library/boneill/wheel

Thanks so much baba~prague, thats exactly what I was after. I love this rendition, and I wasnt far off after all
Lovely deck by the way, I received it yesterday. Now I just have to sort the payment for that book .
Cheers,

Michelle

Hi Ambrosia

I have just ordered a second copy of the VR from Amazon, they only have the book sets in stock and I have already got the book.
You can have the spare when it arrives if you would like it, free to a good home of course.

PM me your address if you would like me to post it to you when I get it, should be here in about 14 days time.

Stargazer, thankyou for your kind offer I have PMed you.