Product Description

The supermodel did not arrive when Twiggy first donned false eyelashes; the concept began more than one hundred years previously, with a stunning young artists' model whose face captivated a generation. Saved from the drudgery of a working-class existence by an astute young Pre-Raphaelite artist, Lizzie Siddal rose to become one of the most famous faces in Victorian Britain and a pivotal figure of London's artistic world, until tragically ending her young life in a laudanum-soaked suicide in 1862. In the twenty-first century, even those who do not know her name always recognise her face: she is Millais' doomed Ophelia and Rossetti's beatified Beatrice. Her image haunts the viewer and has become the globally recognised incarnation of Pre-Raphaelitism. This colourful and emotionally-charged biography takes Lizzie from the background of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's life and, finally, brings her to the forefront of her own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4941 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
"'A truly extraordinary achievement. The icon takes flesh before our eyes. Lucinda Hawksley's sympathetic scholarship has produced a portrait of Pre-Raphaelitism's most celebrated face which is as gripping as a romantic novel. But it is also the result of meticulous research which throws fascinating new light on the Rossettis and their circle' - A.N. WILSON"

The Sunday Telegraph, August 29, 2004
The stuff of opera... Hawksley tells the tale earnestly, supplying many new details.

The Sunday Times, August 29, 2004
A seductive biography. Gaining in tragedy the story is irresistible... Glimpses of this strange, beautiful woman illuminate the book.

Customer Reviews

An all too modern romance
This is an absorbing book. I had heard of Lizzie Siddal, and I like the Pre-Raphaelite painting style but I have no specialist knowledge of art history or nineteenth-century society. I decided to read this on the basis of good reviews and an interest in the lives of women at the time. It didn't disappoint. Like the other reviwer, I read it in a single sitting. Although the writing isn't faultless it is easy to read and to follow, and the author's good use of sources ensures that the context of 19th Century London and the cast of well-known characters (including William Morris, Ford Madox Brown and Christina Rosetti) come vividly to life. Most engaging of all is the central character of Lizzie herself. She appears as a flawed, needy and highly sensitive being, pushed into hysteria and manipulation by the reticence of her partner, Dante Gabriel Rosetti. As the story emerges, it is clear that the relationship between them and its tragic consequences could just as easily unfold in modern society as in 1850s and 1860s London. The sensitive young woman craving love and emotional security (despite her independent income)and the commitment-phobic, egocentric bachelor who wants to have his cake and eat it, are, unfortunately, thoroughly recognisable, modern characters.

Surprisingly Absorbing Biography
Having a great interest in the world of the Pre-Raphaelites already, I thought at best it would be an interesting read - but it is such a well researched and absorbing book I could not put it down. Lizzie is seen here as human, her life the tragedy of it, and the fact that Rossetti did not cause all of her problems. However I could not leave the book with a dislike of her sometimes manipulative nature. Such is the success of this book. You will not be disappointed if you read it.

Disappointing
The subject of the mysterious Elizabeth Siddal is always interesting but I found this book superficial and populist. The background information placing Siddal in her contemporary context (eg. the life of milliners in the 19th century) is perhaps the best thing about it. A lot of it seems to be based on supposition. For a far better, well-researched investigation of Siddal read Jan Marsh's biography 'The Legend of Elizabeth Siddal'.