The scandalous love triangle at the heart of the Victorian art world. Effie Gray, a Scottish beauty, was the heroine of a great Victorian love story. Married at nineteen to John Ruskin, she found herself trapped in a loveless and unconsummated union. When her husband invited his protégé John Everett Millais away on holiday, Effie and Millais fell in love. She would inspire some of Millais' most haunting images, and embody Victorian society's fears about female sexuality. Effie risked everything by leaving Ruskin. She hoped to find fulfilment as Millais' wife, becoming a society hostess and manager of his studio, but controversy and tragedy continued to stalk her. Suzanne Fagence Cooper has gained exclusive access to Effie's family letters and diaries to reveal the reality behind the scandalous love-triangle. She shows the rise and fall of the Pre-Raphaelite circle from a new perspective, through the eyes of a woman who was intimately involved in the private and public lives of its two greatest figures. Effie's charm and ambition helped to shape the careers of both her husbands. The Model Wife is a compelling portrait of the extraordinary woman behind some of the most famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
Effie
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'Effie Gray's story is extraordinary and Cooper feasts upon it with appetite...I cannot recommend Fagence Cooper's biography of Effie Gray more highly to anyone with a heart, a liking for a good read and an interest in things Victorian.' --Henrietta Garnett, The Literary Review
At last Effie Millais has been given her voice and it is a marvellous one... I couldn't put it down.' --Linda Lear, author of Beatrix Potter
'This is an exceptional book about an exceptional trio and the exceptional families that formed them.' --The Scotsman
At last Effie Millais has been given her voice and it is a marvellous one... I couldn't put it down.' --Linda Lear, author of Beatrix Potter
'This is an exceptional book about an exceptional trio and the exceptional families that formed them.' --The Scotsman
About the Author
Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper is the author of the Victorian Woman and Pre-Raphaelite Art in the V&A Museum. Her knowledge of Victorian art has led to her appearing on a number of television programmes on BBC2 and Channel 4. She lives in Yorkshire with her husband and two daughters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A. D. Smith
Format:Paperback
"Effie Gray and John Ruskin were married quietly by a Scottish minister.... Their wedding night would go down in history." writes Merryn Williams Effie: A Victorian Scandal - From Ruskin's Wife to Millais's Muse (p.24). "We know a surprising amount of what John Ruskin did, and did not do, in bed." writes Suzanne Fagence Cooper The Model Wife: Effie, Ruskin and Millais(p.23). The present book, with a different title, is the paperback version of Fagence Cooper's book published in 2010.
With two recently published books on the fascinating story of Effie Ruskin, who left her husband to marry the Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, many will ask themselves the question, `Which one should I read?'. In fact, although they appear to cover much the same ground, I found the two books to be somewhat different in their emotional content and I recommend readers to buy both. Each book is very well written and is difficult to put down because of the riveting story told. Cooper had the advantage of access to diaries and a huge volume of correspondence and between the key players that was made available to her. She has thoroughly digested this new material and has written an outstandingly clear narrative. Her interpretations are balanced and she weaves into her account much of the background that she found described in the letters. Some of her comments on Millais paintings are especially interesting. (More detail on the paintings can be found in the outstanding book by Rosenfeld John Everett Millais). Cooper focuses mainly on Effie and her family and there is an insightful chapter on Effie's sister Sophie. Williams, on the other hand, paints a rather broader picture in that we learn more about Ruskin and his parents. For me, Williams was even more moving and this may be because she includes quite long extracts from letters and diaries. It is perhaps surprising that Cooper did not do the same; at the most we get the odd sentence from a letter. But sometimes the most shocking things can best be appreciated by reading the actual words of the participants. And there is plenty to shock a modern reader here. Overall, both these books provide a wonderful insight into a tragic human story that lay behind the great art that Millais gave us and the great writing that Ruskin produced.
With two recently published books on the fascinating story of Effie Ruskin, who left her husband to marry the Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, many will ask themselves the question, `Which one should I read?'. In fact, although they appear to cover much the same ground, I found the two books to be somewhat different in their emotional content and I recommend readers to buy both. Each book is very well written and is difficult to put down because of the riveting story told. Cooper had the advantage of access to diaries and a huge volume of correspondence and between the key players that was made available to her. She has thoroughly digested this new material and has written an outstandingly clear narrative. Her interpretations are balanced and she weaves into her account much of the background that she found described in the letters. Some of her comments on Millais paintings are especially interesting. (More detail on the paintings can be found in the outstanding book by Rosenfeld John Everett Millais). Cooper focuses mainly on Effie and her family and there is an insightful chapter on Effie's sister Sophie. Williams, on the other hand, paints a rather broader picture in that we learn more about Ruskin and his parents. For me, Williams was even more moving and this may be because she includes quite long extracts from letters and diaries. It is perhaps surprising that Cooper did not do the same; at the most we get the odd sentence from a letter. But sometimes the most shocking things can best be appreciated by reading the actual words of the participants. And there is plenty to shock a modern reader here. Overall, both these books provide a wonderful insight into a tragic human story that lay behind the great art that Millais gave us and the great writing that Ruskin produced.
By tippers
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I loved this book and have since bought a copy for a fried who loves historical biographies. The life of Effie is beautifully told.
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book and learning all about Effie and her experiences with being married to both Ruskin and Millais.
It is generally not a great idea to judge people's behavior and motives based on current thinking as they had such a totally different mindset. That said I could not fail to feel a tremendous amount of empathy for Effie, as a woman who has struggled for the past 30 years with her own body and weight, I can well understand the feelings she must have felt over knowing that her ' person ' was not acceptable to her husband, hence his lack of desire to ever touch her.
She paid a heavy price for her second marriage, but in her place, I would have made the same choice.
It is generally not a great idea to judge people's behavior and motives based on current thinking as they had such a totally different mindset. That said I could not fail to feel a tremendous amount of empathy for Effie, as a woman who has struggled for the past 30 years with her own body and weight, I can well understand the feelings she must have felt over knowing that her ' person ' was not acceptable to her husband, hence his lack of desire to ever touch her.
She paid a heavy price for her second marriage, but in her place, I would have made the same choice.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a pre-Raphaelite fan you will love this.
This is a bit of a niche novel but is really informative and so well researched. It is the romantic story of Effie Grey who was married to Ruskin and Millais the painter. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Open mind
5.0 out of 5 stars
poor Effie but not so stupid
I dont know how poor Effie ever got involved with some one like Ruskin but this book portrades Effie gentle and soft ways and her strength to get herself free from him and with her... Read more
Published 8 months ago by William G. Williams
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