by Lucinda Hawksley
|
Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites by Franny Moyle |
by Jan Marsh
|
by Kirsty Stonell Walker
|
The Pre-Raphaelite Circle (National Portrait Gallery Insights) by Jan Marsh |
|
Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links(What is this?) |
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Jan Marsh is the author of the standard biography of Christina Rossetti, the marvellous Christina Rossetti: A Literary Biography. Her new biography of the brother is bigger, meatier and if anything an even more extraordinary achievement. Partly this is because Rossetti's life is so full of incident: his marriage to the beautiful, frail Lizzie Siddal, and his grief and self-blame at her death; his affair with William Morris's wife Jane; his own nervous breakdown which came on him suddenly (Marsh begins one section with the striking sentence: "The next day, Gabriel was deranged"). Partly it is that the Pre-Raphaelite movement, of which he was so central a figure, remains inherently fascinating today. Marsh concedes that although Rossetti's extraordinary poems "now languish largely unread", his paintings, with their "highly coloured iconic images" are still seen as masterpieces.
Marsh is able to balance painting and poetry, the two strands of Rossetti's life, with consummate skill, providing excellent readings of both and demonstrating their inter-relations. Her account of the life is detailed and, cumulatively, simply stunning-- in large part because she steers clear of the more lurid possibilities. As Marsh points out, "it has been so common to paint Rossetti as a lusty philanderer ... generally bedding all available models, that his celibacy requires more explanation." Startling to see Rossetti described as a "celibate", but Marsh is excellent on the repressed, paradoxical attitude towards sex that emerges from Rossetti's famously sensual art. Overall her restraint pays dividends, because Rossetti emerges at the end of the book in a new light--no longer a sordid Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood caricature but a deeply human if flawed and contradictory character. This book is a triumph. --Adam Roberts
THE TIMES
'Exemplary... [Marsh] catches the pathos of a man who has for too long been parodied or put down.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti was born on 12 May 1828, and baptized into the Church of England at All Souls, Langham Place, a fashionable church in central London. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti was born on 12 May 1828, and baptized into the Church of England at All Souls, Langham Place, a fashionable church in central London. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
42% buy the item featured on this page: Dante Gabriel Rossetti: A Biography |
 |
24% buy Lizzie Siddal: The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel £8.74 |
 |
23% buy Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites £5.78 |
 |
5% buy Stunner: The Fall and Rise of Fanny Cornforth £6.26 |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
 |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. |
