Book review: Ophelia’s Muse

The romance of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal lends itself well to fiction. It’s a story that has it all: beauty, pathos, and the synergy of artistic creation that flowed between them. Author Rita Cameron’s new book Ophelia’s Muse tells the story of Elizabeth Siddal’s discovery by the Pre-Raphaelite circle and how it led … Read more

A Mad, Wicked Folly

I’ve just finished reading Sharon Biggs Waller’s new YA book, A Mad, Wicked Folly and I thoroughly loved every second of it.  I always enjoy seeing Pre-Raphaelite art woven into a fictional setting and in this particular case, it was well-crafted and expertly done. Victoria Darling is a girl born of privilege, yet she is … Read more

Hand and Soul

In 1849, the newly formed Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood decided to start a magazine to help support and explain their artistic perspective.  The Germ had a short run of only four issues,  with the final two issues appearing under the title Art and Poetry: Being Thoughts towards Nature Conducted Principally by Artists. In 1898, an American named … Read more