Book description
Madox Brown, who grew up in France and Belgium before he came to
England and won fame with paintings like 'The Last of England', was
always an outsider, and the women he loved also burst out of
stereotypes. His two wives, Elisabeth Bromley and Emma Hill, and his
secret passions, the artist Marie Spartali and the author Mathilde
Blind, were all remarkable personalities, from very different backgrounds.
Their striving for self-expression, in an age that sought to
suppress them, tells us much more about women's journey towards modern
roles. Their lives - full of passion, sexual longing, tragedy and
determination - take us from the English countryside and the artist's
studio to a Europe in turmoil and revolution. These are not silent
muses hidden in the shadow of a 'Master'. They step out of the shadows
and into the picture, speaking with voices we can hear and understand.
Angela Thirlwell read English at Oxford and lectured at Birkbeck
College, University of London until 1999. Her books include the
Folio
Anthology of Autobiography
(1994),
The Pre-Raphaelites and their World
(editor, 1995) and
William and Lucy: The Other Rossettis
(Yale, 2003).
