The Legend of Elizabeth Siddal

by Jan Marsh

Each era fosters its own myths, and in the process Elizabeth Siddal, the coppery-haired poet and painter changed from suicidal waif to ideal gentlewoman to feminist. Here, Jan Marsh enlarges on the life of one of the subjects of her earlier work, Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood, and delineates the true story of Siddal as an artist in her own right.

Genres: Art, Biography, Art History, Nonfiction, Pre Raphaelite

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Marsh demonstrated repeatedly that she is peerless when it comes to her studies of the Pre-Raphaelites. This is the third book I've read that elucidated the fascination of Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Siddal Rossetti and why her life is so very much legend. But the Marsh text is the most complete and delineates why so many versions of the life of ESR have been put into print. And as Marsh stated most eloquently in her Postscript: "What survives of the woman buried in Highgate Cemetary today is both a accumulation of more or less persuasive anecdotes, and a small but substantive body of work". Marsh later adds (in a highly stylized manner) - "From the contents of her coffin, so to speak, each age remakes the image of Elizabeth Siddal to its own specifications. And the image is only a shadow or ghost of the actuality.

This book is not only an excellent reference regarding Siddal's paintings but an interesting look at the revisionist feminine ideal as a applied to a woman who's history is ethereal at best. Much comes from second person accounts in diaries of acquaintances, or 'recollections' of her life by those who knew her little, or knew her well, but could not be very objective, or had a conflict of interest (as in the case of William Rossetti). Marsh capably unpacks the bunk from the scholarship of each generation or decade since the day of the Pre-Raphaelites.

[Francesca (waitylady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pienamente consigliato per riscoprire la bellezza di questa straordinaria artista.
Jan Marsh dipana tutte le costruzioni storiche che hanno eclissato Elizabeth Siddal nel corso del tempo. Una donna sommersa dalle dinamiche della sua epoca, ma che non ha mai rinunciato alla propria arte, fatta di visioni scaturite dalla letteratura e dalle antiche ballate popolari. Elizabeth Siddal andrebbe di certo inserita nell'elenco di donne-artiste cui restituire dignità e valore.

[Helen Victoria Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the most comprehensive work I have read on the life, work and influence of the painter and poet Elizabeth Siddal. Marsh does not shy away from the many fictionalised and fantasy portrayals of Siddal, but places them in a framework of biographic, literary and art-histories. The author both traces the intertextual Siddal, and attempts to differentiate her from the real artist. Very useful thesis source, with a comprehensive bibliography of further reading, this is also a compelling read in its own right. Published in 1989, Marsh's subject is ripe for further development, but this is a fantastic grounding in Siddal's life, work and enduring legend.

[P Grish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I encountered this book at the William Morris museum in Walthamstow, and picked it up on a whim. Though I knew about Pre-Raphaelites, and was always impressed by Millais’ Ophelia, I had never before heard of Elizabeth Siddal.

Jan Marsh’s work outlines the many sides of Siddal’s story, and I especially enjoyed how Marsh showed how the legend changed throughout the years in response to societal shifts.

This book inspired me to investigate more about Siddal and the Pre-Raphaelites, and it is the reason I ended up writing my dissertation on Siddal and Rossetti’s art. Amazing work!