Review: HOW WE MIGHT LIVE: AT HOME WITH JANE AND WILLIAM MORRIS By Suzanne Fagence Cooper

 

For the first time, a joint biography of William Morris and his creative partner and wife, Jane Morris.

William Morris – poet, designer, campaigner, hero of the Arts & Crafts movement – was a giant of the Victorian age. His beautiful creations and provocative philosophies are still with us today: but his wife Jane is too often relegated to a footnote, an artist’s model given no history or personality of her own.

In truth, Jane and William's personal and creative partnership was the central collaboration of both their lives. The homes they made together – at Red House, Kelmscott Manor and in London – were gathering places for artists, writers and radical thinkers. Through their domestic life and the things they collected and made, Jane and William explored how we all might live a life more focused on beauty and fulfillment. As William said, ‘The secret of true happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life’.

In How We Might Live, Suzanne Fagence Cooper explores the lives and legacies of Jane and William Morris, finally giving Jane's work the attention it deserves and taking us inside two  worlds of unparalleled creative artistry.

Publication Date:  09/06/2022

ISBN-13:  9781529409482

Type:  Hardback

Format:  Books

William and Jane's marriage was tested by infidelity, and the chronic illness of their daughter Jenny. There were times of sadness and dislocation.  Still, these sufferings were resolved kindly.  In their London home, poets and political firebrands often sat side by side at supper.  We can hear the fierce discussions, the explosive tempers.  And yet, under Jane's roof, there was always space for careful, quiet designing, for embroidery and calligraphy. 

William himself was constantly trying out new ideas, writing, drawing, weaving, talking.  Sometimes it was hard for Jane to keep pace with him when he was ablaze with enthusiasm about a new project.  It was then that all her resourcefulness, all her patience was most keenly valued by her family and friends. 

I am astounded by the amount of research Dr. Cooper has done in writing her joint biography of married couple William and Jane Morris.  A chronological look into the beginning of a boy's life named William Morris, the sibling patterns, his wanting to be a priest, his education at Oxford which introduced him to a lifelong friendship with a young painter named Edward Burne-Jones, which introduced him to a bit of a known painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These two men would lead William to meet a very young, very tall, strange beauty of a girl named Jane Burden...the rest is history!  Not quite...Young William was content enough to live a quiet country life with his books on medieval history and nordic folklore surrounded by beautiful gardens until this goddess stepped into his world. His focus and direction took on new meaning while trying to get to know Jane Burden.  

We owe a huge debt to the research Dr. Cooper has done on Jane Morris (nee Burden). She has traced her life from childhood to adulthood while finding a few treasures along the way.  The veil has been lifted on the little girl growing up with siblings in small living quarters in the poverty section in and around Oxford to becoming the muse for a group of well educated painters and poets. 

William and Jane, The Morrises, were never a simple couple to understand. However, in trying to discern each individually, How We Might Live opens up a 'pandora's box' of lifelong hidden treasures both otherworldly and divine.  The utter brilliance of How We Might Live is how respectfully Dr. Cooper covers the relationship Jane Morris had with her husband's friend, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the cost it would have on her reputation later in life. I was surprised by a few dinner behaviours of Rossetti toward Jane but I will leave it at that. I loved how Suzanne Fagence Cooper made connections between Rossetti's drawings/sketches of Jane and his insulting and mean hearted doodles of his friend William relating to the progression of his affair. My heart was full of sadness for William.  This is just a taste of what readers I am sure want to know.  Also, another wonderful surprise was reading one theory that it was Sarah Prinsep who taught Jane Morris how to become a lady by educating her on how to entertain and be a supporting wife. Jane apparently lived at Little Holland House with Sarah, her husband and a menagerie of painters and poets.  I hope this is true!  

I was fascinated by the relationship between William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement when it came to the business side of how fabrics and wallpapers were made.  He was a creative genius of a man who lectured and traveled quite a lot. However, as the marriage progressed, Jane would give birth to two daughters Jenny and May Morris. Jane was an absolute doting mother who would do anything for her girls. William was the soft, mushy, sweet funny storytelling and playing with the girls dad that one would expect. 

At the end of the day, How We Might Live shows how a marriage works and survives throughout affairs, illness, fighting, business profit loss, etc.  To cope with Jane's affair, William believing he could not give Jane what she needed, chose to travel to Iceland, getting away to think things over. In the end, as William aged and his health grew poorer, they came together as a stronger couple who talked things out privately. When William Morris passed away, it was Jane Morris who continued to keep the business running along with her grown daughter May Morris who would eventually take over after Jane's passing.  

Swirling around The Morrises were many favorites of The Pre-Raphaelite Circle:  Lizzie Siddal is discussed throughout How We Might Live in association with her relationship and marriage to Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Also mentioned was Lizzie's childhood friend, Emma Madox Brown who according to her diary was, E.D. Emma Drunk, wife of Ford Madox Brown. John Ruskin makes a few appearances as a friend of William Morris in his love of Medieval and Gothic.  Red Lion Mary is introduced as helping the painters out during their times when paintings were not selling. Fanny Cornforth is mentioned once in passing. Mostly, it is Edward Burne-Jones, wife Georgie, kids, Philip and Margaret as supporting cast. 

I am humbly grateful to have been sent an early digital review copy from Ana and Elizabeth of Quercus Books and River Run Books.

You can purchase the hardback, quercusbooks

Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais By Suzanne Fagence Cooper: A Review

Author Suzanne Fagence Cooper reads from her novel Effie Gray.

U.S. Book Cover

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Reprint edition (June 21, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312581734

ISBN-13: 978-0312581732

UK Cover from 2010. 

I love this cover it's beautiful. 

SYNOPSIS
Effie Gray, a beautiful and intelligent young socialite, rattled the foundations of England's Victorian age. Married at nineteen to John Ruskin, the leading art critic of the time, she found herself trapped in a loveless, unconsummated union after Ruskin rejected her on their wedding night. On a trip to Scotland she met John Everett Millais, Ruskin's protégé, and fell passionately in love with him. In a daring act, Effie left Ruskin, had their marriage annulled and entered into a long, happy marriage with Millais.

Suzanne Fagence Cooper has gained exclusive access to Effie’s extensive and previously unseen letters and diaries to reveal the reality behind this great Victorian love story. A major critical reassessment of the Victorian art world, the book addresses the careers of Ruskin and Millais from a new angle, with Effie emerging as a key figure in the artistic development of both men. Effie, her sisters and daughters appear in many of Millais’ most haunting images, embodying Victorian society’s fears about female sexuality and freedom. 'Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais' is a compelling portrait of the extraordinary woman behind some of the most beautiful and celebrated pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Effie Gray

What I thoroughly enjoyed about this novel was the fact that the author went to great lengths researching the life of Effie Gray and those around her. What she didn't expect was to be given, by surviving family members, boxes of correspondence of the Gray, Ruskin, and Millais'.
Could you ask for anything better as a writer? As a result, Effie Gray comes to life before your eyes. The reader takes a genuine interest in the life of this young innocent Victorian girl who meets John Ruskin early in young adulthood thinking he is the answer to all of her romantic dreams. How mistaken she was. John Ruskin although fond of young Effie never truly was physically attracted to her. He never truly fell in love with her. So, why he decided Effie was the girl to marry, no one will ever know. The treasure trove of letters only touches upon various moments throughout their six year marriage. The letters give a wonderful glimpse into the mindset of Effie Gray but what provides other clues are the extraordinary Pre-Raphaelite paintings of second husband John Everett Millais whom she called 'Everett'.

The Gray Family and John Everett Millais at St Andrews, studio photograph, 1855.
From left to right: George Gray Jnr. with John and Albert, Sophia Gray (Effie's mother), Jeannie with baby Everett, George Gray snr. (Effie's father) with Alice and Sophy, Melville, Effie and Everett Millais sitting and standing together far right. Private Collection.

The love story truly begins in Scotland during a working vacation for The Ruskin's when John asks Millais to come along. In a tiny cottage in The Trossachs of the Highlands in Scotland, a young, still virginal, married Effie Gray falls in love with a young handsome painter Everett. Everett pays attention to her, enjoys spending time with her and their friendship gives her the confidence and courage to divorce John Ruskin. As a woman during the Victorian age, this was unheard of and legally could not have occurred without the support of biological family members of the long suffering wife as well as other factors.

John Ruskin

I never truly understood the reasons why John Ruskin made most of his life decisions. Although, he seemed to be ruled by religion and his medieval themed love of nature and art. This took precedence over marriage and any type of physical and sexual relationship.

The author uses Millais' Pre-Raphaelite paintings, of which Effie modeled for most of them, to bring their love story to life, as well as, providing a fundamental understanding for the depth of their love for each other.

This might have been my favorite aspect of the novel and something which has not happened to me before. Being able to look at paintings that you've known and loved for years with 'fresh eyes'. Having read the letters between Effie and her parents she provides background anecdotal information as to the how, why, and where the paintings might have taken place shining a fresh light on its surroundings and reasons for being!

King's Bedroom, Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, England

Effie's correspondence tells us that after they were married Everett took Effie to Knole in Kent and painted her standing in the middle of the King's bedroom: "In the autumn of 1862 Everett returned to a subject that brought to mind the early days of their love. He wanted to paint a new version of The Eve of St. Agnes. Sending the children away to her parents, Effie and Everett were free to begin work on the picture. Everett had found the ideal background, the King's Room in the great house at Knole in Kent. Dominated by a shadowy curtained bed, this would be Madeline's chamber. In his poem Keats described a young woman dreamily disrobing, unaware that her lover Porphyro was watching her, unseen. Everett puts his audience in Porphyro's hiding place. He offers a glimpse of Madeline 'loosening her fragrant bodice', with her shimmering skirts sliding from her hips. The blue and silver of her gown glints in the moonlight. She thinks she is alone in the vast room. She is bare shouldered in white linen and lace" ( P.151) Effie Gray US Edition Hardcover.

If you are curious or just want to learn a bit more about the lives of John Ruskin, Effie Gray, and John Everett Millais, I urge you to pick up this novel. If you love Pre-Raphaelite art then this is a no brainer, buy it!

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments,