Preface

           From her discovery in a milliner’s shop, to her glory days as the undisputed supermodel of the Victorian era, Elizabeth Eleanor (Lizzie) Siddal has enchanted millions and continues to fascinate today. Lizzie was in such demand as a model that her famous red hair even adorns the Christ, as painted by Holman Hunt in The Light of the World.

          Far from being just a face, however, Lizzie was well educated, and an accomplished artist and poet in her own right – facts too often forgotten when we become engrossed in the romantic tragedy of her life.

          Lizzie suffered a turbulent relationship with the brilliant artist and notorious ladies’ man,  Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who finally married his muse in 1860. A year later, Lizzie gave birth to a stillborn daughter. By the close of 1861, Lizzie was pregnant again.

           Laudanum was to the Victorian woman what Valium would be to her 20^th century sisters. Its use was acceptable, condoned and prescribed by physicians of the day. Lizzie’s many illnesses made her an addict to the drug, and in a state of inconsolable depression, she took a fatal overdose while pregnant with her second child. 

           A distraught Rossetti buried his poems with Lizzie, placing them beneath her glorious hair. Later, he had second thoughts and ordered Lizzie’s body exhumed in order to reclaim his poetry.  Legend has it that Lizzie's brilliant hair had grown to fill the coffin, and that she appeared as though she were sleeping.
          For those who would like to discover more about Lizzie, I refer you to the excellent websites LizzieSiddal.com and Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood, which offer a wealth of information, including photographs, letters and documents. You may also enjoy the exceptional video located beneath the text of the poem, for which I am grateful to LizzieSiddal.com  

~Angel