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Dec 09, 2017maipenrai rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
After seeing "Effie Grey", the story of the wife Victorian art critic John Ruskin, I wanted more information about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. After receiving an annulment of her marriage, Effie marries John Everett Millais. The Ruskin story is an intricate part of this series because the approval of Ruskin advanced the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His malignant obsessions play a role in harming young women and according to this story Ruskin was ultimately responsible for the death of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's wife, Elizabeth Siddal. She died of an overdose of laudanum, but I could find no historical reference to Ruskin's role in this event. I hoped for a good historical drama, but there is as much bodice ripping and drawer dropping as history in this BBC production. It is sort of a sexual romp through mid-nineteenth century with the brotherhood doing most of the romping. I was surprised at the quality of the history as one can usually count on the BBC. One excellent part was the inclusion of real paintings produced by the Pre-Rachaelites. Mild recommendation. Kristi & Abby Tabby