Beauty in Thorns

Product Description

The Pre-Raphaelites were obsessed with liberating art and love from the shackles of convention. Dante Gabriel Rossetti was the self-professed leader of the mysterious brotherhood of young men who were convinced they could change the world. Rossetti was smitten with his favourite model, Lizzie Siddal. Lizzie had dreams of becoming an artist herself; however, gripped by jealousy at her lover's perceived infidelities she was falling prey to a laudanum addiction. Gabriel's friend Ned Jones had never had any artistic training and his family wanted him to be a parson. Only young Georgie Macdonald - the daughter of a Methodist minister - understood. Their Pre-Raphaelite brother William 'Topsy' Morris fell head-over-heels for a 'stunner' from the slums. Seventeen-year-old Janey Burden had a wild, dark beauty. She would become Morris' wife, but Gabriel's most famous model. Years later, cuckolded by the man he had hero-worshipped, Topsy turned to Georgie for comfort. She too was suffering. Soon after the birth of their daughter Margot, Ned had begun an ardent liaison with his model. Scandal threatened to destroy them all. Inspired by this true story of love, passion, betrayal and obsession, Beauty in Thorns is a novel about awakenings of all kinds.The Pre-Raphaelites were obsessed with liberating art and love from the shackles of convention. Dante Gabriel Rossetti was the self-professed leader of the mysterious brotherhood of young men who were convinced they could change the world. Rossetti was smitten with his favourite model, Lizzie Siddal. Lizzie had dreams of becoming an artist herself; however, gripped by jealousy at her lover's perceived infidelities she was falling prey to a laudanum addiction. Gabriel's friend Ned Jones had never had any artistic training and his family wanted him to be a parson. Only young Georgie Macdonald - the daughter of a Methodist minister - understood. Their Pre-Raphaelite brother William 'Topsy' Morris fell head-over-heels for a 'stunner' from the slums. Seventeen-year-old Janey Burden had a wild, dark beauty. She would become Morris' wife, but Gabriel's most famous model. Years later, cuckolded by the man he had hero-worshipped, Topsy turned to Georgie for comfort. She too was suffering. Soon after the birth of their daughter Margot, Ned had begun an ardent liaison with his model. Scandal threatened to destroy them all. Inspired by this true story of love, passion, betrayal and obsession, Beauty in Thorns is a novel about awakenings of all kinds.
Kate Forsyth is the internationally bestselling author of more than twenty books, including The Witches of Eileanan and Rhiannon's Ride fantasy series for adults. She completed a doctorate in fairytale retellings and the novels that have come out of this fascination include the winner of the 2015 American Libraries Association Prize for Historical Fiction, Bitter Greens, The Wild Girl and the forthcoming The Beast's Garden. Her books have been published in fourteen different countries, including Japan, Poland, Spain, Russia and Turkey. Kate has also written series for children of all ages and the contemporary novel Dancing on Knives.