Desperate Romantics
Encyclopedia
Desperate Romantics is a six-part television drama serial about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
, first broadcast on BBC Two
between 21 July and 25 August 2009.
's factual book about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives Of The Pre-Raphaelites.
Moyle, a former commissioning editor for the arts at the BBC, approached writer Peter Bowker
with the book, believing it could form the basis of an interesting television drama. Although Bowker had a self-confessed "horror of dramatised art biography", he felt that Moyle's book offered something different, viewing the Brotherhood's art largely through the filter of their tangled love lives.
Discussing the series' billing as "Entourage
with easel
s", Moyle said: "I didn't pitch it as Entourage with easels' ... I pitched it as a big emotional saga, a bit like The Forsyte Saga
. Having said that, I think it was a useful snapshot – a way of getting a handle on the drama." The series has also been billed by the BBC as "marrying the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to the values of Desperate Housewives
."
Desperate Romantics was the second time the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood had been dramatised for television, the first being The Love School
— a six part serial first broadcast in 1975. It was heavily influenced by the earlier series.
Other notable images include:
The poem Rossetti writes for Lizzie as she recuperates from her ordeal in Millais' bath tub is "Sudden Light" (c.1853-4, published 1863). The final stanza, which Rossetti reads aloud to Lizzie before they first make love, appears in the 1870 edition of Rossetti's Collected Poems. Also featured are "Newborn Death" and "The Kiss". The verses read at Lizzie's funeral by her sister are from Lizzie's own poem "Dead Love" (c.1859).
: "In the mid-19th century, a group of young men challenged the art establishment of the day. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood were inspired by the real world about them, yet took imaginative licence in their art. This story, based on their lives and loves, follows in that inventive spirit." In an interview for The Independent
, Moyle noted that Bowker's adaptation of her source material required a "chronological sleight of hand" turning "the story that plays out in the book over 12 years into something that feels as if it's taking place over a couple of years – to keep up the pace, to make it feel modern."
in The Independent
described the series as "an off-day" for writer Peter Bowker, adding: "It was never quite recklessly anachronistic enough to suggest a defence of predetermination for those moments in the script that seemed more like a spoof of an artistic biopic than a genuine attempt to rise above its limitations." Serena Davies wrote in The Daily Telegraph
that the episode: "sadly didn't go far enough in conveying to the viewers how much the Pre-Raphaelites’ art contrasted with what had gone before it." Caitlin Moran
, reviewing the episode for The Times
, described it as "so bone-deep cheesy that it appears to have been written with Primula
, on Kraft
Cheese Slices, and shot on location in Cheddar
."
The Guardian
review described the first episode as: "a rollicking gambol through a fictionalised Victorian London with a narrative as contemptuous of historical reverence as its rambunctious subjects were." Andrea Mullaney, writing for The Scotsman
, also considered it: "a rollicking romp ... it's rather good fun", but cautioned: "historical purists will have to clench their thighs as it plays fast and loose with accuracy – much like the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood themselves, for all their vaunted insistence on painting the truth of nature."
Viewing figures for the second episode dropped to 2.13 million. The third episode attracted 2.15 million viewers, and ratings for the fourth fell to 1.92 million. Viewing figures for the fifth episode rose to 1.96 million viewers. The sixth and final episode of the series attracted 1.76 million viewers.
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
, first broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
between 21 July and 25 August 2009.
Overview
The series was inspired by and takes its title from Franny MoyleFranny Moyle
Franny Moyle is a British television producer and author. She is best known for her book Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites , which was adapted into the BBC drama serial Desperate Romantics by screenwriter Peter Bowker.-Career:Moyle is a graduate in English and the...
's factual book about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives Of The Pre-Raphaelites.
Moyle, a former commissioning editor for the arts at the BBC, approached writer Peter Bowker
Peter Bowker
Peter Bowker is a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for the television serials Blackpool , a musical drama about a shady casino owner; Occupation , which follows three military servicemen adjusting to civilian life after a tour of duty in Iraq; and Desperate Romantics , a...
with the book, believing it could form the basis of an interesting television drama. Although Bowker had a self-confessed "horror of dramatised art biography", he felt that Moyle's book offered something different, viewing the Brotherhood's art largely through the filter of their tangled love lives.
Discussing the series' billing as "Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
with easel
Easel
An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it.-Etymology:The word is an old Germanic synonym for donkey...
s", Moyle said: "I didn't pitch it as Entourage with easels' ... I pitched it as a big emotional saga, a bit like The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
. Having said that, I think it was a useful snapshot – a way of getting a handle on the drama." The series has also been billed by the BBC as "marrying the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to the values of Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
."
Desperate Romantics was the second time the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood had been dramatised for television, the first being The Love School
The Love School
The Love School is a BBC television drama series originally broadcast in 1975 about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, written by John Hale, Ray Lawler, Robin Chapman and John Prebble. It was directed by Piers Haggard, John Glenister and Robert Knights. It was shown during January and February 1975...
— a six part serial first broadcast in 1975. It was heavily influenced by the earlier series.
Cast
- Aidan TurnerAidan TurnerAidan Turner is an Irish actor. He is best known for playing Dante Gabriel Rossetti on Desperate Romantics, Ruairí McGowan on The Clinic, and John Mitchell on the supernatural drama series Being Human. He will be playing Kíli in the upcoming two-part fantasy film The Hobbit.-Early life:Aidan...
as Dante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,... - Rafe SpallRafe SpallRafe Joseph Spall is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the Edgar Wright films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz , alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He had previously appeared alongside Pegg and Frost in a 2001 episode of Spaced...
as William Holman HuntWilliam Holman HuntWilliam Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:... - Samuel BarnettSamuel Barnett (actor)Samuel Barnett is an English actor. He has performed on stage, film, television and radio, and achieved recognition for his work on the stage and film versions of The History Boys by Alan Bennett...
as John Everett MillaisJohn Everett MillaisSir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:... - Sam CraneSam Crane (actor)Sam Crane is an English actor who has mainly worked in theatre. He was listed in New York Magazine as one of London's hottest young stage actors and was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award in 2008....
as Fred Walters - Zoë TapperZoe TapperZoe Tapper is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Nell Gwynne in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Stage Beauty in 2004. She is known for portraying Anya Raczynski in Survivors and Mina Harker in Demons.-Background:...
as Effie GrayEffie GrayEuphemia Chalmers Millais, Lady Millais née Gray, known as Effie Gray, Effie Ruskin or Effie Millais was the wife of the critic John Ruskin, but left her husband without the marriage being consummated, and after the annulment of the marriage, married his protégé, the Pre-Raphaelite painter John... - Amy MansonAmy MansonAmy Manson is a Scottish actress, known for portraying Alice Guppy in Torchwood, Abby Evans in Casualty, Lizzie Siddal in Desperate Romantics and Daisy Hannigan-Spiteri in Being Human.-Background:...
as Lizzie SiddalElizabeth SiddalElizabeth Eleanor Siddal was an English artists' model, poet and artist who was painted and drawn extensively by artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including Walter Deverell, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and most of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's early paintings of women.-Early... - Jennie JacquesJennie JacquesJennie Jacques is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Annie Miller, a significant role featuring in five episodes of the BBC series Desperate Romantics, a six-part television drama serial about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, first broadcast on BBC Two in July and August...
as Annie MillerAnnie MillerAnnie Miller was an English artists' model who, among others, sat for the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais. Her on-off relationship with Holman Hunt has been dramatised several times.-Early life:Annie Miller was born in... - Tom HollanderTom HollanderThomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
as John RuskinJohn RuskinJohn Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political... - Phil Davis as Frank StoneFrank StoneFrank Stone , was an English painter. He was born in Manchester, and was entirely self-taught.He was elected an associate of the Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1833 and member in 1843; and an associate of the Royal Academy in 1851.The works he first exhibited at the Academy were portraits,...
- Mark HeapMark HeapMark Heap is an English actor. He began his acting career in the 1980s as a member of the Medieval Players, a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry...
as Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic... - Rebecca Davies as Fanny CornforthFanny CornforthFanny Cornforth was an English maidservant who became a model and mistress to Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
- Dyfrig MorrisDyfrig MorrisDyfrig Morris is a Welsh stage and television actor. He played William Morris in the 2009 BBC2 series Desperate Romantics.He has also appeared in Welsh Language TV series "2 Dy a Ni", "Y Pris" and TV Movie "Dad" with Richard Briers.-External links:...
as William MorrisWilliam MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement... - Peter Sandys-ClarkePeter Sandys-ClarkePeter Sandys-Clarke is an English stage and television actor. He plays Edward Burne-Jones in the 2009 BBC2 series Desperate Romantics....
as Edward Burne-JonesEdward Burne-JonesSir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company... - Natalie Thomas as Jane BurdenJane BurdenJane Morris was an English artists' model who embodied the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty. She was a model and muse to the artists William Morris, whom she married, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.-Life:...
- Poppy Lee Friar as Rose La ToucheRose la ToucheRose La Touche was the pupil, cherished student, "pet," and ideal from which John Ruskin based Sesame and Lilies .- Introduction to John Ruskin :...
Episode list
| Episode | Director | Writer | Original air date | Ratings (millions) |
|---|
Works featured
Each episode focuses around the composition and/or exhibition of a particular painting by a member of the Brotherhood; these images are available to explore on the BBC website with an audio commentary. Prominently featured works are:- Christ in the House of His ParentsChrist in the House of His ParentsChrist in the House of His Parents is a painting by John Everett Millais depicting the Holy Family in Saint Joseph's carpentry workshop. The painting was extremely controversial when first exhibited, prompting many negative reviews, most notably one written by Charles Dickens...
(1849–50) by John Everett Millais - OpheliaOphelia (painting)Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851-52. Currently held in the Tate Britain in London, it depicts Ophelia, a character from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark....
(1851-2) by John Everett Millais - The Order of ReleaseThe Order of ReleaseThe Order of Release, 1746 is a painting by John Everett Millais exhibited in 1853. It is notable for the fact that it marks the beginnings of Millais's move away from the highly detailed Pre-Raphaelitism of his early years...
(1854) by John Everett Millais - The ScapegoatThe Scapegoat (painting)The Scapegoat is a painting by William Holman Hunt which depicts the "scapegoat" described in the Book of Leviticus. He started painting on the shore of the Dead Sea, and continued in his studio in London...
(1856) by William Holman Hunt - Bocca BaciataBocca BaciataBocca Baciata is a painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti which represents a turning point in his career. It was the first of his pictures of single female figures, and established the style that was later to become a signature of his work...
(1859) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Beata BeatrixBeata BeatrixBeata Beatrix is an oil on canvas painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, completed in 1872. It depicts Beatrice Portinari from Dante Alighieri's poem La Vita Nuova at the moment of her death. Rossetti modeled Beatrice after his deceased wife and frequent model Elizabeth Siddal....
(1872) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Shadow of DeathThe Shadow of DeathThe Shadow of Death is a religious painting by William Holman Hunt, on which he worked from 1870 to 1873, after his second trip to the Holy Land. It depicts Jesus as a young man prior to his ministry, working as a carpenter. He is shown stretching his arms after sawing wood...
(1872) by William Holman Hunt - Oxford Union muralsOxford Union muralsThe Oxford Union murals are a series of mural decorations in the Oxford Union library building. The series was executed by a team of Pre-Raphaelite artists including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones...
(1857-9) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones et al.
Other notable images include:
- Ecce Ancilla Domini (1849–50) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- The Hireling ShepherdThe Hireling ShepherdThe Hireling Shepherd is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt. It represents a shepherd neglecting his flock in favour of an attractive country girl to whom he shows a death's-head hawkmoth...
(1851) by William Holman Hunt - The Light of the World (1853–54) by William Holman Hunt
- The Awakening ConscienceThe Awakening ConscienceThe Awakening Conscience is an oil-on-canvas painting by British artist William Holman Hunt, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which depicts a young woman rising from her position in the lap of a man and gazing transfixed out of the window of a room.Initially the painting...
(1853) by William Holman Hunt - Dante's Vision of Rachel and Leah (1855) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- The Blind GirlThe Blind GirlThe Blind Girl is a painting by John Everett Millais which depicts two itinerant beggars, presumed to be sisters, one of whom is a blind musician, her concertina on her lap...
(1856) by John Everett Millais - Autumn LeavesAutumn Leaves (painting)Autumn Leaves is a painting by John Everett Millais exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856. It was described by the critic John Ruskin as "the first instance of a perfectly painted twilight." Millais's wife Effie wrote that he had intended to create a picture that was "full of beauty and without a...
(1856) by John Everett Millais - The Holy Family (undated) by Elizabeth Siddal
- The Rowing Boat (undated) by Elizabeth Siddal
- Venus Verticordia (1868) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (viewed as a preliminary sketch in episode four)
- BubblesBubbles (painting)Bubbles, originally titled A Child's World, is a painting by Sir John Everett Millais that became famous when it was used over many generations in advertisements for Pears soap...
(1886) by John Everett Millais (viewed as a preliminary sketch in episode four)
The poem Rossetti writes for Lizzie as she recuperates from her ordeal in Millais' bath tub is "Sudden Light" (c.1853-4, published 1863). The final stanza, which Rossetti reads aloud to Lizzie before they first make love, appears in the 1870 edition of Rossetti's Collected Poems. Also featured are "Newborn Death" and "The Kiss". The verses read at Lizzie's funeral by her sister are from Lizzie's own poem "Dead Love" (c.1859).
Historical accuracy
Each episode begins with the disclaimerDisclaimer
A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship...
: "In the mid-19th century, a group of young men challenged the art establishment of the day. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood were inspired by the real world about them, yet took imaginative licence in their art. This story, based on their lives and loves, follows in that inventive spirit." In an interview for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Moyle noted that Bowker's adaptation of her source material required a "chronological sleight of hand" turning "the story that plays out in the book over 12 years into something that feels as if it's taking place over a couple of years – to keep up the pace, to make it feel modern."
- Fred Walters is a composite characterComposite characterA composite character is a character composed of two or more individuals, appearing in a fictional or non-fictional work. Two fictional characters are often combined into one upon adaptation of a work from one medium to another, as in the film adaptation of a novel...
based on Frederic George StephensFrederic George StephensFrederic George Stephens was an art critic, and one of the two 'non-artistic' members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood....
, William Michael RossettiWilliam Michael RossettiWilliam Michael Rossetti was an English writer and critic.-Biography:Born in London, he was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and the brother of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Georgina Rossetti.He was one of the seven founder members of the...
and Walter DeverellWalter DeverellWalter Howell Deverell was an English artist, born in the United States of America, who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood....
, and functions as both narrator and audience surrogateAudience surrogateIn the study of literature, an audience surrogate is a fictional character with whom the audience can identify, or who expresses the questions and confusion of the audience...
. It was Deverell who discovered Lizzie, and Stephens, in his capacity as an art critic, who acted as the Brotherhood's publicist.
- Dickens' criticism of Christ in the House of His Parents is an extract from his original review, titled "Old Lamps for New Ones", that featured in the 15 June 1850 edition of Household WordsHousehold WordsHousehold Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words" — Henry V.-History:...
.
- Lizzie Siddal's father did indeed claim to be descended from aristocracy, but the family was larger than depicted in the series. She had three sisters and a younger brother. Her father in fact died in 1859, before her marriage to Rossetti.
- Annie Miller was not working as a prostitute when Hunt first asked her to pose for him, but as a barmaid in Charing CrossCharing CrossCharing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
Road at the public house frequented by the Brotherhood (though the series is somewhat vague at her introduction as to whether she is a barmaid with other interests, or a prostitute who happens to tend bar). Annie was not the model for The Hireling Shepherd: a farm worker, Emma Watkins, was.
- When Effie discovers a collection of erotic drawings by J. M. W. TurnerJ. M. W. TurnerJoseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
amongst Ruskin's papers he claims that he is "compelled to destroy them" to protect Turner's posthumous reputation. Biographies of both Turner and Ruskin claimed that Ruskin had burned them in 1858, but this was disproved in 2005 when the sketches were discovered in a neglected archive.
- Although Lizzie Siddal did catch pneumonia during the painting of Millais' Ophelia, the Brotherhood were not forced to bribe her father to allow her to continue modelling; instead, Siddal's father wrote to Millais asking him to pay a doctor's bill to the sum of £50. According to his son, Millais settled for a lower sum.
- Millais painted The Order of Release at the Ruskins' country home in Scotland and not at their townhouse in London.
- The reason behind Ruskin's inability —or unwillingness— to consummate his marriage to Effie remains the subject of debate amongst his biographers. In 1854, Effie wrote to her father: "He alleged various reasons, hatred to children, religious motives, a desire to preserve my beauty, and, finally this last year he told me his true reason [...] that he had imagined women were quite different to what he saw I was, and that the reason he did not make me his Wife [sic] was because he was disgusted with my person the first evening." Ruskin's only word on the matter was in a statement to his lawyer during annulment proceedings: "It may be thought strange that I could abstain from a woman who to most people was so attractive. But though her face was beautiful, her person was not formed to excite passion. On the contrary, there were certain circumstances in her person that completely checked it." It has been speculated that Ruskin's unfamiliarity with the realities of the female body was the reason he felt unable to make love to her, and that it was either the sight of Effie's pubic hair or menstrual blood that informed his disgust. His relationship with Rose la Touche has also led to claims that he was a paedophile, having met her at the age of ten and stating that he had loved her since their first meeting. This claim is often backed up by letters he sent to illustrator Kate GreenawayKate GreenawayCatherine Greenaway , known as Kate Greenaway, was an English children's book illustrator and writer, who spent much of her childhood at Rolleston, Nottinghamshire. She studied at what is now the Royal College of Art in London, which at that time had a separate section for women, and was headed by...
— asking her to draw children naked. However, he did not approach Rose as a potential suitor until she was seventeen.
- Key members and associates of the Brotherhood, such as Ford Madox BrownFord Madox BrownFord Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
, and Rossetti's brother William and sister ChristinaChristina RossettiChristina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...
, are conspicuous by their absence.
- The character of "Lord Rosterley" to whom Annie becomes engaged is based on Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount RanelaghThomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount RanelaghLieutenant Colonel Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh KCB was a British aristocrat known for his involvement in the volunteer movement to recruit amateur soldiers for the defence of Britain and for his links to glamorous women of the era, notably the Pre-Raphaelite model Annie Miller and...
, with whom she was involved.
- Rossetti did not meet Burne-Jones and Morris when they became his students. They were students at Oxford university. They recruited Rossetti to contribute to their Oxford and Cambridge Magazine which Morris founded in 1856 to promote their ideas.
- Rossetti's church mural is in fact his composition Sir Lancelot's Vision of the Grail for the Oxford UnionOxford UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
building, which he worked on in collaboration with Morris and Burne-Jones. Rossetti did paint an altarpiece for Llandaff CathedralLlandaff CathedralLlandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church...
, The Seed of David (1858-9).
- The series portrays Jane Burden as a woman with an Oxfordshire accent working as a waitress in London, meeting Rossetti by chance after having already become Morris' "sweetheart". In fact Jane Burden was first noticed in her home town by Rossetti and Burne-Jones when they were working on the Oxford murals. She was visiting an Oxford theatre with her sister. They asked her to model for them, and she met Morris as a result. Morris and Jane were married in 1859, three years before Lizzie's death.
- Lizzie died from a laudanumLaudanumLaudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
overdose in 1862, having grown severely depressed after giving birth to a stillborn daughter. Her death was ruled accidental by the coroner, although it has been claimed she did leave a suicide note that Ford Madox Brown suggested Rossetti burn to avoid any scandal. Rossetti did not have the poems he had buried with Lizzie exhumed until 1869 when he and his agent, Charles Augustus HowellCharles Augustus HowellCharles Augustus Howell was an art dealer and alleged blackmailer who is best known for persuading the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti to dig up the poems he buried with his wife Elizabeth Siddal...
, applied to the then Home SecretaryHenry Bruce, 1st Baron AberdareHenry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare GCB, PC, FRS was a British Liberal Party politician, who served in government most notably as Home Secretary and as Lord President of the Council....
for permission. As depicted in the serial, the manuscript was retrieved in the dead of night to avoid a scandal; Rossetti, however, was not present.
Reception
When Desperate Romantics was first shown on BBC Two it attracted 2.61 million viewers. The first episode received mixed reviews; Tom SutcliffeTom Sutcliffe (broadcaster)
Thomas Sutcliffe is a British journalist and arts broadcaster.Sutcliffe studied English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
described the series as "an off-day" for writer Peter Bowker, adding: "It was never quite recklessly anachronistic enough to suggest a defence of predetermination for those moments in the script that seemed more like a spoof of an artistic biopic than a genuine attempt to rise above its limitations." Serena Davies wrote in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that the episode: "sadly didn't go far enough in conveying to the viewers how much the Pre-Raphaelites’ art contrasted with what had gone before it." Caitlin Moran
Caitlin Moran
Caitlin Moran is a British broadcaster, TV critic and columnist at The Times, where she writes three columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, a TV review column, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch"...
, reviewing the episode for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, described it as "so bone-deep cheesy that it appears to have been written with Primula
Primula (food)
Primula is the brand name associated with a range of food products marketed by The Kavli Group. The best known range is Primula Cheese Spread.- History :...
, on Kraft
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
Cheese Slices, and shot on location in Cheddar
Cheddar
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...
."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
review described the first episode as: "a rollicking gambol through a fictionalised Victorian London with a narrative as contemptuous of historical reverence as its rambunctious subjects were." Andrea Mullaney, writing for The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, also considered it: "a rollicking romp ... it's rather good fun", but cautioned: "historical purists will have to clench their thighs as it plays fast and loose with accuracy – much like the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood themselves, for all their vaunted insistence on painting the truth of nature."
Viewing figures for the second episode dropped to 2.13 million. The third episode attracted 2.15 million viewers, and ratings for the fourth fell to 1.92 million. Viewing figures for the fifth episode rose to 1.96 million viewers. The sixth and final episode of the series attracted 1.76 million viewers.
External links
- The Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource The largest online collection of Pre-Raphaelite art