A Profound Secret: May Gaskell, her daughter Amy, and Edward Burne-Jones - Couverture rigide

Dimbleby, Josceline

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0385603231 ISBN 13 : 9780385603232

Editeur : Doubleday, 2004

Synopsis

A chance encounter sent Josceline Dimbleby on a search to discover the truth about her great-grandmother, May Gaskell, her tragic daughter Amy, and the famous painter Edward Burne-Jones. She met Andrew Lloyd Weber at a party and talked to him about a dark, mysterious Burne-Jones portrait he possessed. The subject was Amy, who, according to family lore, 'died young of a broken heart'. In her search to find out more, she came across a family cache of unpublished letters from Burne-Jones to May Gaskell which exposes a passionate correspondence, of up to five letters a day, throughout the last six years of the pre-Raphaelite painter's life. As she delved deeper, more and more unanswered questions were revealed: why did Burne-Jones feel he had to protect May from an overwhelming sadness? What was the 'profound secret' she had confided to him? What was the tragic truth behind May's beautiful daughter Amy's wayward, wandering life, her strange marriage, and her unexplained death?

In piecing together the romantic, poignant story of her own great-grandmother, Josceline Dimbleby brings to life a most turbulent period in English history, visiting the most far-flung corners of the Empire, covering the Boer War and the Great War, peopled by bohemian artists and tortured gentry, lonely colonial civil servants, and dashing socialites; the Souls, William Morris, Rudyard Kipling and William Gladstone.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Josceline Dimbleby is the author of many bestselling cookery books and a winner of the Andre Simon and Glenfiddich Cookery foodwriters awards. She wrote a cookery column for the Sunday Telegraph for fifteen years. She recently turned away from the cookery in favour of travel writing and has written travel pieces for the Mail on Sunday, Conde Naste Traveller and Sainsburys magazine.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

A chance encounter at a summer party sent Josceline Dimbleby on a quest to uncover a mystery in her own family's past. Talking to Andrew Lloyd Webber about a beautiful dark portrait in his art collection, by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones, she undertook to find out more about the subject of the painting, her great-aunt Amy Gaskell. All that was known about Amy, according to family lore, was that she had 'died young of a broken heart'.

In her search, Josceline came across a cache of unpublished letters from Burne-Jones to her great-grandmother May Gaskell, Amy's mother. These letters turned out to be part of a passionate correspondence, of up to five letters a day, which continued throughout the last six years of the painter's life. As she read, more and more questions were raised: why did Burne-Jones feel he had to protect May from an overwhelming sadness? What was the deep secret she had confided to him? And what was the tragic truth behind May's beautiful daughter Amy's wayward, wandering life, her strange marriage and her unexplained early death?

In piecing together the eventful life of her great-grandmother, Josceline Dimbleby takes us through a turbulent period in English history that includes the Boer War, the Great War and the Second World War, and visits the most far-flung corners of the Empire. The Souls, William Morris, Rudyard Kipling and William Gladstone all play a part in this sweeping, often funny and sometimes tragic story. Above all, it is her infectious enthusiasm for a subject so close to home that makes A Profound Secret a compelling and richly entertaining read.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Doubleday
• Date d'édition: 2004
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0385603231
• ISBN 13: 9780385603232
• Reliure: Relié
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 368
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible