Description
William Morris is one of the most admired figures of the Victorian era. Studies of his Art and his life fill the shelves of libraries. Yet, for all this accessibility, an air of uncertainty has always clouded his image. Since Morrisis death, biographers and scholars have portrayed the artist as a victim, bound to an adulterous wife. In Art and Forbidden Fruit, John Le Bourgeois lifts the veil of appearances, and shows the truth about Morrisis life. In a close analysis of Morrisis poetry and biography, the Author asserts the early existence of an emotional attachment between William Morris and his sister Emma, and how she became the principal source of his inspiration. Le Bourgeois follows the paths of Morris the artist and Morris the man, and points out the links between the poetis love for his sister and his evolution as an artist.
About the Author
Dr John Le Bourgeois taught English and European History at the Clemson University and later worked in the banking sector. From 1988 to 2005, John Le Bourgeois was the Associate Dean of the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University. He has written many articles on William Morris and other major figures of the Victorian era. He is now retired and lives with his wife Mimi in Swarthmore, USA.
Reviews
"John Le Bourgeois ventures a radical reinterpretation of the marriage between William Morris and Jane Burden, whose adulterous relationship to Dante Gabriel Rossetti always has been mediated for us by his poems and paintings devoted to her. Le Bourgeois convincingly suggests that Morris himself was culpable, because of his repressed passion for his sister Emma. ... Le Bourgeois' book is responsible and poignant, and has altered my understanding of this tangled web." Harold Bloom
Book Information
ISBN 9780718830595
Author John Le Bourgeois
Format Paperback
Page Count 152
Imprint Lutterworth Press
Publisher James Clarke & Co Ltd
Weight(grams) 220g