Effie
The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais
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Narrated by:
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Sophie Ward
About this listen
Effie Gray, a beautiful and intelligent young socialite, rattled the foundations of England's Victorian age. Married at 19 to John Ruskin, the leading art critic of the time, she found herself trapped in a loveless, unconsummated union after Ruskin rejected her on their wedding night. On a trip to Scotland she met John Everett Millais, Ruskin's protege, and fell passionately in love with him. In a daring act, Effie left Ruskin, had their marriage annulled, and entered into a long, happy marriage with Millais.
Suzanne Fagence Cooper has gained exclusive access to Effie's previously unseen letters and diaries to tell the complete story of this scandalous love triangle. In Cooper's hands, this passionate love story also becomes an important new look at the work of both Ruskin and Millais, with Effie emerging as a key figure in their artistic development.
Effie is a heartbreakingly beautiful book about three lives passionately entwined with some of the greatest paintings of the pre-Raphaelite period.
©2011 Suzanne Fagence Cooper (P)2012 AudioGOListeners also enjoyed...
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The first Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722) was a soldier of such genius that a lavish palace, Blenheim, was built to honor his triumphs. Succeeding generations of Churchills sometimes achieved distinction but also included profligates and womanizers, and were saddled with the ruinous upkeep of Blenheim. The Churchills were an extraordinary family: ambitious, impecunious, impulsive, brave, and arrogant. Winston - recently voted "The Greatest Briton" - dominates them all. His failures and triumphs are revealed in the context of a poignant and sometimes tragic private life.
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Grand! In it's own wonderful way.
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Louisa
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- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
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Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century.
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Insightful
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The Unfinished Palazzo
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Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Venier family waned, and the project was left abandoned and unfinished. Yet in the early 20th century, it attracted three fascinating women: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse and Peggy Guggenheim.
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Nostalgia At Its Best
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Matriarch
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The life of Princess May of Teck is one of the great Cinderella stories in history. From a family of impoverished nobility, she was chosen by Queen Victoria as the bride for her eldest grandson, the scandalous Duke of Clarence, heir to the throne, who died mysteriously before their marriage. Despite this setback, she became queen, mother of two kings, grandmother of the current queen, and a lasting symbol of the majesty of the British throne.
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Wow! Did not want this to end!
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Charlotte Brontë
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Charlotte Brontë's life contained all the drama and tragedy of the great Gothic novels it inspired. Like Jane Eyre, she was raised motherless on remote Yorkshire moors and sent away to a brutally strict boarding school at a young age. Charlotte grew up and watched helplessly as, one by one, her five beloved siblings sickened and died; by the end of her short life, she was the only child of the Brontë clan remaining.
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Clear-Eyed Bio of Literature's Most Elusive Figure
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Mr. Darcy's Daughters
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Picking up 20 years after Pride and Prejudice left off, Mr. Darcy's Daughters begins in the year 1818. Elizabeth and Darcy have gone to Constantinople, giving us an opportunity to get to know their five daughters, who have left the sheltered surroundings of Pemberley for a few months in London.
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soooo much drama!
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Diana
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The sensational biography of Princess Diana, now revised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death. When Diana: Her True Story - in Her Own Words was first published in 1992, it forever changed the way the public viewed the British monarchy.
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Wonderful overall with one issue...
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House of Dreams
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Once upon a time, there was a girl named Maud who adored stories. When she was fourteen years old, Maud wrote in her journal, "I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them." Not only did Maud grow up to own lots of books, she wrote twenty-four of them herself as L. M. Montgomery, the world-renowned author of Anne of Green Gables. For many years, her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression, her "year of mad passion" and her difficult married life were buried deep within her unpublished personal journals....
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Home’o’dreams
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- Unabridged
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In Royal Sisters, Anne Edwards, author of the best-selling Vivien Leigh: A Biography and Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor, has written the first dual biography of Elizabeth, the princess who was to become Queen, and her younger sister, Margaret, who was to be her subject. From birth to maturity, they were the stuff of which dreams are made.
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Where's The Rest?
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Her Little Majesty
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- By: Carolly Erickson
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- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Her Little Majesty is a fresh and fascinating portrait of the diminutive monarch who ruled the vast British empire for over 60 years. Award-winning biographer and historian, Carolly Erickson, transports you behind the walls of Buckingham Palace to introduce you to the quirky, loveable Queen Victoria—revealed only to her closest associates. Emotionally deprived, inadequately educated, and socially isolated for much of her life, young Victoria felt ill-prepared to ascend the throne.
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Disappointing after Josephine.
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By: Carolly Erickson
What listeners say about Effie
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- Cariola
- 06-29-12
Fascinating Story--Victoriana
Effie Gray was only twelve when she met the celebrated young art critic John Ruskin in 1841. A friendship developed, and within a few years, he proposed; the two married when Effie was nineteen, Ruskin 29. Effie imagined the two of them as the perfect couple, her social charm as asset to his brilliance. But on their wedding night, something went terribly wrong. Despite her innocence, Effie knew that there had to be more to marriage than taking walks along the riverbank: Ruskin either would not or could not consummate their union. In a letter to her parents, she wrote:
"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 was because he was disgusted with my person the first evening 10th April 1848."
Ashamed, Effie remained in the marriage for six years before formally filing for an annulment. She was subjected to a physical examination to verify her chastity and humiliated by Ruskin's testimony that "though her face was beautiful, her person was not formed to excite passion. On the contrary, there were certain circumstances in her person which completely checked it." The doctor who examined her declared that she was normal in every way; it has been speculated that Ruskin might have been repelled by his wife's pubic hair, or that she was menstruating. As one would expect, the case created a scandal in Victorian England.
Fortunately, a happier future was in store. Effie had posed for Ruskin's friend, the artist John Everett Millais, who accompanied the couple on a trip to Scotland. The two fell in love and were married a year after the annulment was granted. Fagence devotes the first half of her biography to the scandal, but the second details Effie's 42-year marriage, which, despite some losses and difficulties, was a happy one. Effie continued to model for Millais (as did her siblings, her eight children, and later their grandchildren), and "Everett," as she called him, eventually earned great success as a painter, as well as a baronetcy. But her one disappointment was that the queen would not receive "a divorced person" at court. It seemed she would never quite shake the scandal of NOT being a wife to Ruskin. And Ruskin, who apparently never learned when not to speak, publicly blamed Effie for 'ruining' Millais's potential as an artist, the necessity of feeding a family turning him to a more lucrative style.
Cooper does an admirable job of presenting this slice of Victorian scandal and a peek into the world of art. We learn not only about the three persons mentioned in her lengthy title, but also about her travels in Italy, the elder Ruskins, Effie's family in Scotland, the Millais children, and the friends who stood by her. I did find the second half a bit confusing at times, partly because of the profusion of Johns, Georges, Sophias and Effies, but also because of the author's tendency to jump back and forth through time.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Minjasassin
- 04-28-21
very good book
I really enjoyed learning about Effie, John and Everett. I spent quite a bit of time looking for some of the paintings mentioned throughout the text. truly incredible works.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kdmd
- 02-14-21
Wonderful
Very interesting and well narrated! I was fascinated by Effie’s story. Ms Cooper did an outstanding job giving the subjects of this historical biography balanced focus and insight. I was very moved by the full scope covered in this book. Ms Ward did a wonderfully expressive job in the narration.
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2 people found this helpful
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- R Holcombe
- 01-11-21
What an interesting life this woman had.
The narrator has one of the most perfect voices I have ever listened to. I became completely absorbed in the story of Effie and her family. I finished it all in one weekend. It was so lovely!
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- L. Locker
- 05-12-23
Well done triple biography
This was a delightful biography focusing on Effie but also exploring the personalities of those who were important to her. This information yields a deeper level of understanding of her personality and possible motivations through her life. This biography covers all her life: childhood to death, not just the bits we may know from film.
I very much enjoyed the awareness of this author in admitting clearly when meanings of writings were not clear, or could be understood in several different ways in Victorian society.
There was a refreshing lack of cultural or political bias in exploring issues of sex, women's roles, and relationships.
The reader was clear in speech and moved to the background of the story, as the best readers do.
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- Bentley S. Davis
- 04-24-22
well written biography
I've long been familiar with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and knew some of the story of Effie. But this is so much more thorough. Very well done.
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- Dolce Momento
- 03-09-23
Highly interesting biography of Effie Gray, and her two husbands, John Ruskin and Everett Millais
This is a very well-researched biography, with an engaging and interesting account of the lives of Effie Gray and her two husbands, focusing also on their work and art, family members, and Victorian society. It is easy to listen to and well-narrated.
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- L Beasley
- 01-11-22
It doesn’t feel like a historical piece
The author did a great job of piecing together hundreds if not thousands of letters and pieces of news and pictures and created a beautiful, yet often sad,story of the life of Effie… I thought I was going to be bored when I found out the piece was all just about her and not a story… But she did a great job putting the true life facts together and it flowed smoothly as a story. I feel like I know Effie, her family and the art involved. Well done
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2 people found this helpful
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- HistoryNerd
- 01-16-21
Decent biography
I’ve been fascinated with the story of Effie Gray for some time so I was pleased to stumble upon this biography. As an architectural historian, I was definitely familiar with John Ruskin but wow—he was quite the odd one. Even somewhat sinister.
The biography includes many of the characters surrounding Effie and her husbands, children and siblings, both. At times I felt this was unnecessary, but ultimately it was interesting to know what happened to everyone. I think there could have been more effort put into describing the Pre-Raphaelite friends of John Everett Millais and the women they were involved with, particularly in regards to the ones that were closest to Millais and Effie. To some extent, I would have preferred to hear more about them than some of the others that the author chose to explore.
Overall, a very good portrayal of a fascinating woman.
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- Jen
- 02-23-21
Beautiful story, well-read and written
I stumbled across this book after stumbling across Millais’ name while listening to a Great Courses audio about the Victorian era. The story did not disappoint. While John Ruskin was a cornerstone of Victorian history, you’ll certainly learn to see him in a different light after learning of his treatment to his wife. Effie herself is the portrait of a Victorian lady, and the story of her and her family is engrossing and touching. Beautifully narrated by Sophie Ward. I highly recommend this story to anyone with an interest in Victorian history.
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3 people found this helpful