Profwriting

Lucinda Hawksley, author of Lizzie Siddal: The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel, talks to Sam Bowhay about her biography exploring the life of Millais’ doomed Ophelia – and how she became obsessed with her subject.

What inspired you to write about Lizzie Siddal?
"I’ve always been fascinated by Lizzie. The more I found out about her life, the more I could see how much she warranted a biography. Academics have been keeping her to themselves for far too long! I wanted to make her accessible to everybody, and to look at her as a human being, not just a model, an artist, or a legend. Her life story reads like a novel, which made it a joy to write. Several people have asked if I made certain bits up, as they sound so far-fetched, but it’s all true."

Where did you start your research, and how did you decide what to look for?
"I began by reading everything that has been written about her so far, from the diaries of the Pre-Raphaelites to the most modern academic books. I wanted to bring her out from the shadows of a male-dominated world, into which she is usually relegated, and look at her as a person in her own right, who happens to be female and to have been part of a fascinating world.

I did much of my medical research at the Wellcome Institute Library, which was a world I hadn’t entered before. It was really interesting as it was so different from my usual research topics."

What angle did you take, and did that change during the research/ writing process?
"The original working title was ‘The Original Supermodel’, which was a title both the publisher and I came up with independently of one another. It was great because we were both looking at the book from the same angle, wanting to bring Lizzie up to date so modern audiences would discover her. Sadly, there’s a tendency to see historic subjects as boring or too difficult, so I wanted to let readers realise that human nature never changes and the Victorians were little different from us; they had their supermodels and flawed sexual romances as well. Luckily, the angle of my writing did not change, or I wouldn’t have fulfilled my brief!"

As you were researching did you discover any facts that shocked or moved you?
"The fact that she was pregnant again when she died was something I’d not realised before, also her suicide was largely attributable to post-natal depression. It was tragic to read about contemporary attitudes to post-natal depression, which was largely to ignore it and pretend nothing is wrong; little consideration was given to grieving parents after a stillbirth. I was also staggered by the extent of laudanum abuse and how many ailments it was used for. It is a mixture of opium and alcohol, yet was believed to cure alcoholism.

I began the project with very mixed views of Dante Rossetti and the way he treated her. I was surprised to find myself feeling truly sorry for him and realising how manipulative she could be. I ended up feeling much more sympathy with him than I ever expected to. The story is sad on both sides.

I began feeling very protective of Lizzie, then going through a phase of finding her incredibly irritating and ending feeling so sad and close to her. You feel as though you have really got to know your subject, which is weird when it’s someone that has been dead for 140 years."

Did you find yourself becoming emotionally affected as you unravelled and retold the story?
"Yes I did, especially after the stillbirth and the post-natal depression as I have been very close to women suffering through both. I found her slide into addiction both tragic and infuriating. Her suicide was so pathetic (in the true sense). When Susannah Harker read it out on Radio 4’s Book of the Week, I found myself crying at the end, even though I knew the script before she read it."

How long did the book take from conception to realisation? How do you keep yourself motivated?
"I was only given one year, although I had done quite a lot of work on the Pre-Raphaelites before, which made it achievable; I could not have done it from scratch in just 12 months. Perhaps because the time schedule was so short, I didn’t have a problem with motivation. It was more a question of blind panic that I wouldn’t get it done.

The inspiration is easy to find; when something absorbs you it is possible to keep on going all the time until you reach the end. The problem is earning money to keep you going in the real world."

It has been claimed that the art of writing is in the process of rewriting. How do you tackle this process?
"For me, the art of writing is to research fully and have it all in your head before you start the writing. I don’t like having to rewrite as it becomes overwritten and I think this is obvious. Most of the book was written sequentially, with only occasional checks and re-writes. I see it as being like an exam: if you really know your subject it starts to flow; it’s when you don’t have enough knowledge that it gets blocked.

You appear to have written a number of academic texts. Did you find the transition from academic to biographical research and writing challenging?
I did find it difficult as my art history background is academic, although a great deal of my other writing is non academic (I write features for BSkyB and you can’t get less academic than that!). Finding the middle ground was difficult, as I wanted it to be fun to read, but also factually accurate. Once I’d written one chapter, it all seemed to fall into place, but writing that first chapter was nerve-wracking."

Has writing about Lizzie inspired you to pursue other similar projects?
"Yes, although it has also made me realize that I couldn’t write about someone I wasn’t entirely fascinated by. Unfortunately, this makes finding a future biography subject (who has not already been written about for the popular market) difficult."

From your experience, what advice could you give to writers embarking on biographical projects?
"First of all, the person has to be someone you are truly fascinated by, for whatever reason, good or bad. It also helps if you know where to start your research. Contact anyone who may be able to help you, including academics, family members, or friends of the subject.

Be realistic about how long it will take you- if it’s someone obscure or little written about, you will need a much longer schedule. Expect it to take over your life, and never underestimate how much time researching even one tiny fact can take you. You will have days that are dull and vexing, but the vast majority are far more interesting than I ever expected them to be. Researching a life is like undertaking detective work, and there are some wonderful surprises to be discovered."