Not as She is: A Novel About Elizabeth Siddal

Abstract

This novel follows in the feminist tradition of reclaiming female artists who have been overlooked, or misrepresented. Not as She is centers around Elizabeth Siddal, a Victorian-era artist, known for her connections with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), but also a worthy artist in her own right. Siddal is often viewed by traditional art historians as a hysterical, laudanum-addicted muse, but the fictional representation of her life found in this novel provides a more complex account. By using first person and second person points of view in present tense, the reader is given a more vivid version of Siddal as she struggles with her addiction to laudanum, becomes absorbed in the process of creating art and lives her daily life.