Pre-Raphaelitism was a multi-faceted movement which had a fundamental impact on the cultural, artistic, and intellectual life of Victorian Britain and the British Empire. The Pre-Raphaelites were legendary figures mythologised in their own lifetimes. This major movement has direct relevance to contemporary understanding of national heritage. The Pre-Raphaelites and their supporters produced numerous cultural statements spanning the decorative arts, literature and social politics. This four volume set demonstrates the profoundly interdisciplinary nature of Pre-Raphaelitism. It collects together original Pre-Raphaelite materials comprising fiction, prose, verse, literary criticism and illustration. A unique range of writings on art, design, architecture, philosophy, religion, science and politics is presented in the themed volumes: literature and literary criticism; autobiographies and diaries; philosophy; design and art criticism; social and cultural critique.
Whole texts and significant extracts from the writings of key Pre-Raphaelite figures such as William Allingham, Walter Crane, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, William Morris, Walter Pater, Coventry Patmore, George du Maurier, Christina Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, John Ruskin, Algernon Swinburne, Alfred Tennyson and Elizabeth Sidall are included. Wherever possible, significant and rare texts by minor Pre-Raphaelites such as Thomas Woolner, John Lucas Tupper, William Cave Thomas, Ellen Alleyn and Marian Alford are printed. An introduction to the set provides an indispensable overview of the Pre-Raphaelites and thier works, and highlights the precise themes and contexts of the texts selected. The introduction also examines historicism and cultural politics; key issues in the critical debate about the nature of Pre-Raphaelitism. A chronological table of all 141 reprinted texts is also included.