Kirsty Stonell Walker

LATEST ARTICLES ( 598 )

• A Poem for National Poetry Day 2015

  

  Happy National Poetry Day, m'dears! Actually, this happily coincides with my final tweaking of my new novel, out this winter. It concerns a poet, Max Wainwright... Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2015 CULTURE

• The Passing of Alfred

  

  Public grief. It is such a tricky subject that I have started and restarted this post about seven times now. I think I find it most tricky as I don't really... Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2015 CULTURE

• Time Makes Tragedy Of Us All

  

  This is likely to be a ramble-y post, so bear with me as I return to the thorny issue of aging. You might remember we talked about this a couple of years ago... Read more

  Posted on 29 September 2015 CULTURE

• Ophelia's Muse: Q&A with Rita Cameron

  

  As many of you will know there is a new book out to add to the growing shelf of Pre-Raphaelite Fiction. Ophelia's Muse follows the story of Elizabeth Siddal fro... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2015 CULTURE

• Desperation to Transformation

  

  Next month will mark the five year anniversary of when I underwent a massive transformation. On the face of it I didn't look that different and many close... Read more

  Posted on 15 September 2015 CULTURE

• Review: Red: A Natural History of the Redhead

  

  You cannot be a fan of Pre-Raphaelite art without, at some point, noticing that one hair colour seems rather prevalent. Whether you say 'russet' or 'Titian' or... Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2015 CULTURE

• The Curious Case of the Silver Spoon

  

  As you know, my new novel We Are Villains All will be thrust upon you in December, so brace yourselves. As I have pretty much finished all my work on it, just... Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2015 CULTURE

• The Other Fraser Tytler Girl...

  

  I find it very interesting how certain people are lost in time. A poet for example can just be forgotten, whereas another flourishes, despite being celebrated i... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2015 CULTURE

• Annie Louisa Swynnerton

  

  There are artists whose paintings you will recognise but when you come to look into their lives, there is surprisingly little information available. Read more

  Posted on 21 August 2015 CULTURE

• Rossetti's Reputation in the 20th Century

  

  If you have ever had the pleasure/misfortune to study the Pre-Raphaelites at University level, you probably came across the fact that the Pre-Raphaelites were... Read more

  Posted on 19 August 2015 CULTURE

• From Life: Interview with Victoria Olsen

  

  Victoria OlsenWhen I moved from looking at Julia Margaret Cameron's photographs to wanting to know more about her life, the first biography I bought was Victori... Read more

  Posted on 13 August 2015 CULTURE

• Review: The Art of Bedlam

  

  I really need to be careful or I shall end up being known as the Mad Art Historian due to the amount of time I spend reading asylum records, but while artists... Read more

  Posted on 10 August 2015 CULTURE

• All Aboard!

  

  You find me in the midst of the summer holidays, which means I am now working funny hours. Because we have the lovely Lily-Rose to look after, Mr Walker and I... Read more

  Posted on 06 August 2015 CULTURE

• The Scandalous Spring of 'Seventy Nine...

  

  Sometimes when researching in old newspapers you are taken by surprise at the vehement response to a painting which nowadays seems tame. Read more

  Posted on 31 July 2015 CULTURE

• Harem-Scarem...

  I have a random memory of being very young and an elderly relative telling me seriously that while out in town I should be aware of the dangers of white slavery. Read more

  Posted on 20 July 2015 CULTURE

• That's Shalott

  

  It all started when I watched It Follows this week...I am a sucker for a 'curse' film, where the likeable protagonist accidentally gets the attention of a grump... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2015 CULTURE

• Review: Julia Margaret Cameron by Marta Weiss

  

  A highlight of this year will undoubtedly be the Victoria and Albert Museum's upcoming bicentennial exhibition of Julia Margaret Cameron's work, coming in the... Read more

  Posted on 10 July 2015 CULTURE

• Rossetti's Women by Joan Greening

  

  As you will know if you follow my work, I am very Fanny-centric. Imagine my delight, fair reader, when I discovered there was a play about Fanny Cornforth, usin... Read more

  Posted on 07 July 2015 CULTURE

• Mary, Mary, Maids of Tennyson’s Isle: Julia Margaret Cameron’s Marys and Her...

  

  Forthose that know her photographs, and no doubt all here present, it will come as no surprise that Julia Margaret Cameron seemed to have selected her maids... Read more

  Posted on 05 July 2015 CULTURE

• Review: Mr Holmes

  

  Turns out my father is Sherlock Holmes. In many ways I shouldn't have been surprised by this news but within the first few minutes of watching the new film Mr... Read more

  Posted on 27 June 2015 CULTURE