May And Amy: A True Story Of Family, Forbidden Love, And The Secret Lives Of May Gaskell, Her Daughter Amy, And Sir Edward Burne-jo

A chance encounter at a summer party sent writer Josceline Dimbleby on a quest to uncover a mystery in her family's past. After talking with Andrew Lloyd Webber about a beautiful, dark portrait in his art collection, she decided to find out more about the subject of the painting: her great-aunt Amy Gaskell. Dimbleby had always known her great-aunt's face from this haunted portrait by the well-known Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones, but beyond that and a family rumor that Amy had died young "of a broken heart," Dimbleby knew little of her female forebears.
At the start of her search, Josceline came across a cache of unpublished letters from Burne-Jones to her great-grandmother May Gaskell, Amy's mother. These letters turned out to be part of a passionate correspondence--adoring, intimate, sometimes up to five letters a day--which continued throughout the last six years of the painter's life. As she read, more and more questions arose: Why did Burne-Jones feel he had to protect May from an overwhelming sadness? What was the deep secret she had confided to him? And what was the tragic truth behind Amy's wayward, wandering life, her strange marriage, and her unexplained early death?
In piecing together the eventful life of her grandmother, Dimbleby takes us through a turbulent period in history that includes the Boer War, the Great War, and the Second World War and visits the most far-flung corners of the British Empire. The Souls--William Morris, Rudyard Kipling, and William Gladstone--all play a part in this sweeping, often funny, and sometimes tragic story. Above all, it is her infectious enthusiasm for a subject so close to home that makes" May and Amy such acompelling and richly entertaining read.

"From the Hardcover edition.

Always intrigued by Edward Burne-Jones's portrait of her great-aunt, Amy Gaskell, Josceline Dimbleby's chance meeting with the painting's current owner encouraged her to explore the mystery of her own family's past and the life and death of her beautiful great-aunt.
In her search, Dimbleby uncovered a passionate correspondence between Burne-Jones and her great-grandmother, May Gaskell, Amy's mother, which continued throughout the last six years of the Pre-Raphaelite painter's life.
As she delved deeper into their engrossing lives, questions emerged. What was the deep secret May had confided to Edward? And what was the tragic truth behind Amy's wayward, wandering life, her strange marriage, and her unexplained early death?
Weaving together the threads of this tale, Dimbleby takes us through a turbulent period in English history and visits the most far-flung corners of the Empire. William Morris, Rudyard Kipling, William Gladstone, and prominent members of the Souls also play a part in this sweeping, often funny, and sometimes tragic story. Richly detailed and exquisitely told, "May and Amy" is a stunning account of hidden love and family secrets.