Edith Waugh was Holman Hunt's second wife, who married him after the death of her sister Fanny Waugh, in bold defiance of British law against marriage with a deceased wife's sister and of her family's fierce disapproval. The Hunts' granddaughter Diana wrote about her in a great book My Grandmothers and I, which is being re-issued by Persephone Books. Check it out here
Both Fanny and Edith appear in my play `The Scapegoat,` which began as a commission from Manchester Art Gallery, and when completed had rehearsed readings at Tate Britain and London Jewish Museum. A particular feature was Holman Hunt`s years spent in The Holy Land, and his interest in the young movement of political Zionism, inspired by his Victorian Christian Zionism - Restorationism. A small theatre in London wanted to stage the play but I held back because of the number of different ways in which I thought directors might interpret, or misinterpret the script. But it was very well researched. www.deborahfreeman.co.uk
ReplyDelete