The Glass House

The Glass House

A fictional account of the life of pioneer
photographer Julia Margaret Cameron

What is a life without Art and Beauty? Not one that Julia chooses to live.

She searches the world for both, and finds happiness through the lens of a camera. But as a female photographer, to succeed she must take on the Victorian patriarchy, the art world and ultimately her own family.

The Glass House is a fictional account of the life of pioneer photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, and her extraordinary quest to find her own creative voice.

Alfred Lord Tennyson
(The Dirty Monk)

Alfred Lord Tennyson
(The Dirty Monk)

May Prinsep (Elaine)

May Prinsep (Elaine)

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‘She rested against a passionflower in full bloo

‘She rested against a passionflower in full bloom, deep in thought and with all the passion and vulnerability of blossoming youth.’
‘Maud by Moonlight’. 1875
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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One critic accused Cameron of ‘questionable tast

One critic accused Cameron of ‘questionable taste’ for exhibiting this photograph with the words ‘very beautiful / none better / G.F. Watts’ inscribed on it. Cameron was clearly proud of the artist Watts’ praise and produced prints of the image with his inscription reproduced on the mounts. The title refers to the angel that appeared at Christ’s tomb after his resurrection, though in the biblical account the angel was male.
(Source: V&A Collections)
Photograph: ‘The Angel at the Sepulchre.’ Model Mary Ann Hillier. JMCameron 1869
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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Portrait of Emily Peacock in costume and posing as

Portrait of Emily Peacock in costume and posing as Enid from the Alfred Lord Tennyson poem titled ‘Geraint and Enid’. Part of Cameron’s original plates for to illustrate Tennyson’s Arthurian collection ‘The Idylls of the King.’ Enid was sorely ill treated by her jealous husband and, although they are eventually reconciled, the heroine’s story is a sad one.
Photograph: ‘And Enid Sang.’ JMCameron 1874
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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Photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 'The Rising

Photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 'The Rising of the New Year' (sitter Laura Gurney), albumen print, 1872
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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This figure is inspired by Rebecca in the Old Test

This figure is inspired by Rebecca in the Old Testament (Genesis 24:42-67). Rebecca was a young virgin seen drawing water from a well and taken to Isaac to be his wife. The story of Rebecca is regarded as a prefiguration of the annunciation. The soft focus of the image and the exotic costume of the sitter implies the dreamlike distance of a story - source V&AM collection
Photograph: ‘Rebecca’. JMCameron 1866
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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Photograph: ‘The Sunflower.’ JMCameron 1870 F

Photograph: ‘The Sunflower.’ JMCameron 1870
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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Cameron’s sitter appears here as Melancholy, the

Cameron’s sitter appears here as Melancholy, the personification of pensive sadness that John Milton evoked in his poem ‘Il Penseroso’. Draped in a shawl that hides her everyday clothing, she holds her hands in a dramatic gesture. Cameron inscribed this print with two lines from the poem, ‘Come pensive Nun, devout and pure, / Sober, stedfast, and demure’. The shadow/light contrast is masterful, making it appear as if a cross shows on the sitter’s face.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘Il Penseroso.’ (Lady Talbot) JMCameron 1865
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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The character of Ophelia (from Shakespeare’s Ham

The character of Ophelia (from Shakespeare’s Hamlet) was fascinating for Victorian artists. The fine lines between madness, sex and death converging in one young woman and the voyeuristic nature of her public undoing inspired countless paintings. In this beautiful portrait, Julia Margaret Cameron uses the tropes of unbrushed loose hair, disheveled dress and wide eyes to great effect.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘Ophelia’ (sitter Emily Peacock) JMCameron 1872
Painting 1: Ophelia. Leopoldo Burthe. 1852
Painting 2: Ophelia. John Everett Millais. 1852.
Painting 3: Ofelia. Thomas Francis Discksee. 1861
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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Julia Margaret Cameron made a suite of photographs

Julia Margaret Cameron made a suite of photographs based on putti from Renaissance and post-Renaissance paintings. The children she used as sitters were the children of friends, borrowed for long afternoons in her drafty studio, which may explain the weary, wistful expressions.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘Daisy Taylor.’ JMCameron 1872
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jrcbooks.co.uk. Link in bio.
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I’m sensing some animosity to the photographer h

I’m sensing some animosity to the photographer here. She’s been disturbed reading something secret, and fascinating. And Jim liked this photo enough to keep three copies 🎞📷🤐
Follow @uncle.jims.tin.1915 for more photos from the tin that sparked a novel
How to Keep Well in Wartime. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book. Books purchased via www.jrcbooks.co.uk will raise money for War Child, supporting children in conflict.
“A powerful and finely crafted novel, exploring how we deal with loss, grief, relationships and mental health” - Tracey Iceton, author of the Celtic Colours trilogy
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Julia Margaret Cameron took her inspiration from p

Julia Margaret Cameron took her inspiration from portrait painters, who often used the ‘woman in the garden’ as a composition. Outside of the house, in a natural setting, this can indicate romantic, even sensual, love.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘Magdalene (Brookfield).’ JMCameron 1865
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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Julia Margaret Cameron embraced irregularities tha

Julia Margaret Cameron embraced irregularities that other photographers would have rejected as technical flaws. In addition to her pioneering use of soft focus, she scratched into her negatives, printed from broken or damaged ones and occasionally used multiple negatives to form a single picture.
In this gorgeous illustration of John Milton’s poem Il Penseroso, the sitter’s diaphanous veil seems as fragile as the film coating the photographic plate. A patch of the film has peeled away at the right, therefore printing as black.
It seems a fitting illustration for Samhain, when the veil thins and we take time to reflect.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘Il Penseroso.’ JMCameron 1865
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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Explorer, spy, diplomatist and writer, William Gif

Explorer, spy, diplomatist and writer, William Gifford Palgrave (1826-1888). In her portrait, Julia makes him look more like a ‘boys own’ adventurer. His brother, Francis, was the editor of The Golden Treasury and perhaps the inspiration for the Arabian Nights look.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘William Gifford Palgrave. JMCameron 1868.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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People often speak as though Julia’s career ende

People often speak as though Julia’s career ended when she left Freshwater for Sri Lanka, but the photographs she took in Sri Lanka are also stunning portraits. They were different, somehow more relaxed, because there was a difficulty with the climate, so her aperture couldn’t stay open long enough to make the close ups she had in England. It was too humid and the plates fogged up. But she created some extraordinary images there too, frank portraits rather than her allegorical style.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘A Sri Lankan girl.’ JMCameron 1877.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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The model in this photo is George Duckworth (1868-

The model in this photo is George Duckworth (1868-1934) later Secretary to the Royal Commission for Historical Monuments. Virginia Woolf described him and his brother Gerald (the publisher) as ‘the demo-gods and tyrants of our childhood.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘Study of Child St.John.’ JMCameron 1872.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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Cameron sometimes called this photograph 'Call, I

Cameron sometimes called this photograph 'Call, I follow, I follow, let me die! '. She took this title from a line in a poem by Tennyson 'Lancelot and Elaine' from Idylls of the King (1859), in which Elaine is driven mad by her unrequited love for Lancelot. The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: Florence. In the manner of the Old Masters. JMCameron 1872.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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Cameron strove to emulate the style of painting in

Cameron strove to emulate the style of painting in her portraits. This portrait of her great niece, Florence Fisher, is a masterpiece in homage to the Old Masters with its stark contrast of light and shade.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: Florence. In the manner of the Old Masters. JMCameron 1872.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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‘We sing a slow contented song and knock at para

‘We sing a slow contented song and knock at paradise’ - Christina Rossetti.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘The Minstrel Group’. JMCameron 1866. Models Mary Ryan, Katie and Lizzie Keown.
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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Alongside a wide open aperture, Cameron used swirl

Alongside a wide open aperture, Cameron used swirls of colloidion to create dreamy, deliberately out of focus prints. She used muslin and tulle over the lens as well, for misty effects. Such experimental prints she often sent to the artist GF Watts, asking him to sign and comment on them.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘A Study’. JMCameron 1864
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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Cameron’s work featured many manifestations of h

Cameron’s work featured many manifestations of heavenly, as well as earthly, love. A whole series of photographs portrays children as cherubs and angels, using paper or swan’s wings and swathes of fabric for robes. In this image, the weary look of the model suggests the patient eternity of divine love, and elicits an emotional reaction from the viewer as the exhausted angel child seems to need looking after.
The Glass House. Cinnamon Press. Paperback and e-book.
Photograph: ‘The Nestling Angel’. JMCameron 1870
Find out more about the photograph, the artist and the novel at www.jodycooksley.com. Link in bio.
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