Drawing on hundreds of previously unpublished sources and a wealth of visual material (including art by William, Lucy and others of their circle and striking contemporary photographs), the book follows William and Lucy through their separate professional careers, marriage, continental travels and Lucy's illness and death. At the crossover between art history, literary criticism, social history and biography, the book rewrites Pre-Raphaelite history and brings to life two fascinating people who were both of their time and ahead of it.