Victoria Olsen

This book was a lot more than i expected. It is definately more than just a review of the development of photography, or even a history of photography in Victorian times. Rather, it is a true biography of an interesting, if not really likeable, woman.

But it is even more than that. Through the story of Julia Magaret Cameron's life, Olsen explores many topics - Victorian life, the artistic circles of the time, colonialism and its impact on British society, and attitudes to class, art, women and many other things.

I approached this book worrying it would be a dry, post-modernist feminist take on one person. Instead i read an interesting exploration of a variety of subjects. Well worth reading.… (mere)