Actress Emma Thompson writes film on Cumbrian poet (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Actress Emma Thompson writes film on Cumbrian poet

8:50am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

THE disastrous love life of one of Cumbria’s most treasured artists and writers is to be the subject of a new film by BAFTA award winning actress Emma Thompson.

‘Effie’ will tell the tale of John Ruskin’s failed marriage to Effie Gray, a beautiful young socialite and the subject of some of his most celebrated works.

Ruskin, who lived at Brantwood House on the shores of Coniston for 30 years until his death in 1900, famously failed to consumate his marriage with Gray on his wedding night - an incident which fascinated Victorian Britain.

Sense and Sensibilty star Miss Thompson has been working on the script for the past two years in between her appearances in the Harry Potter films and Nanny McPhee.

Her husband Greg Wise will produce the film and play Ruskin, and young British actress Carey Mulligan will play Effie.

Filming starts in Venice next month on scenes of the ill-fated first night of the honeymoon.

Howard Harle, director of Brantwood House, hopes the film will attract more visitors to Ruskin’s Coniston home.

“We hope the film does have a positive effect on us, even though none of it will actually be filmed in Cumbria, because it focuses on his earlier life.

"We received quite a lot of visitors to Brantwood on the back of the Desperate Romantic TV series, and this film has a lot of high profile names attached to it.

"I hope the film will enable people to see Ruskin as a whole person and think more about his contribution to society rather than the juicy bits from his private life.”

He added that Emma Thompson’s film had not come as a surprise as Ruskin was one of the biggest stars of the 19th century and continues to fascinate people today.

“People think the Victorians were captivatingly different, glossy and exotic and Ruskin’s private life has always sparked a huge amount of interest.

"He was a titanic figure and possibly the most famous of all the Victorians.

"He was an incredibly loving and kind man in all other aspects of his life so getting to the bottom of his marriage to Effie would be like finding his Achilles heel and is something that people are still dying to know about.”