Finding Fanny: The Stunner and the Slander

well that was the title of the lecture by Kirsty Stonell Walker at the PRS
so brilliant I threw the coffee rather than drink it
just could't clap and drink at the same time

Fanny Cornforth must be the most maligned of all Rossetti’s Stunners, but her story is one of hope and perseverance in the face of untold adversity. From an alleged nut‑slinging prostitute to having tea with one of America’s foremost art collectors, Fanny played the part of lover, nurse, confident and friend to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, not to mention running her own pub and art gallery. Her thanks was to be consigned to history as an illiterate liar. The truth is that Fanny’s story is far greater than the well‑known scraps and she truly is the Stunner with a talent for survival.