Listening to “Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys adapted for BBC iPlayer…
ETA: I enjoyed listening to Adjoa Andoh read the book, she has a wonderful soothing voice. Anyway, back to why I wrote this post.
In episode two, Antoinette Cosway names a painting she likes that bears the title “The Miller’s Daughter.” So, with the power of a search engine, I looked up the name and I found two paintings with the same title.

By J.A. Vintner, courtesy of Art Prints on Demand
While I found two (check the other one), this one seems to match Cosway’s descriptions of “brown curls” and “dress slipping off her shoulders” the best. However, I did not see the “blue eyes” that Cosway mentions. The profile I linked mentioned the artist’s English heritage and Cosway labels the painting as “English.” An interesting addition that seems to parallel Antoinette’s growing affection for her step father Mr. Mason. ETA: This does not last long.
However, this probably means nothing. Wide Sargasso Sea acts as a prequel to Jane Eyre, a book published in 1847, and Vintner made this painting in 1859.
Posted on October 2, 2012, in Art History Radio and tagged Adjoa Andoh, Jean Rhys, The Miller's Daughter, Wide Sargasso Sea. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a Comment.
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