Ophelia Bradley....whos that?

Well the idea for the Shadowgate Series came to life after a serious night of online gaming. I had just taken to playing Guildwars (used to play WOW and LOTRO) and had created my first necromancer. I loved the idea of my new characters ability to suck energy, deal damage and animate ghoulish horrors as minions. The whole thing was just so me! Who wouldnt want to see a kick ass redhead (bottled that is) who could make you do what she wanted or she would kill you?

My origional character was Xyros, as it had been in all other games, but I had decided it was time to get more modern. In tying with the theme of my book, I did some research of local cemetaries in London and their interesting inhabitants. One story really caught my eye. It was the story of Elizabeth Siddell. She was an artist, poet and most of all a model. Though she modelled for many, her most famous portraits were done by her husband Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The most notable being called 'Ophelia'. The painting depicts a woman immersed in water, mouth agape and clutching wildflowers.

Not all that interesting right? Who gives a damn about a chick in a pond? Well folks, the story gets better. It appears that Ms Siddell had become preganant for a second time (the first time ending in a stillborn) and decided to overdose on laudanum and was found dying by her devistated husband. The death was ruled an accident, though it was said that he found a suicide note.

So overcome with grief, he burried the only copy of his poems in her red hair before she was inturned. It appears that after several years of creative failure, Rossetti's agent suggested he exhume the body and retrieve the journal. Rossetti became obsessed with regaining his origional works and applied to have the body retrieved. The process took place under absolute secrecy in the middle of the night and Rossetti, the coward that he was, refused to be present.

After retrieving the journal, his agent, who was present for the exhumation, relayed that Elizabeth was remarkabley well preserved. Howell went on to tell him that her red hair had continued to grow after death and flowed throughout the coffin. Rossetti was haunted forever by the thought and the guilt of disturbing her restful sleep.

The poems went to print and were considered mostly a failure........how many of you can recite a Rossetti poem?

So in going with the life after death theme and using a story of an actual resident of Highgate Cemetary, Ophelia Bradley has come to light.

Now I know that