Many Beautiful Things

In the complex age of Victorian England, Lilias Trotter, a daring young woman, defied all norms by winning the favor of England's top art critic, John Ruskin. In an era when women were thought incapable of producing high art, Ruskin promised that her work could be "immortal." But with her legacy on the line, Lilias made a stunning decision that bids us to question the limits of sacrifice. As Lilias journeys to French Algeria in the late 1800's to pioneer work with women and children, viewers are left to wonder, "Could you abandon a dream to pursue your true calling?" Told through the eyes of Miriam Rockness, a self-made scholar in her mid-70s who has become the world's expert on Lilias Trotter, the film challenges viewers to question the meaning of real success and what is truly a life well-lived.