Mad Richard

by Lesley Krueger

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"A riveting story of talent and the price it exacts, set in a richly imagined Victorian England Called the most promising artist of his generation, handsome, modest, and affectionate, Richard Dadd rubbed shoulders with the great luminaries of the Victorian Age. He grew up along the Medway with Charles Dickens and studied at the Royal Academy Schools under the brilliant and eccentric J.M.W. Turner. Based on Dadd's tragic true story, Mad Richard follows the young artist as he develops his craft, contemplates the nature of art and fame - as he watches Dickens navigate those tricky waters - and ultimately finds himself imprisoned in Bedlam for murder, committed as criminally insane. In 1853, Charlotte Brontë - about to publish her third novel, suffering from unrequited love, and herself wrestling with questions about art and artists, class, obsession and romance - visits Richard at Bedlam and finds an unexpected kinship in his feverish mind and his haunting work. Masterfully slipping through time and memory, Mad Richard maps the artistic temperaments of Charlotte and Richard, weaving their divergent lives together with their shared fears and follies, dreams, and crushing illusions."--

A promising artist, handsome, modest, and affectionate, Richard Dadd rubbed shoulders with the great luminaries of the Victorian Age. Then he fell prey to delusions, committed a murder, and ultimately found himself imprisoned in Bedlam, committed as criminally insane. In 1853, Charlotte Brontë-- about to publish her third novel, suffering from unrequited love, and herself wrestling with questions about art and artists, class, obsession and romance-- visits Richard at Bedlam and finds an unexpected kinship in his feverish mind and his haunting work.
  • ISBN10 1770413561
  • ISBN13 9781770413566
  • Publish Date 14 March 2017
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country CA
  • Imprint ECW Press,Canada
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 360
  • Language English