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Matisse the Master
Hilary Spurling (Hamish Hamilton)
The Times
The preface to Matisse the Master begins with a
quote from Matisse himself: ‘If my story were ever
to be written down truthfully from start to finish it would
amaze everyone’. Until the publication of The
Unknown Matisse, the first volume of Spurling’s
biography of Henri Matisse, the few facts known about his
life had been distorted by inaccuracy, misunderstanding and
glaring gaps. During the fifteen years she spent researching
and writing this definitive two-volume biography, Spurling’s
access to hitherto closed family archives enabled her to
uncover a character who bears little relation to the popular
image of Matisse.
Hilary Spurling is the author of The Unknown Matisse:
The Early Years, 1869-1908. Her other biographies
include Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett, Paul
Scott: A Life, La Grande Thérèse: The Greatest
Scandal of the Century and The Girl from The Fiction
Department: A Portrait of Sonia Orwell She was arts
editor, theatre critic and subsequently literary editor
for The Spectator during the 1960s. She is a regular
reviewer for The Observer and the Daily Telegraph.
She lives in London.
Contact: Amelia Fairney on 020 7010 3247 or amelia.fairney@penguin.co.uk
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