Set against the backdrop of the Atlantic slave trade, this book traces the development, exhibition, and final disposition of one of J. M. W. Turner's greatest and most memorable paintings. Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901) in Great Britain produced unprecedented wealth and luxury. For artists and writers this period was particularly noteworthy in that it gave them the opportunity to both praise their country and criticise its overreaching ambition. At the forefront of these artists and writers were men like J. M. W. Turner, Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and John Ruskin, who created some of the most enduring works of art while exposing many of the social evils of their native land. The book also analyses the man behind the painting. Aloof, gruff and mysterious, Turner resisted success. He worked as a solitary artist, travelling to Europe, sketching towns along the way, studying nature, and transferring his experiences to finished paintings upon his return to London. The son of a barber, he grew up in London and experienced many of the social issues of the age: slavery and freedom, poverty in the slums, monarchy and democracy, stability and anarchy. Turner was truly the poet of nature and its innumerable mysteries.

James A. Michener was one of the most beloved storytellers of our time, captivating readers with sweeping historical plots that educated and entertained. In this first full-length biography of the private as well as the public Michener, Stephen J. May reveals how an aspiring writer became a best-selling novelist. It is the only book to draw on Michener's complete papers as well as interviews with his friends and associates. The result conveys much about Michener never before revealed in print.

May follows the young Michener from an impoverished Pennsylvania childhood to the wartime Pacific, where he found inspiration for "Tales of the South Pacific," a book that led to a string of best sellers, including "The Source, Centennial, Chesapeake, " and "The Covenant." May provides insights into Michener's personal life: his three marriages, his unique working methods, and his social and political views. He also reveals the author's hypersensitivity to criticism, his egotism, and his failure on some occasions to acknowledge the contributions of his assistants.

Examining Michener's body of writing in its biographical and cultural contexts, May describes the creation of each novel and assesses the book's strengths and shortcomings. His close readings underscore Michener's innovativeness in presenting mountains of historical and cultural research in an engaging literary form.

This probing biography establishes Michener's place in twentieth-century letters as it offers an unprecedented view of the man behind the typewriter.