Lust for Life

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The classic fictional biography of Vincent Van Gogh. No artist has been more ruthlessly driven by his creative urge, nor more isolated by it from most ordinary sources of human happiness, than Vincent Van Gogh. A painter of genius, his life was an incessant struggle against poverty, discouragement, madness and despair. Lust for Life skilfully captures the exciting atmosphere of the Paris of the Post-Impressionists and reconstructs with great insight the development of Van Gogh's art. The painter is brought to life not only as an artist but as a personality and this account of his violent, vivid and tormented life is a novel of rare compassion and vitality. Reviews A story of excruciating power. The New York Times "Whoever readsLust for Lifewill gain all the important facts concerning the life of the painter... a poetic and touching portrayal." Christian Science Monitor Extraordinary! A moving story retold with sensitiveness and insight. Forum Thorough, sympathetic, skillful. Saturday Review of Literature" "A story of excruciating power."--The New York Times "Whoever reads Lust for Life will gain all the important facts concerning the life of the painter... a poetic and touching portrayal."--Christian Science Monitor "Extraordinary! A moving story retold with sensitiveness and insight."--Forum "Thorough, sympathetic, skillful."--Saturday Review of Literature About the Author Irving Stone was born in San Francisco in 1903 and received his B. A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1923 and his Master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1924. He wrote plays and supported himself by writing detective stories until the publication of Lust for Life, his first novel, in 1934. Stone called his work 'bio-history' and based his novels on meticulous and extensive research into the lives of the historical characters at the heart of his novels. He married his editor, Jean Factor, in 1934. He founded the Academy of American Poets in 1962. He died in Los Angeles in 1989