I, Hogarth - Michael Dean

Hogarth's epoch-defining paintings and engravings, such as Gin Lane and The Rake's Progress, are renowned. He was London's painter par excellence, and supplies the most enduring vision of the eighteenth century's ebullience, enjoyments and social iniquities. From a childhood spent in a debtor's prison to his death in the arms of his wife, I, Hogarth follows the life of painter William Hogarth as he makes a name for himself and as he fights for artists with his Copyright Act. Through his lifelong marriage to Jane Thornhill, his inability to have children, his time as one of England's best portrait painters, his old age and unfortunate dip into politics, and ultimately his death, I, Hogarth is the artist's life through the artist's eyes. Recommended for fans of Peter Ackroyd and Hilary Mantel, this novel charts Hogarth's progress in four parts: i. The Finger of God 1697-1714; ii. From Gamble to Rich 1714-1732; iii. From the Harlot to the Devil 1732-1758; iv. Finis 1757-1764. Michael Dean blends Hogarth's life and his work into one rich narrative in such a way that Hogarth lives what he paints. Dean gives us William Hogarth's life story as he carefully blends the facts of Hogarth's life with fiction.