TURNER The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner

Devotees of painter J.M.W. Turner will appreciate John Sackville's British-accented narration. His approach to this exhaustive biography is steady and punctuated with believable dialogue, notably Turner's Cockney-inflected speech. The biography brings Turner's rags-to-riches mythology to life. He was both a product of his time, subject to its politics and morality, and an innovator. Sackville details how Turner creates the idea of an independent artist and how he learns to charge what he thinks his paintings are worth, deals with the politics of the art world, and manages his relationships, particularly those with patrons and women. As Sackville illuminates both the difficult, brilliant Turner and his work, listeners will be intrigued by the Romantic period and its art. R.T. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2017]