A fascinating book; not merely for fans of Picasso [who is not?] but also for anyone with an interest in the cultural currents that moved minds and spirits in Paris in the early years of the twentieth century. I read it right through, with never faltering interest- rare indeed. And, for those with appetite for such things, there is a mystery, still unresolved, both Romantic and art-historical: a puzzle as yet unsolved involving a fine, sensitive young woman badly married, a prodigious young artist and the painting which changed the world. If you ask me, I would say buy it, read it, enjoy it without delay.
