In Montparnasse

An absorbing, gossipy account of the birth of Surrealism and the painters, writers, and artists who lived, loved and worked in 1920s ParisDuring the 1920s, in the Parisian neighbourhood of Montparnasse, a unique flowering of avant-garde artistic creativity became the cradle of Dada and Surrealism. In this crowd biography, Sue Roe tells the story - from Duchamp to Dali, via Man Ray and Max Ernst - of the salons and cafes, alliances and feuds, love affairs and scandals, successes and suicides of one of the most important and long-lasting artistic achievements of the twentieth century.

“Highly colourful . . . they're all here , the big names of the time - behaving badly , and, at times, quite madly too”

Highly colourful . . . they're all here, the big names of the time - behaving badly, and, at times, quite madly too Rachel Cooke, Observer
Roe is a talented writer, fascinated by la vie Boheme . . . She can find phrases that perfectly capture the feeling of a neighbourhood John Carey, Sunday Times
Brings together some of the chief protagonists in one of the 20th century's most inventive art movements. A vivid read Radio Times
She vividly charts the birth of surrealism . . . a tale rich in absurdity and outlandish characters, from Cocteau and Max Ernst to Dali and Picasso Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
Sue Roe describes with plenty of colour how surrealism was born and developed in Montparnasse . . . Roe marshals [the figures behind dada and surrealism] with great finesse The Times
Enjoyable, engaging, rollicking - the storytelling is lively Spectator, on ‘In Montmartre’
Admirable. What an eye for art Roe has. Brilliant Guardian, on ‘In Montmartre’
An elegant synthesis of complex material... it excels: Roe is a skilled and graceful writer. The Telegraph on 'In Montmartre'
Lively and engaging... in her entertaining, ingeniously structured account Roe brings Montmartre's heyday back to life. The Sunday Times on 'In Montmartre'
[Roe]skilfully weaves her descriptions of artworks into her romp through the artists' struggles and fractious relationships. The Times on 'In Montmartre'
A colourful narrative describing the travails and triumphs of an equally colourful cast. New Statesman on 'In Montmartre'
With evocative imagery Roe sketches out the intensely visual spectacle on which Montmartre's artistic community was able to draw Financial Times on 'In Montmartre'

Sue Roe is the author of several books, including the bestselling crowd biographies In Montmartre and The Private Lives of the Impressionists, and a widely praised work on the artist Gwen John. She is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow. She lives in Brighton.

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