A Crisis of Brilliance tells the extraordinary story of the formative periods of five of the most important British artists of the 20th century: Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, Richard Nevinson and Stanley Spencer. From diverse backgrounds, they met at The Slade in London between 1908 and 1910, in what was later described as the School's ‘last crisis of brilliance'. They loved, talked and fought; they admired, conspired and sometimes disparaged each others' artistic creations. They created new movements; they frequented the most stylish cafés and restaurants and founded a night-club; they slept with their models and prostitutes; their love affairs descended into obsession, murder and suicide. And of course they all had to endure the Great War, which changed them – and England – forever. AUTHOR: David Boyd Haycock is a full-time writer and academic. SELLING POINTS: A vivid insight into the artistic milieu of the early 20th century and WWI from an authority on the period Strong sales and excellent reviews for the HB The author is to appear on a documentary with Jon Snow surveying art since the Renaissance – to be aired in May 2010 REVIEWS: ‘Haycock's narrative of this entangled, war-defined group is so strong that it often has the force of a novel, hard to put down.' GUARDIAN, BOOKOOKOOK OFOF THEHE WEEKEEKEEK ‘Vivid and entertaining... I greatly enjoyed it' MICHAEL HOLROYD ‘Truly fascinating from every angle' BOOKS QUARTERLY ‘An extraordinary book' RONALD BLYTHE ‘Endlessly appealing' METRO