Claude Monet's water lily paintings are legendary, in museums all over the world and among our most beloved works of art. Yet ironically, these soothing images were created amid terrible personal turmoil and sadness. Monet had lost his wife and son, and as he painted he faced the loss of his eyesight and the horrors and sufferings of the Great War. The extraordinarily dramatic history behind the creation of these paintings is little-known; Ross King's new book tells the full story for the first time and, in the process, presents a compelling and original portrait of one of our most admired artists. 'King has made a career elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture' Time'King has the gift of clear, unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair' Guardian on Leonardo and the Last Supper