A factual, absorbing excellent biography. Thoroughly enjoyable read and I would recommend it. This is the first I have read by this author but I will definitely be reading more of her works.

Fanny Moyle starts her eminently readable and accessible biography of Turner with his death and then goes back to the beginning of his life to examine how he became the man and artist he ended up being. It’s an illuminating, well-researched and detailed book, perhaps more for the general reader than the academic, although she does explore his painting methods in some detail. I particularly enjoyed learning about Turner within his circle and the artistic environment of the time, which I felt Moyle described very evocatively. An excellent introduction to Turner and his work.

Anything you ever really wanted to know about Turner, how he lived, the people in his life, and the context for the creation of his extraordinary artwork, can all be found in this comprehensive biography from Franny Moyle.

Starting with the scandalous circumstance of the artist's death - the poor conditions of his London home and the having shacked up with Mrs Booth - Franny uses this as a starting point - how did England's greatest artist end up like this? And so we hurtle back to the start, examining Turner's modest beginnings and his apprenticeship in London where the young man's immense talent was obvious.

There's a lovely balance here between the minutiae of one man's life and giving context to the world Turner lived in, as well as capturing as a human being - fleshed out and full of flaws. Perhaps at times, though, the book does feel a little dry. Having recently read biographies such as Charlotte Gordon's Romantic Outlaws on Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley, I am more inclined to biographies with more spirit and focus on the person rather than the output.

But, nevertheless, this book does anchor Turner as a man of the moment - a man fully aware of the radical changes and innovations in a rapidly-changing world, and as a man who embraced revolutionary thought and development rather than fear of it.

For those who've recently seen Mr Turner with Timothy Spall, there is nothing in this book that will surprise you - the two are very close - but Franny Moyle does capture the wider context in a way that perhaps the film does not.