top of page

Published in the UK by
Jonathan Cape 
Penguin Random House

UK paperback
Pimlico 
Penguin Random House



UK & IRISH REVIEWS


'an incredibly gripping book … Miles’s masterful work is … a powerful read'
Siofra Pierce, The Irish Times

'enthralling ... Miles’s unpicking of his two stories is impressive and he tells them with admirable lucidity'
Michael Prodger, The Sunday Telegraph

'a thrilling read'
Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian

'Jonathan Miles reconstructs one of the most riveting relationships in modern cultural history … Miles has a
novelist’s eye for intrigue and detail which keeps the narrative building'
Kelly Grovier, The Observer

'Miles has a voracious pen and a veracious purpose ... Skilful ... vivid ... history dressed as fiction' 
Alex Danchev, TLS

'in his authoritative study Miles navigates a broad canvas, taking in a swathe of history, the sinking, the
scandal, the painting and the politics. The book grips from the start … packed with all the elements of a
ripping yarn Miles’s account of the voyage is compelling … a scholarly, gripping and grisly read to get
swept up in'
Lynn McCarry, The Herald

'Miles does not flinch from delivering the full story ... compelling' 
The Daily Telegraph

'this fascinating account … expertly explored'
William Boyd, The Spectator

'a compelling picture of disaster, desperation and dishonour' 
The Sunday Telegraph

'Miles’s consistently fascinating and vivaciously written book: a palpable sense of anger … so effectively
powers his descriptive writing. He captures the sense of rising alarm as the ship approaches its fate, and
pulls out all the stops when describing conditions on the raft … if there are times when Miles seems to be
writing more like a novelist than a historian it doesn’t matter'
Andrew Motion, The Guardian

'held my attention from the first scene'
Christopher Hudson, ‘Critic’s Choice’ -The Daily Mail

'an impressively balanced illumination of the social, political and artistic dimensions of events … immense
readibility, an observant eye for telling detail and a dry, understated wit'
Philip McEvansoneya The Eire Sunday Business Post

'Excellent'
Philip Hook , The Royal Academy Magazine

'Both meticulously accurate and profoundly imaginative'
Rupert Christiansen, Literary Review

 

Michael Prodger chose Medusa as his Sunday Telegraph Summer Reading Pick

Chosen for Daily Telegraph Summer Reading Selection
‘an innovative life of the Romantic pioneer Gericault, as well as a virtuoso examination of the painter’s most controversial and famous work’

The Daily Mail – Critic’s Choice

Irish Daily Mail on Sunday – Book of the Week

The Week – Book of the Week

 

bottom of page