Caravaggio : A Novel

Peachment's imagined Caravaggio, while still a child, overhears his parents discussing one of his sketches, and realises he has a talent which sets him apart from the world. He leaves family and home forever to map out a solitary traveller's life. Caravaggio became a revolutionary of his time, a rebellious and dangerous man to know, a man governed by his genius, his indiscriminate sexual appetite and his murderous rage. His name was sought far and wide in the late-Renaissance world for his art. And there was a price on his head for at least one murder. This is Caravaggio's confession, told in humorous, blasphemous, often brutal prose, which cleverly beguiles the reader into understanding the art that was so celebrated and the life that caused so much outrage. Peachment's imagined Caravaggiois a gripping story of one man's determination to grapple with the truth as he journeys through Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily, encounters lovers and enemies, endures madness, exile and imprisonment, and faces a final showdown with the Vatican Secret Service. His account is poignant and spirited. It is an adventurous and thoroughly enthralling insight into the mind and underbelly of a creative genius and the violent world which inspired his paintings. Christopher Peachment worked as a Stage Manager at The Royal Court and many other theatres after a stint as a pilot. He then turned to journalism. In the 1980's he was the film editor for Time Out magazine, later becoming Deputy Literary Editor and Arts Editor for The Times. He has written on film, literature, art, opera and ballet. This is his first novel, and was inspired by a woman portrait painter showing him Caravaggio's 'Crucifixion of St Peter' in Rome, 20 years ago. He lives in Hoxton, London. His second novel, about Andrew Marvell, will be published in January 2003.