The infamous literary hoax that fooled the art worldOn January 8 1960,artist Nat Tate set out to burn his entire life's work. Four days later he jumped off a Staten Island ferry,killing himself. His body was never found. When William Boyd published his biography of Abstract Expressionist Nat Tate,tributes poured in from a whole host of artists and critics in the New York art world. They toasted the troubled genius in a Manhattan launch party attended by David Bowie and Gore Vidal. But Nat Tate never existed. The book was a hoax. Will Boyd's biography of a fake artist is a brilliant probe into the politics of authenticity and reputation in the modern art scene. It is a playful and intelligent insight into the fascinating,often cryptic world of modern art.
Publisher: Penguin Books LtdISBN: 9780241988879Number of pages: 80Weight: 72 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 5 mm
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William Boyd has probably written more classic books than any of his contemporariesA finely judged performance: a deft and resonant alchemy of fact and fiction,of literary myth and imaginationOne of Britain's most celebrated contemporary novelists
William Boyd
Throughout a glittering career,William Boyd has covered everything from colonial farce to primate research in a series of beautifully-rendered novels. His 1991 debut A Good Man in Africa immediately bagged the Whitbread First Novel Award,a win that has heralded contemporary classics such as the Costa-winning Restless and the literary tour de force that is Any Human Heart.
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