Mad Enchantment Audiobook By Ross King cover art

Mad Enchantment

Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Mad Enchantment

By: Ross King
Narrated by: Joel Richards
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.30

Buy for $24.30

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

We have all seen, whether live, in photographs or on postcards, some of Claude Monet's legendary water lily paintings. They are in museums all over the world and are among the most beloved works of art of the past century. Yet, ironically, these soothing images were created amid terrible personal turmoil and sadness.

The extraordinarily dramatic history behind the creation of these paintings is little-known; Ross King's new audiobook tells that story for the first time and, in the process, presents a compelling and original portrait of one of our most beloved artists.

King tells the full history of the special circumstances in which Monet created the Water Lilies. As World War I exploded within hearing distance of his house at Giverny, he was facing his own personal crucible. In 1911, aged 71, his adored wife, Alice, died, plunging him into deep mourning. A year later he began going blind. Then his eldest son, Jean, fell ill and died of syphilis, and his other son was sent to the front to fight for France.

Within months a violent storm destroyed much of the garden that had been his inspiration for some 20 years. At the same time, his reputation was under attack, as a new generation of artists, led by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, were dazzling the art world and expressing disgust with Impressionism.

Against all this, fighting his own self-doubt, depression, and age, Monet found the wherewithal to construct a massive new studio, 70 feet long and 50 feet high, to accommodate the gigantic canvases that would, he hoped, revive him.

Using letters, memoirs, and other sources not employed by other biographers, and focusing on this remarkable period in the artist's life, Ross King reveals a more complex, more human, more intimate Claude Monet than has ever been portrayed and firmly places his water lily project among the greatest achievements in the history of art.

©2016 Ross King (P)2016 Audible, Ltd
Art Art & Literature Artists, Architects & Photographers Historical History & Criticism Funny
Engaging Storytelling • Historical Depth • Pleasant Reading • Insightful Biography • Artistic Insights • Nice Voice
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Excellent history of two complex but great human beings. The text, however, can become a tad boring (one cannot skip pages in an audiobook!) and Joel Richards' french pronunciation is dire.

A tale of two french giants ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Very thorough and engaging. History doesn’t interest me generally, but the author effortlessly weaved in events and individuals that gave a grand picture. I received an education not only about the great Monet himself, but the world in which he lived. Delightful read.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Por fin se desvelan todas las anécdotas que están atrás de esa obra maestra de Monet.
Muy buenas conexiones históricas; la narración entra a pleno en la vida del artista proporcionando todos los elementos que contribuyeron a su creación.
Buena interpretación del narrador. 100% aconsejado para todos aquellos que aman el Arte.

PLOT

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Any additional comments?

I was shocked to find that the book started after the death of his first wife. There was NO mention of childhood experiences or influences? Or even much about his early personal life with his first wife and his children while they were younger. that seems to be crucial missing information.

Good read for anyone interested in Monet

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Once again Ross King surpasses his subject matter with exquisite detail of the time described

A Masterful review

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I’m glad I didn’t pay attention to the complaints about the narrator’s French pronunciation. I thought to myself that since I don’t speak French, I wouldn’t know the difference. In this case ignorance is bliss. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, narration and story!

Bravo

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Lots of detailed information about Claude Monet's last 30 years of life. Interesting to learn about how his water lily ponds and gardens were developed and how he painted them over and over. A slow read. Best for those people that really care about Monet and his disposition.

Monet's Giverny

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The book had some interesting and solid info on the artist. However, the audio artist was awful. His pronunciation of French words and names was a disaster and completely distracted from the information. I had to relisten to many parts telling myself to ignore the reader, so it may have been better to read the hard copy.

Read it. don't listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book provides an interesting history of Claude Monet's water lily paintings, now in the Musee l'Orangerie, Paris. It also conveys a strong flavor of the history of the period., particularly of France during WWI. I gained both knowledge about Monet the man and a strong appreciation for his artistic dedication and, frankly, his genius.

Good book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Easily got through this one, the book is read in an engaging way and makes a great effort to cover important names.

Amazing story of one of histories greatest artist.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews