John Minton (1917-57) was a successful painter, an admired and influential illustrator and, in his own lifetime, a myth. Minton kept hidden a deep melancholy that eventually led him to take his own life aged thirty-nine. Frances Spalding's sensitive account of Minton's life and work makes use of letters, articles and revue sketches by Minton himself, as well as many interviews with the artist's friends and acquaintances.