What kind of person could have created 'The Scream', the painting that expresses most vividly the uncertainties and anguish of the twentieth century? This intimate and moving biography brings Norwegian artist Edvard Munch to life, exploring his turbulent early years, his later years as a recluse, and his efforts to paint not what he saw, but what he experienced. 'A magisterial portrait of a deeply troubled man.' Frances Spalding, 'Sunday Times' 'anyone who wants to know how and why Munch painted as he did should read this book.' Tom Rosenthal, 'Independent on Sunday' 'it is packed with information and event. Few biographies of artists can be described as gripping. This often is.' Martin Gayford, 'Sunday Telegraph' 'an absorbing account of the social and intellectual forces, as well as the personal demons, that Munch struggled against - or solicited - in order to create.' Alan Jenkins, 'Times Literary Supplement' 'It is among Prideaux's achievements to give us a thousand details that pull Munch into sharper focus.' Christopher Riopelle, 'Apollo Magazine' 'Prideaux sorts out Munch's work and his difficult life with a scholar's eye for history and a novelist's eye for anecdotes.' Gwen Gibson, 'Washington Times' 'An assured and vivid biography.' Peter Schjeldahl, 'New Yorker'