Mad Richard cover art

Mad Richard

 Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Mad Richard

Written by: Lesley Krueger
Narrated by: Pascal Langdale
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $28.72

Buy Now for $28.72

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

About this listen

A riveting story of talent and the price it exacts, set in a richly imagined Victorian England

Called the most promising artist of his generation, handsome, modest, and affectionate, Richard Dadd rubbed shoulders with the great luminaries of the Victorian Age. He grew up along the Medway with Charles Dickens and studied at the Royal Academy Schools under the brilliant and eccentric J. M. W. Turner.

Based on Dadd’s tragic true story, Mad Richard follows the young artist as he develops his craft, contemplates the nature of art and fame - as he watches Dickens navigate those tricky waters - and ultimately finds himself imprisoned in Bedlam for murder, committed as criminally insane.

In 1853, Charlotte Brontë - about to publish her third novel, suffering from unrequited love, and herself wrestling with questions about art and artists, class, obsession and romance - visits Richard at Bedlam and finds an unexpected kinship in his feverish mind and his haunting work.

Masterfully slipping through time and memory, Mad Richard maps the artistic temperaments of Charlotte and Richard, weaving their divergent lives together with their shared fears and follies, dreams, and crushing illusions.

©2017 Lesley Kreuger (P)2018 ECW Press Biographical Fiction Film & TV Literary Fiction Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What the critics say

“Krueger’s portrait of artists as young men and women is alive with wit and rebellion - an aesthetic vivisection of the young Victorian age.” (Globe and Mail)

“There is much to ponder in this elegant novel about the potentially catastrophic emotional toll of art, the irrational nature of love, the solitude of heartache and what happens when one life touches another, however briefly.” (Toronto Star)

“The knitting together of Charlotte Brontë’s and Richard Dadd’s different trajectories worked like a dream. I was enthralled.” (Terry Gilliam)

What listeners say about Mad Richard

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.ca reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Roberta W

Great book

At first I thought this was fiction, but it is based on a true story, so call it historical fiction, or a biography. I wasn’t familiar with the artist, so it’s an interesting tale. Definitely worth a listen.

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!