Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • The Lives of Lucian Freud

  • Fame 1968-2011
  • By: William Feaver
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Lives of Lucian Freud

By: William Feaver
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Bloomsbury presents The Lives of Lucian Freud: FAME 1968-2011 by William Feaver, read by Jonathan Keeble.

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE
CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, MAIL ON SUNDAY, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, SPECTATOR
THE SUNDAY TIMES ART BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020

‘A dazzling tour de force’ THE TIMES

‘Does justice to Freud’s pitiless genius as an artist’ DAILY MAIL

‘You can hear Freud’s voice on the page’ OBSERVER

‘Mesmerising … the ideal companion to Freud’s work’ GUARDIAN


William Feaver, Lucian Freud’s collaborator, curator and close friend, knew the unknowable artist better than most. Over many years, Freud narrated to him the story of his life, ‘our novel’.

Fame follows Freud at the height of his powers, painting the most iconic works of his career in a constant and dissatisfied pursuit of perfection, just outrunning his gambling debts and tailor’s bills. Whether tattooing swallows at the base of Kate Moss’s back or exacting a strange and horrible revenge on Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger, Freud’s adventures were always perfectly characteristic. An enfant terrible till the end, even as he was commissioned to paint the Queen and attended his own retrospectives, what emerges is an artist wilfully oblivious to the glitter of the world around – and focussed instead on painting first and last.

©2020 William Feaver (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Francis Bacon in Your Blood cover art
Modern Nature cover art
The House of Hardie cover art
David Lynch cover art
Long Drawn Out Trip cover art
Ninth Street Women cover art
The Raven and the Jackdaw cover art
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin cover art
Born Ya cover art
Beware of Pity cover art
Record Play Pause cover art
Young Mother with Red Hair cover art
London Made Us cover art
Frida cover art
Orwell: The Essays cover art
Private Faces and Public Places cover art

What listeners say about The Lives of Lucian Freud

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    29
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Would recommend both books - a great account of the painting as well as the artist

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great life well written brilliantly read

A fascinating life of an incredible painter. Full of brilliant stories about mid 20thC London society. Brilliantly read. Feels like Freud is really speaking. Narrator no good French though, not that it matters since the rest was masterful. Thoroughly recommend.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great portrait artist

I loved listening to the story of Lucian's later life. Anyone that wants to know about Lucian Freud should buy this.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

highly recommended

superb narrator, fascinating subject, cannot imagine that reading the book could match up to the audio version




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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Fascinating, detailed but not listy. Beautifully portrays Freida rich tapestry of a life. The narrator brings real life to the story with excellent intonation and pace

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Did you warm to Clement Freud on Just a Minute

This book is written by acolyte. As I listened to the narrative, repeated again and again, that Freud was a marvellous painter, because he looked so closely at reality, and then tested the truth of this proposition by looking at his paintings this assertion was revealed as piffle. The book is interesting. Obviously if you are inclined to judge an artist by his personal behaviour you will never look at a Freud again.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Marvellous account ...

Marvellous account of an effervescent painter ... beautifully written, narrated and chock full of art-world gossip. A high recommend.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Reads like a novel, so well written

Lucien Freud is my favourite painter and this 2 part biography gives an indepth portrait written by someone who knew him extremely well. The flaws and the genius of Freud are laid bare and by the time I had finishrd both volumes I felt like I had lost a friend (albeit a difficult one).

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!