In his celebrated novel THE CITADEL, A. J. Cronin wrote of a dedicated man of medicine; in THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM he wrote the compelling story of a man of God. Now, in A THING OF BEAUTY, Dr. Cronin writes of a great painter whose search for beauty led him to give up everything for art - family, friends, social position, career, ultimately his very life - and who bequeathed to others a heritage of immortal beauty.
Knowing his father's profoundest wish, that his son should succeed him as Rector of Stillwater, Stephen Desmonde tried to be worthy. But the siren call of art was too overwhelming; he felt driven as though by demons to pursue his vision of the world's beauty. He must put on canvas the truth as he saw it, whatever the cost might be, whether it was the blank misunderstanding of his family or the ridicule of the public. Few artists could have survived the scandal and mockery he had to endure in the sensational trial that stirred all England.
Indeed, Stephen Desmonde himself could not have survived without the tender and understanding love of the unforgettable Jenny Dill, the uneducated but strangely wise little Cockney girl whose devotion kept him going when all else failed. It was Jenny who restored his confidence in himself and his vision, and in her love he found the serenity and peace that marked his greatest creations.