Critical Lives is a major series of short critical biographies that present the work of important cultural figures in the context of their lives. Each book relates and brings alive the life of the artist, writer, philosopher or architect in question and assesses their major works at the same time. The books in the series are accompanied by c. 20–40 illustrations.

“Beautifully produced—very short critical biographies whose main target audience is likely to be undergraduates, but that will also do nicely for a general audience.”—Times Literary Supplement