Derek Jarman

Fueled by vodka on ice, the occasional hit of Ecstasy, acid, opium, and innumerable cigarettes, and following an unwavering artistic vision, filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman, who died of AIDS-related causes in 1994, led an outrageous and controversial life. In Derek Jarman: A Biography, Tony Peake delves for the origins of the energetic imagination that led to distinctive films like Sebastiane, Jubilee, The Tempest, Caravaggio, Wittgenstein, and Blue.

Peake's book is a vivid social and cultural history-an edgy account of a bohemian existence and of a scene of friends that included artists David Hockney, Robert Mapplethorpe, and many other members of the creative Avant-garde. A chronicle of sexual fear and repression and inimitable courage and grace in the face of a protracted death, Derek Jarman: A Biography is an honest and brilliant tribute to the uncompromising life and art of Derek Jarman.