John Constable was born in 1776 to a prosperous family and was expected to enter his father's milling and grain business. During his idyllic childhood he steadily reached the conclusion that art rather than grain would govern his life. Through local friendships he was able to develop his early painting skills and was introduced to masters such as Claude Lorrain. Despite misgivings, his parents agreed he could study art with a small allowance. He set off from Suffolk to London at the close of the eighteenth-century. During his time with the Academy John Constable threw himself into studying and absorbing both the work and intellectual writing of the great masters. He flatly refused to compromise on his own vision and personal goals for his undervalued genre: The Landscape. John Constable pursued marriage to Maria Bicknell with the same determination. The couple were hopelessly in love, but their courtship was forced into secrecy, peppered with surreptitious correspondence and illicit meetings.

This biography of Constable combines the highs and lows of both of his passions - painting and Maria. It is Volume 1 in the Dusty Pages Bitesize Biography series.