The Potato Eaters' is one of Vincent van Gogh's most famous works. The artist himself described it in 1887 as 'after all the best thing I did'. He completed it in the spring of 1885 while living with his parents in Nuenen after his brother Theo had asked him to paint a 'masterwork' for the Paris art market. Van Gogh's fascination for peasant life led him to choose as his subject a scene of a simple meal by lamplight. He was convinced that 'there's life in it', which was precisely what he was seeking. Bregje Gerritse, a researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, describes in this book how meticulously Van Gogh went about preparing The Potato Eaters. Through his preliminary studies and letters, we get to know an ambitious painter working constantly to improve his skills. We discover the details of his location, make the acquaintance of the figures in the painting and read how his friends and critics responded to a work that Van Gogh wanted so badly to be his artistic breakthrough.

After co-translating Cees Nooteboom's The Captain of the Butterflies and co-writing a monograph on Czeslaw Milosz, Nathan returns to poetry with this collection of self-revealing, hermetic little lyrics, which have been appearing regularly in the New Yorker and elsewhere.

The beloved, life-affirming international bestseller which has sold over 5 million copies worldwide - now a major film starring Lily James, Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton To give them hope she must tell their story It's 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton has writer's block. But when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – a total stranger living halfway across the Channel, who has come across her name written in a second hand book – she enters into a correspondence with him, and in time with all the members of the extraordinary Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Through their letters, the society tell Juliet about life on the island, their love of books – and the long shadow cast by their time living under German occupation. Drawn into their irresistible world, Juliet sets sail for the island, changing her life forever.

In addition to his many remarkable paintings and drawings, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) left behind a fascinating and voluminous body of correspondence. This highly accessible book includes a broad selection of 265 letters, from a total of 820 in existence, that focus on Van Gogh's relentless quest to find his destiny, a search that led him to become an artist; the close bond with his brother Theo; his fraught relationship with his father; his innate yearning for recognition; and his great love of art and literature. The correspondence not only offers detailed insights into Van Gogh's complex inner life, but also re-creates the world in which he lived and the artistic avant-garde that was taking hold in Paris. The letters are accompanied by a general introduction, historic family photographs, and reproductions of 100 actual letters that contain sketches by Van Gogh. In sum, this book is the essential book on Van Gogh's letters, which every art and literature lover needs to own.

Powerful YA novel by an award-winning writer about a teenager coming to terms with the suicide of her sister. 17 year old Tara McClusky’s life is hard. She shares the care of her paralysed father with her domineering, difficult mother, forced to cut down on her hours at school to help support the family with a part-time rest home job. She’s very much alone, still grieving the loss of her older sister Van, who died five years before. Her only source of consolation is her obsession with art — and painting in particular. Most especially she is enamoured with Vincent Van Gogh: she has read all his letters and finds many parallels between the tragic story of his life and her own. Luckily she meets the intelligent, kindly Professor Max Stockhamer (a Jewish refugee and philosopher) and his grandson Johannes, and their support is crucial to her ability to survive this turbulent time. NZ Post Award-wining author Mandy Hager tackles the difficult topic of suicide fearlessly, with a novel that's not afraid to go to the dark places but which resolves its story beautifully. It's uplifting and positive. Dear Vincent is also a novel about the power of love, and how the acquisition of inner peace requires forgiveness of ourselves and others.

Almost no one knew what a potato was in 1500. Today they are the world's fourth most important food. How did this happen?

Co-published by Museum of Modern Art and the Van Gogh Museum in conjunction with the first exhibition to focus on Vincent van Gogh's depictions of nocturnal and twilight scenes, Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night examines the artist's night landscapes, interior scenes, and representations of the effects of both gaslight and natural light on their surroundings. It features over one hundred illustrations, including details of Van Gogh's iconic paintings and works by other artist important to the development of his style.