It is 1777, and England's second-greatest portrait artist, Thomas Gainsborough, has a thriving practice a stone's thrown from London's royal palaces. Meanwhile, the press talks up his rivalry with Sir Joshua Reynolds, the pedantic theoretician who is the top dog of British portraiture. Fonder of the low life than high society, Gainsborough loathes pandering to grand sitters, but he changes his tune when he is commissioned to paint King George III and his large family. In their final, most bitter competition, who will be chosen as court painter, Tom or Sir Joshua? Two and a half centuries later, a badly damaged painting turns up on a downmarket TV antiques show being filmed in Suffolk. Could the monstrosity really be, as its eccentric owner claims, a Gainsborough? If so, who is the sitter? And why does he have donkey's ears? Mixing ancient and modern as he did in his acclaimed debut The Hopkins Conundrum, Simon Edge takes aim at fakery and pretension in this highly original celebration of one of our greatest artists.

`The way in which the eighteenth century is rendered in this novel is witty, observant and joyously gossipy. The characterisations are sharp and Simon Edge has the painter's eye for detail. It is paced beautifully and nothing is wasted' - NB magazine, `The more of Simon Edge you read, the more you realise that every element of his stories is hand-selected and glued to the bigger picture - it's whimsical, farce-like... scrapbooky, in the best possible way' - Buzz Magazine, `The rivalry between Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds is at the heart of this larky novel' - Saga Magazine, `It hooked me straight in from the beginning. It's brilliant' - Lesley Dolphin, BBC Radio Suffolk, 'A masterpiece!' - Books are Cool, `With sheer comedy and a lot of ambition, this short novel combines excellent writing, seemingly effortless historical research and a great understanding of people to create a really enjoyable read' - Northern Reader, `A deft and exuberant satire that is pointed whilst avoiding cruelty' - Never Imitate

Simon Edge was born in Chester and read philosophy at Cambridge University. He is the author of two previous novels: The Hopkins Conundrum, longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award, and The Hurtle of Hell. He lives in Suffolk.