In this bestselling finalist for the National Book Award, Prose explores the lives of such noted artists as Lewis Carroll, George Balanchine, and John Lennon, and the women who inspired their greatest achievements. Photos.

In this bestselling finalist for the National Book Award, Prose explores the lives of such noted artists as Lewis Carroll, George Balanchine, and John Lennon, and the women who inspired their greatest achievements. Photos.

All loved, and were loved by, their artists, and inspired them with an intensity of emotion akin to Eros.

In a brilliant, wry, and provocative book, National Book Award finalist Francine Prose explores the complex relationship between the artist and his muse. In so doing, she illuminates with great sensitivity and intelligence the elusive emotional wellsprings of the creative process.