"Though they were often ridiculed or ignored by their contemporaries, today astonishing sums are paid for their paintings. Their dazzling works are familiar to even the most casual art lovers -- but how well does the world know the Impressionists as people? Sue Roe's colorful, lively, poignant, and superbly researched biography, The Private Lives of the Impressionists, follows an extraordinary group of artists into their Paris studios, down the rural lanes of Montmartre, and into the rowdy riverside bars of a city undergoing monumental change. Vivid and unforgettable, it casts a brilliant, revealing light on this unparalleled society of genius colleagues who lived and worked together for twenty years and transformed the art world forever with their breathtaking depictions of ordinary life." -- Back cover.

First published in 2006 in Great Britain by Chatto & Windus.

Part One: The birth of impressionism. 1. Napoleon III's Paris --- 2. The circle widens --- 3. Cafe life --- 4. Modelling ---- Part Two: War. 5. The siege --- 6. The Paris commune --- 7. 'The week of blood' ---- Part Three: Formations. 8. Recovery --- 9. The group charter ---- Part Four: Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette. 10. Dealers and salesrooms --- 11. Summer in Montmartre ---- Part Five: The atmosphere of the Boulevard. 12. Street life --- 13. La Vie Moderne ---- Part Six: Divisions. 14. New tensions --- 15. The group divides ---- Part Seven: 7. Final years. 16. The impressionists in New York.