This biography of Rodin attempts to fill the puzzling gaps in his life and describes in detail the poverty of his youth, his many love affairs, friendships and enmities, his controversial public life, and his lifelong struggle to gain official recognition of his talents and achievements. The author attempts to convey the tone of the modernist era in which Rodin lived. He also makes reference to many of the famous figures who surrounded Rodin after his early successes, such as Goncourt, Zola, Balzac, Gide, Renoir, R.L.Stevenson, Debussy, Oscar Wilde, Gustav Mahler and George Bernard Shaw.