A Thing of Beauty

A Thing of Beauty is a novel by author A. J. Cronin,^[1] initially published in 1956, with the alternate title of Crusader's Tomb. It tells the story of Stephen Desmonde, an English painter who struggles for recognition in a conventional world, sacrificing everything for his passion for art. The title is a reference to John Keats' 1818 poem, Endymion, which begins with "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."