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The Secret Lives of Colour

Kassia St. Clair

£26.00

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John Murray Press
9 October 2025
ISBN: 9781399823586
Hardback
448 pages

From the publisher

THE MODERN CLASSIC AND SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER.
NOW BOLDER, BRIGHTER AND EXPANDED INTO GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOUR WITH 25 NEW COLOURS.

'Dazzling and vibrant' Mail on Sunday
'Extraordinarily full and interesting' TLS
'Gorgeous' Guardian
'Charming' FT

'Beautiful' Daily Mail
'Irresistible' Country Living

The history of colour tells the vivid story of civilisation. From scarlet women to imperial purple, leaf green to the white paint that protected against the atom bomb, Picasso's blue period to the pink Barbie claimed for feminism, The Secret Lives of Colour offers a bright thread throughout human history.

Kassia St Clair's lifelong fascination with colours and where they come from (whether Van Gogh's chrome yellow sunflowers or Dorothy's ruby slippers) takes us on an unforgettable journey through our past, present and future.

'An excellent, innovative and idiosyncratic cultural history that will colour your thinking' Spectator
'If you want to fall back in love with colour, read The Secret Lives of Colour' Sunday Telegraph