A Thing of Beauty

A Thing of Beauty
First US edition
AuthorA. J. Cronin
Cover artistGeorge Salter
LanguageEnglish
PublisherGollancz (UK)
Little, Brown (US)
Publication date
1955, 1956 By A.J. Cronin
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages440 pp. (US hardback edition)
ISBN0-515-03379-0 (US hardback edition)

A Thing of Beauty is a novel by author A. J. Cronin, 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."