Ch. 1. The Etty family, Etty's birth and early years -- The shape of things to come -- Education -- Ch. 2. "One of the fairest of England's cities" -- "Servitude and slavery" -- Ch. 3. Life in London -- A second apprenticeship -- A rewarding pupilage -- Ch. 4. Unsettled and solitary -- Finding his way -- Slow beginnings and widening horizons -- Death of his father -- Success at home -- Ch. 5. The grand tour - a second attempt -- "The spell is broken" -- Success in Venice -- "Fever of heart" -- A confession? -- Ch. 6. Further successes and material improvements -- "An honor conferred" -- Further recognition - meeting with Delacroix -- A troublesome patron -- Revisiting York -- "We must keep the foreigners from fooling us!" -- Ch. 7. "I have triumphed!" -- A familiar allegory reworked -- A fair exchange? -- His mother's death -- "The vandals strike again" -- Ch. 8. "An irreparable loss" -- Mixed reactions -- A change of academic patronage -- Unpleasant experiences in France -- "An affair of the heart" -- Etty and politics - reactions to reform -- Ch. 9. A tour of the north -- "A general allegory of human life" -- Defender of antiquities -- The letters of Ridolfi -- A variety of portraits -- Ch. 10. "The war of the walls" -- "Some great moral on the heart" -- A missed opportunity -- Illness and convalescence -- An exhibition in New York -- A strange appointment -- More advice from Ridolfi Minor -- Ch. 11. Divergent opinions -- "Beauty, action, masculine vigour" -- The National Gallery -- "A nasty little pokey hole" -- An important appointment - The Schools of Design -- Ch. 12. A change of monarch, a change of style -- A childlike humor -- Critical appreciations -- Painting the Lady Mayoress -- Etty's painting methods -- Ch. 13. "I am not a Protestant" ... "I am not a Catholic" -- "Premiums for crime" -- Etty and money -- Ch. 14. A qualified tribute from one artist to another -- Another important appointment - The National Gallery -- "Nature supreme and over all" -- Summer excursions -- A prestigious appointment - The House of Parliament -- A royal command -- "Let brotherly love continue" -- Ch. 15. "The Judith of modern times" -- York Minster again -- Planning for retirement -- "The new Maecenas" -- Distinguished portraits -- Ch. 16. Etty and his models -- "Never to marry!" -- Ch. 17. The York School of Design -- Failing powers -- Excursions and alarums -- A reluctant departure - Ch. 18. Who bought Etty's paintings? -- Ch. 19. "A piece of egotism" -- A curious intervention -- Recognition by fellow artists -- Praise from a famous poet -- Increasing ill-health and other worries -- A final imprudence -- Ch. 20. Final wishes unfulfilled -- "A sordid topic" -- A hurried sale -- Posthumous appreciations -- Ch. 21. Etty's successors -- Etty in the twentieth century -- Summation.