In this first, full-length biography of Welsh artist and writer Brenda Chamberlain, Jill Piercy draws upon extensive research gathered from public and private collections and from interviews with Chamberlain's friends in Britain, Germany, and Greece. The account chronicles the life of an artist and writer whose work was strongly affected by the places she lived, most notably Bardsey Island in Wales and the Greek island of Hydra. In addition to her professional achievements, the book also examines the particulars of her personal life, including her marriage to fellow artist and Royal Academy student John Petts, her long relationship with the Frenchman Jean Van der Bijl, and her life-long friendship with the German aristocrat Karl von Laer.