Some critics have been particularly harsh in their estimation of Stone's techniques in The Agony and the Ecstasy.
They contend that while he researches the facts of his subject completely, he changes, adds and rejects at will. The scholars who admit this best seller is a successful novel recognize the question of the dilemma of truth versus entertainment. They say that to fictionalize an artist's life is to compromise the truth no matter how carefully the story is documented. Yet, it is the job of a biographical novelist to know all and tell all as he ties together loose threads with excellent crochet-work. Stone apparently came to Michelangelo knowing him first as the standard genius of popular folklore. He entered into research with this icon and, deciding not to change it, suppressed any truths that.....
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