by Sophie Haydock
SYNOPSIS
EVERY PAINTING TELLS A STORY, BUT WHAT IF THE WOMEN ON THE CANVAS COULD TALK…
Vienna, at the beginning of the 20th century, is an exhilarating social whirl, a city of ideas, of music, of ground-breaking art, led by Gustav Klimt until the arrival of his scandalous protegee, Egon Schiele. Into this world come four women, each with their own story to tell:
ADELE: passionate, fierce, obstinate. The daughter of a bourgeois family, she rails against the strictures of her class and harbours her own wild fantasies.
GERTRUDE: spirited, single-minded, possessive. The sister to budding artist Egon Schiele, she longs for an exciting life away from their tempestuous family home.
VALLY: determined, independent, proud. A model for celebrated artist Gustav Klimt, she has carved her way out of poverty and is now forging a brave new path for herself.
EDITH: quiet, conventional, loyal. Or is she? Younger sister to Adele, Edith is overlooked and wonders if there is another version of the woman she might become.
Four flames, four wild, blazing hearts, longing to be known. In an elegant bohemian city like Vienna, everything seems possible - until an act of betrayal changes everything. For just as a flame has the power to mesmerize, it can also destroy everything in its path.
REVIEW
Eva is distracted after an argument with her partner and accidentally knocks down an elderly lady in the street while cycling. This lady is belligerent but intriguing to Eva so she tracks her down in the hospital and the pair start talking. Soon, Adele has convinced Eva to help her break out of the ward to see an art exhibition. It was the poster for this same exhibition which stopped Adele in her tracks when she was knocked over. As they wander through the gallery, Eva learns that Adele was one of the models for these paintings, and the story of artist Egon Schiele and the four most influential women in his life begins...
When I picked up The Flames and began to read, I knew that this was a historical reimagining of the story behind Egon Schiele and his four muses. Despite knowing this, the very second I was introduced to Adele, Edith, Gertrude and Valley, I fell in love with the story and believed every single word, every interaction and every occurrence. In the same way that I adored Hamnet and the way Maggie O'Farrell gave a voice to Agnes, I was absolutely captivated by the story of these four women.
A joy to read, a fascinating subject and an art history lesson in one - The Flames is a stunning debut, and a novel which I have become a little obsessed with. I loved being swept away to pre-war and wartime Vienna, discovering the people and places which led to the creation of some of my favourite pieces of art. In fact, I was so enthralled with the vivid setting and authentic voices that it was difficult to get back to reality after I finished reading. My easiest 5 star review this year, The Flames is going to be almost impossible to beat!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sophie Haydock is an award-winning author living in east London. The Flames, is her debut novel. She is the winner of the Impress Prize for New Writers. Sophie trained as a journalist at City University, London, and has worked at the Sunday Times Magazine, Tatler and BBC Three, as well as freelancing for publications including the Financial Times, Guardian Weekend magazine, and organisations such as the Arts Council, Royal Academy and Sotheby's. Passionate about short stories, Sophie also works for the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award and is associate director of the Word Factory literary organisation. Her Instagram account @egonschieleswomen - dedicated to the women who posed for Egon Schiele - has a community of over 110,000 followers, and continues to grow.
For more information, visit: sophie-haydock.com
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, @Words_by_Sophie and @DoubleDayUK for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Historical Fiction / Historical Retelling / Art History / Biographical Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 978-0857527622
Pages: 464pp
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