The Flames

A passionately re-imagined historical novel, featuring four unforgettable women, each a muse to the same controversial artist, set in Vienna at the turn of the century. 'A stunning story of love, art and betrayal' RED magazine

MAGNIFICENT. Feels destined to be a classic - exquisitely crafted and so absorbing. I loved it and REFUSE to accept it is a debut. It's simply too good.

As a feminist reworking of Schiele's story, and as an exercise in redressing historical injustice, this novel is a glorious success. Haydock ensures that these women emerge from behind Schiele's gaze, and she also uses them to illuminate a period of seismic change... an impressive and highly enjoyable debut.

Completely convincing and utterly compelling, THE FLAMES gives vivid voice to four muses who refuse to be remembered as just that. Haydock is a writer to watch.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

Confident...urgent...illuminating: you will never again look at Schiele's vivid portraits without wondering about his subjects' lives beyond the frame.

In Sophie Haydock's impressive debut these women leap from Schiele's canvases, becoming fascinating and complex characters.

THE TIMES, 'Best historical fiction books of 2022'

Thought provoking and illuminating and a fascinating - I so enjoyed discovering the world and the women behind works of art I adore.

'A reimaging of the lives of artist Egon Schiele's four female 'muses' it is both fascinating and compelling. I loved all four women...and the final scenes with Egon himself were truly extraordinary.'

The four women who loved Schiele come back to life, combining an exquisite sense of place and era with a passion and sensuality that transcend time altogether.

'I knew nothing of Egon Schiele. I'm now obsessed, and heartbroken for all four women. An unforgettable book about wanting more for ourselves than we are told we are allowed.'

An intoxicating and evocative read full of controversy and drama. We loved it.

Impressive...one of the great joys of reading The Flames is looking again at the women's portraits and letting them be animated by Haydock's careful, vibrant animation

Readers are going to fall very hard for this one.

For anyone who enjoyed Girl with a Pearl Earring, Sophie Haydock's debut novel will delight and entertain....an intoxicating and evocative read full of controversy and drama. We loved it.

Enthralling and utterly captivating! Sophie's prose is as evocative and beguiling a the stories it tells. Prepare for The Flames to become your next obsession.

Laure van Rensburg, author of Nobody But Us

A stunning story of love, art and betrayal

'In The Flames, Haydock turns a forensic eye on the loves, fears, hopes, and heartbreaks of four extraordinary women who might otherwise have been swallowed by history...a beautiful and timely narrative, which focuses its lens on the closest details to reveal an understanding of the most profound human emotions and behaviour.'

Costa shortlisted novelist,  Rebecca F John

We learn more about great figures in time by watching the spaces around them. The Flames paints a history so detailed and vivid that we feel we were there in the flesh. A book to get lost in, a great feat of a debut.

'Full of scandal, love, betrayal, and heartache ... Adele, Gertrude, Vally and Edith are given voices loud and clear'

The untold stories of four women depicted in the paintings of artist Egon Schiele ... are brought to life in this mesmerising debut... movingly told'

'Exhilarating... a dynamic, vivid debut pulled off with considerable élan'

Enlightening and impeccably researched ... Haydock perfectly captures the spirit of the era. [The Flames] is moving, illuminating and evocative

A drama of love, loss, rivalry and betrayal. A terrific debut, brilliantly imagined.

Story by story, woman by woman, The Flames is kindled by mystery, desire, and Haydock's own resonant prose.

Alison MacLeod, Booker longlisted author of Unexploded

Absolutely loved this one....As rich, dark and delicious as a piece of Sachertorte.

Julie Owen Moylan, author of That Green Eyed Girl

Fascination and authenticity shines through on every page...the prose is light and fluid and reads like a contemporary novel.

Katie Khan, author of Hold Back the Stars

Each of the muses had an extraordinary story to tell... I was utterly absorbed from beginning to end.

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 100,000 followers. For more information, visit: sophie-haydock.com.

BEHIND EVERY PAINTING, THERE IS A STORY.... 
 
'Fascinating & compelling' Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den 
'Magnificent' Katie Lowe, author of The Furies 
'Utterly compelling' Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies 
'Confident...urgent...illuminating' Sunday Times 
'Full of scandal, love, betrayal, and heartache' Cosmopolitan 
'Mesmerising' Good Housekeeping 
 
___________________________________________ 
 
 
In Vienna, a new century is dawning. The beautiful city is teeming with art, music and radical ideas. In this new world, anything seems possible... 
 
This is the story of four women and the elusive artist who changed their lives. 
 
Daughters of a prominent Viennese family, Edith and Adele are expected to follow the rules - to marry well, and produce children. Gertrude is in thrall to her flamboyant older brother. Marked by a traumatic childhood, she envies the freedom so readily granted to him. Vally was born into poverty but is making her way in the world as a model for the eminent artist Gustav Klimt. 
 
Fierce, passionate and determined, none of these women is quite what they seem. But their lives are set on a collision course when they become entangled with the controversial young artist Egon Schiele whose work - and private life - are sending shockwaves through society. All it will take is a single act of betrayal to set their world on fire. 
 
DISCOVER MADAME MATISSE - THE BRILLIANT NEW NOVEL FROM SOPHIE HAYDOCK 
 
_______________________________ 
 
Readers say: 
 
'A riveting captivating read that had me caught up in the time and the place, the life of Schiele and the muses that inspired his art, the tangled mess of passions, the love, loss, grief, the lies, poison and betrayal.' 
 
'One of my favourite books of the year!' 
 
'I just cannot get enough of these fresh, feminist narratives... I found myself in awe of the women who loved [Schiele]...An exquisite read.' 
 
'I adored it. A work of art that will burn bright and stay close to my heart for a very long time' 
 
'A fascinating story loosely based on an eccentric artist who I knew nothing about...Poignant and emotional' 
 
'A vivid, gorgeous book... Vienna is real to the reader, and the fates of the characters will take you out of your everyday life into theirs.'

Sophie Haydock

Sophie Haydock delivers another sizzling story of the art world, where sidelined women take centre stage. It’s an immersive tale of muses, betrayal, sex and bad behaviour

Deliciously immersive . . . Think of [Haydock] as the art world’s slightly spikier answer to Philippa Gregory . . . I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of startling, splashy colour.

Enchanting, evocative… Sophie Haydock gets under the skin of three complex women in this absorbing read

A stunning act of literary, historical and artistic reimagining, woven with incredible skill – and so beautifully written. It will stay with me for a long while

Madame Matisse is everything I want in a book: an evocative and thoughtful work, packed full of insights into the tumultuous world of the 1930s French art movement. Most crucially of all, it places the fascinating women who helped shape one of history’s most loved artists front and centre.

Harriet Constable, author of top ten bestseller, The Instrumentalist

Gorgeously evocative, ambitious in its scope, Madame Matisse sweeps through many of the major events of the twentieth century, whilst remaining laudably faithful to the true coordinates of people, places, artworks and events. A nuanced and humane portrait of three very different women who helped the artist achieve greatness.

Madame Matisse is a fascinating portrait of three extraordinary women whose lives were shaped by the conflicts, hardships and upheavals of early twentieth century Europe. Each of these distinctly different women are linked by the man they all loved, Henry Matisse. While he created a new aesthetic, they each carved their own rules, flying in the face of society’s restrictive expectations. Sophie Haydock, in her restrained and precise style, has written a worthy follow up to The Flames.

Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Queen’s Gambit

Haydock brings to life Europe at the turn of the 20th century seen through the eyes of Madame Matisse. Taking us on a journey starting at the painter's uninspired beginnings to his soaring success and international acclaim. Following her hit novel, The Flames, Haydock brings us her gripping tale of obsession and sacrifice and firmly establishes herself as a novelist of great power and skill.

Haydock turns her penetrating gaze on three formidable women in Henri Matisse’s life . . . A work of vivid imagination, colour and verve

‘An immersive tale of muses, betrayal, sex and bad behaviour' Daily Mail 
 
'Delicious. I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of startling, splashy colour' Spectator 
 
A GUNSHOT. A BETRAYAL. THREE LIVES HANG IN THE BALANCE… 
 
Growing up in Paris just before the turn of the century, Amélie is a free spirit. When she meets an enigmatic young artist, she is drawn to the life of colour and passion he seems to promise. 
 
Together, they share struggles and triumphs, heartbreak and joy, until they arrive on France’s sun-soaked Riviera. With them comes Marguerite, Matisse’s headstrong but courageous daughter. 
 
But there too they meet Lydia, a young Russian emigree, who has fled her homeland following the revolution. Lydia also has her dreams. Her passions. And her ambition. 
 
As their lives entangle, each woman must ask herself: what is she willing to sacrifice to follow her heart? 
 
'A stunning act of literary, historical and artistic reimagining, woven with incredible skill – and so beautifully written. It will stay with me for a long while' Donal Ryan 
 
***** 
 
What readers say: 
 
‘This epic tale takes us from the narrow, dirty streets of Paris to the days of the Russian Revolution, with some time in China, to the hot French Riviera of the 1930s and the French Resistance of World War II. It is rich, it is beautiful and on more than one occasion it made me cry’ 
 
‘I adored this. Beautiful and resilient female characters that came to life off the page vividly and passionately. A sweeping story spanning the years that was addictive and intriguing.' 
 
‘Features lush, evocative prose that draws readers into the emotional depths of its characters’ 
 
‘A triumph… this novel is a must-read for fans of historical fiction, art history, and anyone captivated by the voices of women long silenced by history.’ 
 
‘The scope of this book is terrific. The writing is superb.' 
 
‘Once again, Sophie Haydock claims the lead in my Book of the Year listing. I loved it’

Sophie Haydock

Praise for Madame Matisse

Sophie Haydock delivers another sizzling story of the art world, where sidelined women take centre stage. It’s an immersive tale of muses, betrayal, sex and bad behaviour

Deliciously immersive . . . Think of [Haydock] as the art world’s slightly spikier answer to Philippa Gregory . . . I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of start ...

Enchanting, evocative… Sophie Haydock gets under the skin of three complex women in this absorbing read

Sophie Haydock delivers another sizzling story of the art world, where sidelined women take centre stage. It’s an immersive tale of muses, betrayal, sex and bad behaviour

Deliciously immersive . . . Think of [Haydock] as the art world’s slightly spikier answer to Philippa Gregory . . . I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of start ...

Enchanting, evocative… Sophie Haydock gets under the skin of three complex women in this absorbing read

Sophie Haydock delivers another sizzling story of the art world, where sidelined women take centre stage. It’s an immersive tale of muses, betrayal, sex and bad behaviour

Deliciously immersive . . . Think of [Haydock] as the art world’s slightly spikier answer to Philippa Gregory . . . I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of start ...

Enchanting, evocative… Sophie Haydock gets under the skin of three complex women in this absorbing read

Books by Sophie Haydock

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