The Flames

Author: Sophie Haydock

Publisher: DoubleDay

Available: 17th March 2022 in Hardback, eBook & Audiobook

Thank you to Anne Cater, Random Things Tours & DoubleDay for my beautiful, gifted copy and for having me on the blog tour for this book. My review is based on my experience of the book and any thoughts expressed here are solely mine alone.

Book Details

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.

My Thoughts:

As I may have mentioned before, my undergraduate degree is in Art History, so it has always been an area of fascination and interest to me. But the world of art is vast, spanning centuries, countries and cultures; it is not unsurprising that there are some areas of this arena that remain undiscovered by own meagre studies and so whenever I get the opportunity to explore and examine the works and world of an artist, I am not overly familiar with, I am always exhilarated to learn more about them and their influences. Art is a passion for both the producers and the viewers, different images resonate in your heart and mind and periods of prolific production are etched on our social conscious. If I say to you; Renaissance, Impressionist, Pre-Raphaelite, or Art Nouveau I am certain any number of images will pop into your head as they do mine.

Egon Schiele it seems was both a pre-war and an inter-war artist although until I embarked on reading Sophie’s debut novel ‘The Flames’ I had never been able to put him and his work into context nor was I aware that he was Gustav Klimt’s protégée. Sophie’s book focuses on Schiele’s muses and recounts their back stories and relationship to the artist and to each other. The backbone and ribs of this novel are awash with Sophie’s magnificent knowledge of this period, this artist and the women who inspired him. Schiele’s work has become seminal to this point time and is universally recognised. However, Schiele’s images though absorbing could also be considered; awkward, misshapen and brutal in many ways and are a complete contrast to the golden stylised ethereal glory of Klimt and as Sophie reveals considered pornographic (likely due to the unflinching, uncompromising, and stark attitudes of his nudes (or rather partially dressed models). All four of the women in this book, were drawn and painted by Schiele on numerous occasions and we probably recognise them more than we do him. Adele, Gertrude (Gertie), Valley and Edith, whose images today adorn the walls of galleries and museums. Sophie’s book is undoubtedly a literary labour of love. It is opulent and sumptuous in its contextual historical details and in its illumination of the politics and society of this age.

The novel is divided into individual books focusing on each of the women but bookended by a modern tale set in the late 1960s and designed to draw the elements of this story together; the book opens with a violent bicycle crash where a young woman collides with a rather rabid old woman, who you think seems to be quite mad, with her muttering and cursing and refusal of help. After she is removed from the scene of the accident, the young woman (Eva) discovers a piece of jewellery and is determined to return it to the disturbed old woman now in hospital. This is our first meeting with Adele!

I loved how each segment of the story; is introduced with an image of the woman it relates to, painted by Schiele; so, Adele’s book is illustrated with ‘Seated Woman with legs drawn up’. And we embark on our interlude with Adele, who is contradictory, obstinate, selfish, and naïve and I confess I really didn’t like her or (in modern parlance) her entitled behaviour towards everyone including her sister (Edith) and her intense resolution to meet Egon and a teenage girl’s obsession unfolds as does the turbulence surrounding the start of WWI! But despite Adele’s desires and schemes, her plans are thwarted and let’s just say things do not go her way and there are some delicious surprises to come.

The book then segways to Gertie – Gertrude; Egon’s little sister, whose love and loyalty to her brother, rolls off the pages. Through her story, we learn of the Schieles’ troubled and tormented past, their life before Vienna; in the rural setting of Tulln; where their father was a station master but their family life is anything but perfect. Their father is tyrannical and incensed by Egon’s failure to measure up to his expectations and sees no value in his daughters or his wife. His violence towards his family, spills out into his professional life and circumstances for the family are dire until tragedy becomes a blessing of sorts! And if you want to find out more, then you will have to read on for yourselves! We move on to Vally; who is flamboyant, fierce, and independent; once a model for Klimt, she wants to find her way in the world on her terms but she is overshadowed by Egon and he does not treat her well! In fact, his treatment of her made me grind my teeth rather! I loved her tenacity, determination, and defence of her loved ones! And how she does not allow society’s restrictions to hamper her, regardless of the cost!

Edith is the fourth muse and Adele’s sister, she is solicitous, obedient, and quietly charming and you think, she is often trampled by the force of her sister’s character. But her quiet calm is her weapon and she wields it masterfully to successfully change the path of her life; to remove society’s shackles, to shake off the conventional and become someone completely different and wholly unexpected. I think Edith is my favourite character, because she is so unexpected and overlooked but that doesn’t stop her and interestingly it is only Egon who really sees her!

Like comets these 4 remarkable women orbit the sun that is Egon Schiele, their trajectory impeded and influenced by him and not always for the good! Through their perspectives and voices we learn more of the artist and the man, the best and worst bits. Each woman see’s and relates to him differently and I admired, how Sophie blended seamlessly fact and fiction to create these women’s voices, lives and aspirations.

This is a truly remarkable read and I loved every line of it; it is a book to ignite your passion for art history, to illuminate the women, whose power and uniqueness are captured for all time on canvas. The flames of their collective and individual influence ignited and inspired Schiele and now through this story they are not easily forgotten nor can they be extinguished by the annals of time. Their presence will burn bright in the minds of all who read this book. It is a magnificent story of trials, tyranny and triumph and will be out in the world tomorrow. Make sure you get hold of a copy; you will miss out if you don’t!

Happy Reading Bookophiles!

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.

Please do read some of the other reviews available on this blog tour.