Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A well-written beautiful book. A recommended read.

I knew this book would be one I enjoyed, after all it encompasses some of my favourite things: History between the World Wars; the Vienna Secession and Gustav Klimt; Art Nouveau; a feminist narrative. However, I didn’t expect it would grab hold of me in the way it did! I sat down with it in the garden one Sunday afternoon and read two thirds straight away. When duty and blog tours called that week I had to set it aside, but I kept glancing over at it like a lost lover all week. Despite recognising the featured portraits, I didn’t know much about Egon Schiele, other than he was a protégée of Klimt. I have only seen one of the paintings, Portrait of a Woman modelled for by his sister Gertrude Schiele because it was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Schiele is described as a figurative painter and as an artist under the banner of the Vienna Secession he was pushing the boundaries, trying to create something completely new or ‘art nouveau’. This was the time of a rebirth in painting, writing and all other art forms towards a new way of describing the world - the birth of Modernism. The unusual shapes and colours in his work is reminiscent of writers like Virginia Woolf who were throwing out the rule book and wrote novels with unusual timelines, streams of consciousness and complex characters whose inner world was often more important than events outside it. Haydock’s book uses some of these devices and a way of ‘writing back’ to art history and challenging Schiele’s representation of these women. Schiele’s portraits are not life-like reproductions of his model and while they might shed light on aspects of their characters, they can only ever be the artist’s view of that woman with all the prejudices and biases of his time. Here we get to hear the women’s stories as they see themselves and their relationship with Schiele.

We start with Adèle, one of a pair of sisters living opposite Schiele in an upmarket district of Vienna. Adele is transfixed on Schiele as soon as he arrives on moving day and is glued to the window seat every day in the hope of catching his eye. However, both Adèle and her sister Edith are from a very well respected family and there isn’t a chance that their father would accept Schiele as a choice for his daughter. Adèle is persistent though and soon the sisters meet Schiele on the street outside, alongside the woman they see coming and going from the flat, Wally. Although there is a part of her who knows the relationship between Wally and Schiele must be a complex one, she tucks it to the back of her mind, and begins to feel she might be making headway with him. Surely Wally is a maid, someone who cleans and models for him? Using Edith as her foil they do have a cinema outing, a very awkward foursome, and Adèle is so glad to have a sister that’s quiet, in the background, and goes unnoticed. She’s the perfect chaperone for this relationship she’s building in her head. She’s in love with Schiele and he must be in love with her, in fact she never has a moment’s doubt. Haydock writes a brilliant opening section here, with a perspective that we’re never fully sure of and a course of action that could be leading to disaster. It’s almost painful to be inside the mind of this highly strung young woman, whose class and status keeps her in a constant waiting position. There’s so much she’s dreamed of doing, but can only do them when she is a married woman. Women of Edith and Adèle’s class can’t make decisions for themselves, don’t get up and go travelling, or go to university or even go to the theatre alone. There are times, imprisoned behind her window when she envies Wally’s freedom to come and go as she pleases. Adèle is bored and I feared some of her reality was little more than the daydreams of an under stimulated mind. There’s a sense that an emotional storm is brewing.

The second section of the book is focused on Gertrude Schiele, Egon’s younger sister who started posing for his sketches when they still lived at home. Through Gertrude we experience Schiele’s early years, with her perspective as the filter. Born to a man who worked on the government railways, the family were respected, although the shadow of mental health does fall here too. We see the germination of an unusual relationship between brother and sister, with hints of impropriety on both sides where her modelling for him is concerned. It’s clear to see Schiele’s incredible artistic drive, thriving in limited circumstances and with a father who wishes his son wanted to follow him into a respectable job on the railways. Art is no way to make money, but there is a sense it’s more than that driving his father, possibly the praise that would come his way for having such a loyal son who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps. However, when his father’s behaviour becomes erratic what will happen to them all? As for Gertrude we see a strange dynamic when Schiele uses other models or is in a relationship? There is jealousy there which is interesting to watch as we move through the next few years. In the third section we meet Wally, artist’s model for some of Schiele’s best work and a partner to him in every way. I loved this section, because I found Wally inspiring in her choice to live in the way she wants despite the consequences. Wally is probably his most professional model, with an energy and intensity that leaps off the canvas. She openly lives with Schiele, travelling with him to a couple of country houses before settling in Vienna near her family. Wally knows where the line is and in the years she is with Schiele his behaviour gets them noticed in all the wrong ways, including with the authorities who label him a pornographer. She does not leave his side. There’s a core of steel in this woman, who will not hear him talk of love - possibly because she knows what verbal declarations are worth - and will never ask him to stay. However, I wanted him to stay with this woman, who I felt understood what he needed better than anyone, but didn’t ask for the usual protections her gender would be afforded, like marriage. I wondered whether, as she watched Wally from the window of her gilded cage, Adèle truly understood the responsibilities and the cost of being as ‘free’ as Wally seems?

Finally we come full circle, back to Schiele’s arrival in Venice and moving in opposite Adèle and her sister, but this time from Edith’s perspective. It was fascinating to see the same events play out through a different pair of eyes and we soon realise that despite her quiet demeanour and acquiescence to the rules her parents lay down, Edith is not as passive as she has appeared up to now. In fact she has the determination and deceptive skills her sister does, but the difference is that it’s not expected of Edith. As a result she has more freedoms than her sister and doesn’t get caught. She too is mesmerised by Schiele, but by the man rather than what he represents. Adèle wants freedom, to challenge boundaries, to scandalise society. Whereas Edith just wants the man, but does she truly know him and will she risk losing her sister to get him? We do get a sense of Schiele through these women, particularly Gertie because she’s there for the formative years. I often found him infuriating, because I felt he wanted to be a modern man, unrestricted by society’s rules and expectations on one hand, but then showed a total disregard for the women who were willing to break rules with him. There was a slight Madonna/Whore complex at work here, where women were compartmentalised into those to have fun with and those acceptable for marriage. Some of his choices felt like betrayals to those women who risked everything by literally laying themselves bare before him and the world, for his sake and for the sake of art. I thought Haydock beautifully captured this sacrifice and it’s consequences, something picked up beautifully in the short interludes from the 1960’s where an elderly woman searches for a painting she’s glimpsed of someone she loved. Desperate to give an apology she never heard in life. Haydock beautifully captures a rapidly changing Vienna between two World Wars where barriers of class and gender are breaking down. She also captures the complexities of the barriers for women and those who have the pioneering spirit to break them. This is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year and I read it greedily in two sessions, but I’m already looking forward to entering Haydock’s world and savouring these wonderful women again.

I really enjoyed this book! Brilliant characters who I felt that I really got to know throughout the course of the story. It was wonderful to follow the lives of the four main women, and I loved the way that it was all pieced together in the end. Highly recommend, this is one of the books I have enjoyed the most this year!

A simply stunning masterpiece that weaves through the different women and tells their story. I was raptured.

The Flames reimagines the life of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele's women. The book is divided into 4 parts, told from the perspective of Adele, Gertrude, Vally and Edith, however the time concomitantly moves forward through the different parts. This was clever and made the story incredibly readable.

It is clear that the author has done thorough research into Egon Schiele's life, however this does not weigh the story down. I suggest to also read the author's afterword, where she explains the real story and the fictional elements.

Vienna has always had a place in my heart and I love reading about artists and art. Sophie Haydock wrote a beautiful book incorporating all these elements. Loved it very much!

Thank you Random House UK and Netgalley for my e-ARC.

The interior lives of women the reader might not have otherwise heard of are deftly explored in this debut novel. Who were the women in the nude studies the author had looked upon during a visit at the Courtauld Gallery? What did they have to say for themselves? Having laid the foundation for her novel, through a combination of much research and an agile imagination, the muses of Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele are given a voice, and their influence on his art, singular for its bold and edgy linework – which pushed against the mores of the time - is brought to bear.

A complete review can be found on Substack. Details in the link.

Egon Schiele had four “muses” in his life, and what this book does brilliantly is bring these women out of the shadows and give them a voice and a real presence, something that has been largely ignored in studies of the artist and his work. For of course these women weren’t just “muses” to a great, if controversial, artist. They were women in their own right, with desires and ambitions and wishes of their own, and it is this that Sophie Haydock explores so successfully. Keeping to the documented historical record she imagines and speculates and uses creative licence to great effect. If we can’t actually prove that the women felt and acted as she suggests, the book at all times feels authentic and convincing and fact and fiction are expertly interwoven as Haydock fills in the gaps. The book is also a vivid portrait of the last days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and those heady times of Viennese society before it all turned sour. If I have a quibble – and it’s only a small one – the introduction of a purely imagined character who meets one of the women, Adele Harms, at the end of her life by quite literally bumping into her felt just a bit too contrived, but this in no way detracted from my overall enjoyment of this captivating and absorbing well-crafted novel.

I had not heard of the artist Egon Schiller before reading this book and what a great way of finding out about him! The novel tells his story through the eyes of four women who were close to him and were portrayed in his paintings - his sister Gertrude, his mistress Vally, his wife Edith and his sister-in-law Adele. The story is compelling, impeccably researched and gives a believable account of Viennese society at the time of the Great War. The viewpoints of the four women were relatable and although Egon Schiller himself is not particularly likeable, his portrayal through their eyes gives an interesting perspective and makes you want to find out more about this artist who scandalised society so much.

I so enjoyed this book, the dramatisation of the life of Egon Schiele (did a good bit of reading up on him after reading this!).

Schiele, an Austrian artist in the early 20th century, is perhaps a stereotypical artist - scruffy, sleeping around, provocative and scandalous; he attracts the attention of two young ladies in the neighbouring building - Adele, as independent and passionate as Schiele, and her quieter sister Edith who becomes Schiele's wife.

The women in this story are central to the narrative - the clamour and juxtaposition of Adele and Edith is complemented by Schiele's muse Vally, who although dependent on Schiele for her earnings is also independent and brave; and also his sister Gertrude, another independent figure.

Highly recommended.

The Flames by Sophie Haydock. I listened to this on audiobook, excellently narrated by Hattie Morahan. Set in the late 19th century through to the end of WW1 (with a few 'interludes' set in the 1960s) The Flames tells the story of four of the models of the Austrian artist Egon Schiele - his sister Gerti, his longtime lover Vally, his wife Edith and his sister-in-law Adele. There is an extraordinary clarity and vibrancy to Sophie Haydock's prose and the novel is very cleverly structured, split roughly into four parts, with each part told from the perspective of one of the women (plus a brief section from Schiele himself and the 1960s interludes). Things kick off with Adele, and she was such a bold, compelling character that I was concerned when I got to the end of her section that the other muses would pale in comparison, but I needn't have worried as each woman was uniquely and strongly drawn and all equally as compelling as Adele. I also loved how the threads of the muse's different stories intersected without stealing focus from the viewpoint character. Each of the muses had an extraordinary story to tell, and the sum of all the parts and the gradual layering up of Schiele's character as seen through the eyes of the women he painted was so skillfully done. I was utterly absorbed from beginning to end. The Flames is out now and highly recommended.

Vienna in the early 20th Century, a city of contrasts, bohemian and yet conservative and at the centre of art. Into this comes Egon Schiele, a talented but poor son of a stationmaster, determined to be a worthy successor to his hero, Gustav Klimt. Then there are the women, his sister Gertrude, his wife Edith, his model Vally and his sister-in-law Adele, each has a tale to tell and the story of each is the story of Schiele.
I loved this book in the end but it took me a while to get there! I've never been a great fan of Schiele's work but can admire it, unlike Klimt who is far more accessible. The setting is really intriguing, Vienna before the First World War was the epicentre of culture and Schiele's radical art was definitely sonething different. However what makes this book work is Haydock's choice to tell the story of the artist through the four women, this adds another dimension and focuses on the idea that women were either hausfraus or whores. the least successful sections were those set in 1968, I can see that they were created to provide a structure for the book but they were not as good as the rest.

This book just did not speak to me. It is a fictional Historical narrative, based on (as the author admits) very limited knowledge about the real characters behind the storyline. One of its biggest failures is that the characters were unknown and the author fails to inject any real interest into their characterisation. The action takes place over several time periods from the late 19th Century into the late 20th. There seemed to be a spectral or psychic dimension. It felt disjointed and I believe it would have been better to have concentrated on the then rather than trying to bring it into the now although this across time historical fiction is popular it takes a certain skill to make it work well. I don't think this author had the skilled craftmanship required

Thank you to Random House UK for the ARC! This was an intriguing, well-researched novel with a great plot and really engaging characters! I really didn't know much about this topic going in and feel like I learned a lot too.

THIS BOOK IS PHENOMENAL. This is a book which has captured my interest from the beginning. I love how this is written. It is filled with a mix of characters and has been a book I have been unable to predict.

This is a great read. Set in the art world of Vienna it looks at the artist Egon Schiele who was the bad boy of art back in the day apparently. He is a real figure from history as are his muses. This story is fictional biut mixes real and fiction in one and it's a great read which I really recommend you read right now!

A well researched book detailing the inner lives of four of Egon Schiele's models - his wife Edith, his sister-in-law Adele, his lover Wally and his sister Gerti. It took me a while to get into 'The Flames,' because the initial character sketches felt very simplistic, turning these complex women into shallow, spoilt, unlikeable caricatures. It wasn't until I got to the section about Wally that I felt my emotions begin to shift and I began to soften towards the book.

Unfortunately, it didn't grip me in the way I wanted it too, and I actually found it to be a bit of a slog towards the end. I felt that the intermediate sections featuring Adele and the young woman who runs into her with her bike in 1968 to be a bit cliched, particularly the end bit (which I'm not going to spoil, because I'm nice like that.) Yet, it's great to see a book which aims to give voices to the women we see in these paintings and who we never really get to know. So much has been written about Egon Schiele. It's great to see a book which finally elevates the women who inspired his incredible works.

Superb story.
I know of the artist Gustav Klimt but nothing of his protege Egon Schiele. The weaving together of facts within the fictionalised account of the adversity between the Harms sisters (Edith was Schiele's wife with her sister Adele) was well done.
Expressionism painting was stretched to its limits with the public - and maybe the artistic elite by the often obscene paintings by Schiele who moved from paintings of trains (as a child) to erotic depictions of female models which sometimes included young girls.
The author does much to show the position of women at this time building up to the First World War in Vienna Austria, a city which will prove pivotal in the development of European tensions through that conflict and later WWII.
I loved the way the novel was introduced with Adele running across the road and being knocked down by Eva and how linking with a 1968 art exhibition of Schiele brought the story to life. It was interesting to see images of the paintings and also led me to research other works by Schiele further. We may be more aware of Gustav Klimt and it was good to show the link with his model Vally to then be the muse of Egon.
Adele died in lonely poverty in real life but the fact she was in death brought back together with her sister and brother-in-law showed the circle of the story in full.
The role of Schiele's sister Gertrude (Gerti) was perhaps not just a vehicle to explore the trauma of Egon's early years and family - particularly his father's cruelty and traumatic death) but the implied incestuous relationship between brother and sister. Again the images in Schiele's paintings can be misinterpreted but as the author is at last revealing the women behind the lives of these two painters perhaps we gain more insight into the truth.
Overall a fascinating read.
Timely to read of the effect again of the Influenza Epidemic post WWI and how no one was spared (as with covid we have found) with the fate that is beyond wealth and fame.

The flames Sophie haydock review

The flames!! What a book, a book that actually snuck up upon me and I absolutely adored and fell in love with! A story that for myself I haven’t really read anything like before (In many aspects)

Giving voices to four muses of the artist Egon Schiele, Sophie Haydock has weaved a story that was truly a treasure to read, gave light to and made these women shine and become more than just the paintings we see in a frame in a gallery! These are women who deserve to be remembered for more than just that and these women are about to tell their own story!

Split into four parts so we get a pov from
Each women, we see how they come into Schiele’s company and throughout the next couple of years/decades how the relationship they each have with the artists evolves in some ways good, some ways Bad.

Oh this novel truly transported me to the Vienna of the early 20th century, I could just envision being there, wether that be walking down the street, In schiele’s painting studio, or in the family homes of these four women you can just tell with the depth and details of this book, that Haydock really has studied,
researched and knows what they are talking about.

Like I said earlier it’s a book that snuck up on me, it’s actually one of my favourite books I’ve read this year! It’s captivating,heartwarming/heartbreaking and once I had finished I was just looking at it like WOW 😅
Like The author Katie Lowe has said about this book I just have to agree with the following… “I Refuse to accept it’s a debut. It’s simply too good”

Pick this one up, give it a read I recommend highly!!!

The Flames is a piece of fiction inspired by the works of Expressionist artist Egon Schiele, and more importantly four of his muses; Adele Harms, Edith Harms, Gertrude Schiele and Walburga Neuzil (Vally). Whilst Schiele saw them primarily as his models, to enable his art work and understanding of the female form, they were women in their own right, with their own stories to tell. Sophie Haydock imagines the life of these women, capturing their dreams and passions against the backdrop of early twentieth century Vienna.

I have come across several works of Egon Schiele over the years and in my degree course. As an artist he was seens as radical in his portrayal of women, capturing their sexuality and sensuality; some even compared it to pornography labelling Schiele as depraved. In relation to this, his models were seen as prostitutes, selling their bodies and letting Schiele paint them is such an erotic way. But these women were strong, independent and comfortable with their sexuality. Their lives make fascinating and compelling reading, and by the end of the book I felt I knew them personally. My favorite was Vally, a former model for Schiele’s mentor Gustav Klimt. She came from an impoverished background, having to share a bed with her two sisters, and used the money from her modelling to help her mother. Whilst only young, she is a passionate and independent women, and incredibly loyal to Schiele even when he finds himself in prison. I felt she was the only one to stand up to Schiele, not willing to just be his mistress after four years together. An intriguing relationship was that of Adele and Edith Harms. These sisters were very different in personality, Adele passionate, independent and headstrong, she knew what she wanted and that was Schiele. Edith was more sensible, quiet, and more conservative but underneath also goes after what she wants. After a betrayal, both sister find their world and realtionship changed forever. Finally their is Gertrude, Schiele’s younger sister and his first muse. She idolises her brother, bordering on possessiveness and jealousy of others in his life. Through her story Schiele’s strict childhood is revealed, how his art was forbidden by his father. All these women love Schilel in their own way, with passion, but he just sees them for their bodies, their sexuality and ultimatley how they can help him capture the female form.

It is hard to believe this is Sophie Haydock’s debut novel, the writing flows so easily, and kept my attention throughout. She seamlessly blends fact and fiction, showing her depth of knowledge both of the historical period, the art of Egon Schiele and the four women who were his inspiration. The early twentieth century saw the outbreak of the First World War and as a result the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I really enjoyed learning more about how the War effected the citizens of the Empire, where the higher classes soon lost much of their wealth and status, and how Schiele and Vally both played their part. I thought it a brilliant idea to include a copy of Schiele’s portraits at the beginning of each section of the book so I could identify each of the women, see what they looked like, making their story more personal.

The Flames is a book that will stay with me for a long time. The stories of these four, beautiful, independent women were fascinating. All were loyal to Schiele, loved him passionately but also wanted to be more that just his models, more than just their body, wanting to be loved back for who they were. I also enjoyed learning more about Schiele himself, his passion for his art and capturing the female form, his self belief, and how he was seen by his contemporaries. Sophie Haydock captures the zeitgeist of this period, the changing landscape of Europe, the effects of the War and how art was perceived. This accomplishmed debut has scandal, love, loss and betrayal and a cast of memorble characters; a stunning read.

For a debut this is incredibly well written but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and the different timelines (normally I enjoy these). Due to this, I will read it again as a physical book.

Thank you to the publishers for the digital arc