".. under all those layers of the artist's pencil and paint are wild, blazing hearts, longing to be known."

Egon Schieles, the Artist's life, is a biographer's dream! Disciple of Gustave Klimt, his painting was often dubbed as pornographic and insulting in the early days. At the turn of the century, with the war around the corner, the book is set primarily around Vienna, the cultural capital. Sophie Haydock relooks at his entire life through the stories of 4 women who were models for his paintings - Adele(his sister in law), Edith(his wife), Vally(his muse) and Gerti(his sister). The book is a mix of fact and fiction.

Each of the women tell a compelling story which pieces together the artists life from birth to his end. Pushed into obscurity, the women tell their stories to be known, to not be limited to sketches.

Adele who first meet as a old woman chasing the ghosts of her past is the spoilt firstborn of a well to do family. When Egon moves into their neighborhood, she instantly claims him as hers and develops a strong infatuation. When it is not reciprocated, she broods and sulks and estranges herself from her sister. The books leaves the story hanging and moves on to the story of Vally his muse and then his sister Gerti with whom he seems to have shared an unhealthy attachment. And then we come back to Edith, the demure wife with whom Egon shares a warm loving relationship.

The intersections of the stories explains a bit more of the depth in emotions of the women. What is a passing event in one story is earth shattering turning point in the other. The flames in the title is the all consuming nature of art that touches their lives. The book gives a different voice to the 4 women and succeeds in capturing the environment of the time. You become non-judgmental and even put up with Egon Schiele's sexism.

"You should make all of them bold. For what good is any woman if she doesn't have the power to surprise you?"

The author seems invested in her subjects with an instagram page called @EgonSchielesWomen dedicated to the women who posed for the artist.

Note: Thank you Netgalley and Randomhouse UK for the ARC of this book.

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!

This was such a thought provoking read. It was well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters. The premise for this book was so fascinating. i couldn't put it down. As soon I had finsihed I started looking up Egon Schiele and his art, as I hadn't seen any of his works, nor did I know much about his art or him as a painter. A great read that I will be recommending.

Set in WW1 Vienna, The Flames tells the story of the four muses of Egon Schiele. I should've noted before I picked this up that I'm not really an art girl so was starting this on the back foot. For a debut this is incredibly well written and I think this book has such a lot of promise for a wide readership but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I find that books with shifting narrators require a lot of atmosphere and introspection to really pull me in and this was lacking for me due to the shifting timelines. Thank you to the publishers for the digital arc, I may read it again as a physical book.

Did not finish. I am struggling with this one. Found it hard to get into. I will come back to it and try again at a later date.

Utterly compelling……. Every painting tells a story, but what if the women on the canvas could talk... The story was fascinating and totally kept my interest. Thank you so much for a great read. I will be looking out for future books by this author. Wow!!!

This is a really unique read. Telling the stories of four women features in paintings of artists Egon Schiele. Exquisite and beautifully told- we learn about the women in his life, all the ups and the downs. Beautiful.

‘The Flames’ is Sophie Haydock’s impressive debut novel. Focusing on four women who modelled for Egon Shiele, she not only depicts each one as a living, breathing individual but also gives the reader a vivid picture of what life was like in Vienna and its surrounds in the early twentieth century.
Haydock has clearly done plenty of research on the life and times of Shiele and her depiction of his world and his models’ lived experiences is very convincing. This is a time in history that has been explored over and over and yet Haydock makes the trials endured, the horror of war and disease, and domestic conventions and suffering come vividly alive. The modern-day sections do not work quite as well; they feel like awkward interludes and perhaps have been included, in part, as a vehicle to encourage a marked grave for Adele, something Haydock mentions in her very interesting Historical Note.
This novel certainly prompted me to re-visit Shiele’s art and for that alone ‘The Flames’ would be worth reading. However, Haydock’s word portraits of Edith, Adele, Gertrude and Vally ensure that the viewer ponders these women afresh.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Vienna is a city I love. I particularly remember my encounter with the art of Egon Schiele in the Belvedere one Remembrance Sunday, some time in the 1990s. So I was gripped by the idea behind this book.
As I read, I was fascinated by the way the author had transcribed the facts about Schiele and his women into the story. As with the marvellous I, Mona Lisa, I wondered how much had been pieced together, and how much simply imagined. In fact, the author gives a good account of the research behind each of the women, and the events in Schiele's life. I enjoyed reading that almost as much as the book.
This is vibrant stuff. All of life is here, seen through the eyes of the four women, providing a view of four aspects of pre-war Vienna. It helped me understand the politics of the time, and why the assassination of Arch-Duke Ferdinand precipitated the World War, which had seemed to me to be mostly about the mud in the Somme (and other places). I knew a little of Schiele's involvement in the war from what I'd read of his life, so that haunted me through the book, especially with Adele's leap from pre- to post-war narrative.
The women are wonderful, and fit the artworks of them so well. The voices are totally right, and the tangled web of Schiele's lovelife seems absolutely believable.
It's another brilliant book. Read it!

This book was amazing! It tells a story which is extremely overdue. Sophie Haydock did an incredible job of humanising these women, and bringing their experiences to life. It is a fascinating, powerful, transportive, wonderful read. I highly recommend it.

A dramatised/fictionalised account of the life and relationships of Egon Schiele.

I enjoyed this book, but I did find the way it jumped backwards and forwards a little confusing - perhaps it would be an easier read in hard copy than on kindle.

That said, it was a compelling read, with the author filling in the gaps to create a story for this artist who died so tragically young.

It took me a little time to adjust to the style the book was written, but it is a very atmospheric, painterly book. The characterisation of the woman is well done, meticulously done even, and I felt that I was almost watching a film when I adjusted.
It's an interesting idea writing about his models may have been, and from what I've read he was actually quite hard on them, though that might have been 'usual' treatment at the time.

Sophie Haydock's debut is an electrifying blend of fact and fiction, a well researched look at the Viennese artist, Egon Schiele, a protege of Gustav Klimt, his groundbreaking erotic nude portraits seen as scandalous, earning him the reputation as a pornographer, which led him to being hounded out of rural locations, and his eventual acceptance as Austria's leading painter. We are provided with a glimpse into his modest background and family, a stationmaster father who tried to beat the need to draw out of his son, but the driven Schiele will not be dissuaded from his single minded passion and ambitions for art. The novel begins with a young woman, Eva, crashing her cycle into an old woman in Vienna in 1968, whose attention is on a poster for an art exhibition. Eva visits her in hospital to return a ring she finds at the scene.

Haydock breathes life into 4 women, his muses, of whom little is known, imagining their relationships with Schiele and the dynamics between them where their lives cross. There are the privileged bourgeois sisters, Adele and her younger sister, Edith, very close to each other, living their daily lives amidst the social whirl of events in their society calendar. Adele is the more adventurous, who upon seeing Schiele moving into an apartment opposite their home, becomes obsessed with him, watching and observing him, organising whatever encounters she can, not put off by his reputation, certain they are meant for each other. A betrayal plunges her to breaking point, highlighting her mental fragility and inability to control the rage within her. Edith is the more modest, apparently more socially conventional sister, fired by her own inner desires, intent on shaping a new version of herself.

Gertie is the possessive and jealous younger sister of Schiele, their relationship crossing lines, featuring as a subject for his drawings since childhood. Vally, is from an impoverished background, a proud, determined, bold, loyal and independent minded woman, an artist's model, and in a relationship with Schiele for 4 years, there for him when everyone else deserts him in his hours of need, but never seen as a serious prospect for marriage by him. She is my favourite muse as she spurns Schiele's efforts to continue to exploit her after making his more advantageous marriage as she becomes a military nurse instead. Amidst the blazing desires and passions that mark the dynamics between the muses and artist are the turbulent years of the war and the deadly devastation wreaked by the Spanish Flu pandemic.

This is a riveting and 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. The only discordant note for me was the Eva thread where she meets Adele a few days prior to her death, it felt surplus to requirements in what is otherwise a superb piece of historical fiction. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Amazing. Loved this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A truly enchanting and captivating debut novel. Loved learning all about this time in history and all about the women that history has forgotten. I have no real knowledge on art so found it fascinating diving into this researched and well written story. It also made me want to find out more once I had finished reading. Always a bonus.

Really recommend this one.

Set against the backdrop of the waning Austro-Hungarian empire – a time period I find fascinating, not least for its explosive creative potential and shifting attitudes to sex and art – the Flames tells the story the four women most closely connected with controversial artist, Egon Shiele. Haydock has clearly done meticulous research – it genuinely felt like being transported to Vienna. Each of the four women read like living, breathing people. This was a brilliant book. Highly recommend.

One man, four women and four very different voices.

One has a different level of sympathy and empathy with each of these women. Personally I found the encounters with Gerti and Adele less colourful. For me, Adele with her delusions and obsessions was incredibly well written and brought to lifer

The author deftly moves in and out of their lives and that of Shiele in the early 20th century, bringing it to life and the sense of change and danger in the air with the first world war, the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire and revolutionary ideas, both sexually and socially.

Two of the women died young as did Schiele so many what might have been if they had lived. I really appreciated the idea of defining a male artist through various female gazes, particularly in a more 20th century context.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book.

A ltitle embarrassed to admit I read this entirely as a piece of fiction for the first half until it occurred to me that it was based in some level of truth. Either way, the author does a fantastic job bringing these four women to life. They're each very different, navigating Vienna the only way they know how as their lives intersect with the artist Schiele.

I had great empathy for all of them, even when they each frustrated me in their own ways. Beyond the paintings is a whole world of inner passions and pains which were engaging to read about. Even though Schiele is the force that connects them all, this story is about the women who inspired him and even posed for him. Who they were, why they got involved with him, and what it meant for their lives.

The setting of Vienna in the early 20th century comes across very vividly as well. I felt like I got to step into this world for a little while, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to Random House UK for letting me read the ARC.

This historical novel describes the life of the artist Egon Schiele told through the POV of 4 women that he had a profound effect upon. The two Harmms sisters, the model Vally and Egon's sister, Gerti. The Flames is a powerful debut from Haydock that focusses on Schiele's influence and impact on the women in his life.
Haydock has managed to bring the pre first world war one world of the lavish Vienna to life. I enjoyed seeing Schiele through the different eyes of the women that played a huge part in his life. Each one a strong woman striving to find a place for themselves in a repressive society while under the influence of the provocative artist. I've always liked the art work of Schiele but knew little about his life or the various scandals that surrounded him. I'm still unsure if I actually like him at all anymore!
This is a very strong debut. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an e arc of this novel.

This powerful debut novel is a wonderful read, full of immediacy and colour, assisted by the perspectives the narrative takes, retelling moments through different eyes and giving added momentum through the use of the present tense. A certain amount of license is given to the short life of the talented and controversial artist Egon Schiele, and the women whose lives were indelibly connected to his, but the author has based her conjecture on powerful portraits and what is known of his history.
Vienna is also quite a force in this, the collapse of grand family fortunes and social mores of that time, the effect of changes in what society would accept in art, and the limited opportunities for women. The First World War and accompanying devastation is hovering close by, but the Spanish flu is also present.
It has made me want to research this myself, and at the very least to revisit the art itself. I will feel a new connection to the people I see there.