Henri Matisse is a name we all know as one of the twentieth centuries most famous artists, but what about the women in his life? In Madam Matisse Sophie Haydock takes the focus away from the artist and on to three women who played a pivotal part in his life and career; his wife Amélie, his daughter Marguerite and Lydia, his companion in later life. This is a story of love, passion and betrayal that will capture you from the first page.

I loved Sophie Haydock’s first book The Flames which focused on the women in Egon Schiel’s life, and in this second book she again puts the women in an artist’s life at the centre of the book. In three parts, Madame Matisse sees each of the women’s lives play out, their hopes and dreams and their love for Henri Matisse. The Eponymous Madame Matisse is Amélie, married to Henri for forty two years. Out of the three characters it is her that I felt most connected to, and ultimatly most empathy for. They always say behind every successful man is a woman and this is true in Amélie’s case. She had belief in him when he had doubt, she made sure that he was able to paint by pawning jewellery and gave up her dreams to help him achieve his. She had a strength and confidence about her, even when fame came calling and she no longer was at the centre of his world.

The most fascinating story had to be Lydia’s. As a child she fled with her aunt from Revolutionary Russia to China until at nineteen travelling to France. She enters the world of Matisse when she becomes a companion and assistant to Amêlie whose health declines in old age. She went through so much, orphaned at young age and fleeing her home and being in the Matisse home gives her security and a family. Marguerite was the woman I felt most sorry for. She was incredibly loyal to her father, but also his harshest critic, and when life becomes troubled it is her at the centre of it, trying to mediate and placitate.

Sophie Haydock breathes life into these incredible women and gives us insight into their lives and that of Henri, she shows great empathy for her characters that then makes the reader feel the same. This is a work of fiction but Sophie Haydock seamlessly blends the fact and fiction. She has obviously put a lot of time and effort into researching the characters and stays fairly true to the historical facts and grounds this with historical references, like the Thérèsw Humbert Affaire, that saw friends of Matisse’s wife commit one of the largest frauds in France’s history. Her writing is colourful and descriptive, capturing the settings and atmosphere of the period; in her own way she paints a picture as vivid as a Matisse with her words.

Madam Matisse is a wonderful read and even better than her previous book The Flames. I find it refreshing that she has chosen to concentrate on the women in artists lives, the pivitol part they play whilst she captures their essence so naturally. Being a lover of art I’m hoping that Sophie Haydock stays with this theme of artists as it is a fascinating view to take. Simply stunning, I highly recommend this book and her previous book The Flames.

I found Sophie Haydock’s uncovering of the most important women in Henri Matisse’s life to be such an interesting, complex portrayal of womanhood, devotion and art.

The novel begins with Amelie, the lover and wife of Henri, and tells the story of the sacrifices she took and the contribution she made in encouraging him to meet his potential as an artist against the jeering sneers of the traditionalists who dismissed his works as simple and beast-like.

As time goes on and the family’s fortunes rise and fall, we are also introduced to the controversial housemaid and companion Lydia and her tragic childhood, and Henri’s daughter Marguerite whose life takes a dramatic turn during the Second World War. All three women must balance their devotion to Henri against their own desires to find purpose and meaning.

All set in the 1930s art movement of France and the heat of the French Riviera, this evocative novel probes different ideas of love, passion, fidelity and the rules of society.

Thank you so much to @doubledayuk books for an advanced copy of Madame Matisse, which is out now!


I will post on my instagram account @charlottereadshistory on the 11 April.

I really enjoyed this.

I always love a book with some real historical context, and this is just that - a dramatisation of the life of Amelie Matisse, Henri Matisse's wife - from how she was entranced by the quirky young man she met at a wedding, through their marriage, to their separation after decades of marriage.

Henri is portrayed as an often difficult individual, distracted by his art and prone to ups and downs as he flips between success and failure. Along the way, Lydia appears in their life - a much younger woman, initially employed to help Amelie, but is soon working closely with Henri who cannot manage without her, and there is always a question over what love there is between the two of them. Inevitably, Henri must choose between Amelie and Lydia, but that's not easy.

I loved the portrayal of the characters in the book, they're colourful, vivid, and their emotions jump out of the page. I took the time to look up the art works referred to in the text, which gave an added detail. I read this pretty quickly because the characters drew me in so much.

Thank you to the publisher for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

As an enormous fan of art, and particularly the women unseen in the lives of prominent artists, I should have loved this book. Unfortunately I didn't really connect to it, but that's not because of the writing. I enjoyed what I read but had little motivation to continue, DNF at 35%

Having previously read and loved “The Flames” by Sophie Haydock, I was excited to read her next book about the three women in the life of Henri Matisse. There is something inspiring and empowering about following the lives of the people who inspired and enabled great artists - more so than reading biographies or novels about the artists themselves - and the stories of Amelie, Marguerite and Lydia are especially compelling. The author has brought each of their characters to life through her writing as well as conveying the changing world they lived through, from the dawn of the twentieth century, through to the Russian revolution and WW2. I highly recommend this book and I will never look at the work of Matisse again without thinking about these inspirational women.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

The saying goes that behind every great man stands a woman; in the case of Henri Matisse, it was three women. This story is told from the points of view of those three women; his wife Amelie, his assistant Lydia Delectorskaya and his daughter Marguerite. Three women, who all in same way gave up their own dreams and aspirations to support the man who would become a leading figure in modern art.

I love historical fiction that’s based on real people and events and I loved this book. It’s impeccably researched and the historical details are brought to life through the vivid writing. I was totally immersed in the drama and the emotion.

From an historical point of view I found it fascinating. The inclusion of Therese Humbert in particular sparked my interest and I spent a very happy hour researching her and her husband’s ‘exploits’! I also learned so much about the art of that period and found myself pausing my reading so I could look up the artworks mentioned.

Above all it’s a brilliant story, it has it all, high drama, suspense, glamour, love, jealousy, determination and formidable women. I can’t recommend it enough!

Madame Matisse is a shining example of why I love historical fiction, weaving fact and fiction to create an absorbing read whilst at the same time encouraging me to find out more about the subject matter, in this case Henri Matisse - an artist whose paintings I recognise but about whom I knew very little.

Told through the eyes of three strong women who all played a significant role in his life - his wife Amelie, his daughter Marguerite and his muse Lydia - they each have their own fascinating story to tell. Amelie’s support for Matisse in his early years proved crucial, and her strength of character and independence made her a remarkable woman ahead of her time. Lydia’s journey from Russian emigre to muse is an intriguing one and Marguerite, Matisse’s daughter by his first wife, often the peacekeeper of the family, plays an active role in the French resistance during World War II.

All three are very much brought to life, as are Paris and the South of France. And for me I loved the insight into Matisse’s paintings - referenced throughout the book, it sent me scurrying to find out more about them, armed with an extra level of insight.

It is a beautifully written story, clearly meticulously researched and full of fascinating insight, but wonderfully woven into a book full of heart and a delight to read

Based on fact, Madame Matisse by Sophie Haydock is about the most important women in the life of the famous artist, Henri Matisse - his wife Amelie, his daughter Marguerite, and his assistant Lydia.
Set in 1930s France, the artist’s muses orbit him like moons around a planet…until they come into collision.
It took me a little bit to get into - credibility is always difficult when you’re putting words into the mouths of real people. But I clicked into it, the colour, the heat, but mainly the characters, as I became invested in their amazing lives. I googled a few facts and paintings which helped support the incredible stories of these women and by the end, loved the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for a drc to review in my own words
#matisse #madameMatisse #art #sophiehaydock #muse #artist #bookreview #bookrecommendation

With all the troubles the world is currently facing I have found myself increasingly escaping into the world of interesting historical novels and the opportunity to read an ARC of Madame Matisse proved to be just the distraction needed. Thought provoking as well as excellently and imaginatively written, Sophie Haydock's book provides the reader with an intriguing insight into the lives of three women who undoubtedly played hugely important roles in the life of the great Henri Matisse. One was his wife of 40 years, Amelie. One was Lydia - a Russian emigre - who was to become his companion and muse of some 20 years duration. And lastly, Marguerite the daughter from his first marriage who liked nothing better than assisting her father in his studio whilst watching him work. All three women featured in paintings by Henri but their greatest value probably lay in how their love shielded him from the administrative and day to day realities of the real world. If this book is to be believed, without them, the taciturn and slightly grumpy Matisse would have struggled to find the fame and success he came to enjoy.
For the evocative insight alone into the middle years of the last century, the period in which Matisse rose to acquire both wealth and fame, "Madame Matisse" is a thoroughly enjoyable and informative read. But is also genuinely fun to have Sophie take us behind the scenes, so to speak, by focussing her story, not on Henri, but rather on Amelie, Lydia and Marguerite. Highly recommended

When Amelie meets a vibrant artist at a wedding, she sees him as an escape from her conventional life. So Amelie becomes Madame Matisse, wife to a struggling Henri. Through her hard work and financial support Henri becomes a success and the family can afford to move to the south of France. There they employ Lydia Delectorskya as an assistant. Lydia is a Russian emigree who lost her family in the revolution and its aftermath. She becomes Henri's muse but this drives a wedge between Henri and Amelie. Marguerite is Henri's illegitimate daughter who has come to live in the Matisse household, she is conscious to preserve the great man's legacy.
Much like her debut novel, Haydock has chosen to tell a fictionalised life of three women associated with a great artist. Again this is a brilliant stand-alone story but one based on fact. Certain aspects are slightly underplayed as they don't fit into the core plot but Marguerite's wartime suffering seems cruelly curtailed. Lydia is obviously an enigma of a character so the author has chosen to be more creative with her story. However this book is more about the woman than the man and I like it for that!

Madame Matisse by Sophie Haydock

This is the story of three women - one an orphan and refugee who finds a place in the studio of a famous French artist, the other a wife and mother who has stood by her husband for nearly forty years. The third is his daughter, caught in the crossfire between her mother and a father she adores.

Amelie is first drawn to Henri Matisse as a way of escaping the conventional life expected of her. A free spirit, she sees in this budding young artist a glorious future for them both. Ambitious and driven, she gives everything for her husband's art, ploughing her own desires, her time, her money into sustaining them both, even through years of struggle and disappointment.

Lydia Delectorskaya is a young Russian emigree, who fled her homeland following the death of her mother. After a fractured childhood, she is trying to make a place for herself on France's golden Riviera, amid the artists, film stars and dazzling elite. Eventually she finds employment with the Matisse family. From this point on, their lives are set on a collision course....

Marguerite is Matisse's eldest daughter. When the life of her family implodes, she must find her own way to make her mark and to navigate divided loyalties.

Based on a true story, Madame Matisse is a stunning novel about drama and betrayal; emotion and sex; glamour and tragedy, all set in the hotbed of the 1930s art movement in France. In art, as in life, this a time when the rules were made to be broken...

Almost eleven years ago my lovely arty friend Mandy wanted to visit the Matisse exhibit at Tate Britain. I really hope I didn’t ruin it for her. I probably did. I confess I’m not a lover of modern art. We went to the Guggenheim in New York and I proclaimed it disappointing. We had to go across to the MET and see their collection of Impressionists to cheer me up. My loves are the Pre-Raphaelites and the Art Nouveau/ Arts and Crafts period so we’re a long way away from each other in preference. Art is her subject so she certainly knows a lot more than me. I was interested to read in her afterword that the author has always had an interest in the artists, with a black and white postcard of Matisse on her notice board for several years. I have one of Gustav Klimt wearing an artist’s smock and clutching a cat, with a look of devilment on his face. It makes me smile whenever I see it and I understand how a particular artist can inspire your imagination. Sophie’s first novel, The Flames, was about a protégé of Klimt. It was narrated by the women in the life of Egon Schiele, the subjects of four of his paintings. Here she takes a similar look at the women who surround Henri Matisse, showing how they advise, support and sustain him in his endeavours, but remained completely in the background to his talent.

The story starts with Amélie Matisse, an incredibly brave young woman who takes a chance on marrying an artist rather than a more conventionally acceptable partner. She sees something in Matisse’s paintings, recognising they way his work could be at the forefront of modernism. Previously his colourful style has been rejected for exhibition in Paris, but Amélie knows that innovative artists often take a while to break through. In fact it is a painting of Amélie that is the catalyst for Henri’s career to take off. Woman in a Hat is exhibited in Paris and bought by siblings Gertrude and Leo Stein, a bohemian pair central to the art world throughout the early 20th Century. This is where Amélie makes the bravest and most important decision of her husband’s career. The painting was for sale at 500 francs and the Stein’s offered considerably less. Eager to make a sale to the influential pair, Henri is willing to give the discount but Amélie advises him to wait and hold out for the asking price. He takes her counsel and they go and meet the Steins, convincing them that Henri is central to the next great artistic movement. The Steins pay the full price. The couple are a great team with Amélie making all the household and business decisions, freeing Henri to paint and become a famous member of the Fauvist Movement. She also brings Henri’s daughter Marguerite into their growing family, when her own mother is struggling to care for her. Yet, not everything about their relationship runs smoothly. Once they are able to afford a family home with a garden and studio for Henri, Amélie’s help is no longer needed. Henri takes on a series of young assistants and Amélie has the more traditional wife’s role which doesn’t suit her. It’s fascinating to read about the changes, once their joint struggle is over they cease to become a team and the problems begin.

Another section of the novel is devoted to Marguerite, Henri’s illegitimate daughter. Once Amélie has brought her to live within their family, Marguerite seems to blossom under the care of her stepmother. She also makes herself useful to her father, tidying his studio and anticipating his needs. It is interesting to hear about Amélie and Henri’s relationship from her perspective and her anxieties that the family she’s been brought into stays together. She shares a lot of Amélie’s suspicions about some of the assistants who breeze in and out of their lives. She’s also a strong advocate for her stepmother, even into her parent’s old age. Yet there were times when I felt she was taken advantage of by Amélie and her father. There’s a sense in which, despite seeming kind, loyal and trustworthy, Matisse does use the women around him. The household being groomed to anticipate his needs, women as sacrifices for his artistic genius.

Most interesting to me was Lydia Delektorskaya, born in Tomsk, Russia, in the tumultuous period after the revolution. As there was a move towards Stalin and communism, Lydia has just lost her mother when her father decides she must leave the country. He gives her a gun with three bullets left in their chambers and sends her to China on the Trans-Siberian Express with her Aunt Berthe. After building a life there Lydia must make a choice between the Sorbonne in Paris or to marry her lifelong friend and stay. Lydia takes neither choice and instead aims for the South of France, a place that couldn’t be more different than the place she was born. She spends time working in a bar but when she sees a job with the Matisse family she decides to apply. The job is to look after Henri’s wife Amélie who has a chronic illness and is confined to their apartment. Lydia has experience of working with her mum and her aunt and felt fulfilled by her caring role. Once she starts work though, some of her duties are to assist Henri in his studio, eventually sitting for portraits and sketches. Amélie eyes their relationship with suspicion despite there being no evidence of impropriety. This is more than an affair, it’s a meeting of souls and when ultimatums are made they have terrible consequences.

I loved reading about these fascinating women, all of which step outside the traditional role of most women of the time. Sophie beautifully situates Matisse within his peer group, especially his great rival Picasso. She situates each woman perfectly within their history, the most in depth being Lydia’s Russian background and Marguerite’s incredible bravery in WW2. Both are fascinating to read and show us the extreme cruelty and playbook of totalitarian regimes. Lydia’s realisation of what her father truly sacrificed to stay in Russia happens when she is older. First they came for the royal family and aristocracy, then those with intelligence and the ability to challenge them, just as the Nazis did in Poland. This perhaps has more resonance thanks to current world events. I thoroughly enjoyed looking up the paintings mentioned and seeing Matisse’s representation of the three women who were closest to him and I found myself reading articles about him and Picasso. It left me with a sense of anger and empathy for how much women sacrifice so that men can excel at what they do, realising their ambitions while their wive’s ambitions are forgotten or buried under a suffocating mental load - still the thing women in my group talk about most. These women never take the limelight away from Matisse, even while stripped bare for people to view. The focus is always on the painter, their brush strokes, choice of colour and artistic decisions. I love that in this novel they are more than body parts, they’re shown as the vital, brave, complex and generous women they clearly were.

A really unexpected read actually. I expected it to be a bit of a dry retelling if I'm honest. Instead we start with the fiery Amelie, who truly sees what Matisse could be when they first meet. Their relationship is the most interesting dynamtic to me. What the wife of an artist was expected to put up with and where her breaking point is. I could have happily continued to read more about her.

We then move to learning about Lydia, a young woman who works for Matisse and deeply inspires him. The way this shifted the course of Amelie, Henri and Lydia's lives wasn't one I saw coming (but probaby should have). And finally his daughter Marguerite who is in the uneviable position of being in the middle of everything.

All is this orbits this difficult, mercurial man but the three women is where the interest really lies. I find books like this hit-and-miss but thoroughly enjoyed this one. Will be recommending.

“Cherchez la femme” as they say or in Henri Matisse’s case, it’s actually femmes, as his life and creativity was strongly influenced by not just one but three women as we find out through the pages of this stunning book.

This is the story of the famous French artist, Henri Matisse but through the eyes of the women in his life who shaped him and whose lives he in turn he shaped.

The novel opens in 1939 with tensions clear between Amélie, Henri’s wife and Lydia, his assistant but that’s all we are left with before we go back to 1897 when young Amélie meets Henri at a wedding and as they say the rest is history. Amélie, not usually drawn to the artist type, sees something in Henri (and also wants to rebel) and gives up everything in order to support her husband in his passion. She is determined and against many odds and obstacles, like most wanting to break the mould I guess, eventually we see Henri become famous and successful. But by then who is Madame Amélie Matisse, and where is their relationship? And who are the other two women I referred to above? Two women who can also be referred to as Madame Matisse? Is it possible that all three love Henri equally and that Henri loves them all too? What makes an artist and what sustains their creativity? What is left of you when you have given up everything for the person you love? Is there a way forward? And would you do anything differently anyway even if life doesn’t work out as you envisaged?

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 does also complete the story until we see the lives of all the main characters lived out. It is rich, it is beautiful and on more than one occasion it made me cry. My first book by the other but I wanted to read her other book now with urgency. If it’s as good as this one then she will become an auto buy author for me.

Amélie says. ‘Whatever you make a decision about in life – whether it’s what to wear or who to marry or anything in between – the choice ends up being the only one you could have made. So there’s no reason to fret, or to consider alternatives. Just go with the instinct that fuels your heart, that’s what I always say.’

I couldn't resist requesting this on Netgalley the title Madame Matisse had me hooked. It was a fascinating read based on a true story of three women one a wife and mother who has stood by her husband Henri Matisse an artist for forty years, an orphan and refugee who finds herself in the studio of Henri, and then his daughter caught in between her mother and father who she adores.

I must be honest and say I had never heard of Henri Matisse until reading this book I've since had a read up on him and these three fascinating women who Sophie has brought to life.

It covers a wide period from 1897 right up to 1998 in the epilogue. Sophie captures the history and atmosphere of every year. Madame Matisse was formidable in every way she gave up her dreams so her husband could pursue his. My first book by this author and won't be my last.

4.5 Stars

Like her previous novel, The Flames, Sophie Haydock leaves no stone unturned in her search for credible background material to create the lives of women, in this case, of the early twentieth century (mostly).

And what she creates is an epic tale, not only of changing artistic styles, and the difficulties of the avant garde movements in gaining acceptance, but of the unsung women. They would have liked their own careers, whether in art, fashion, medicine or science. It’s a familiar enough tale. I think we are mostly aware of the barriers to education and professions that our foremothers had to batter. But tie that in with family bankruptcy due to systemic fraud, and with revolution sending you on a ten day journey by train to China, and thence to France some years later…

The scope of this book is terrific. The writing is superb. The characters are totally, utterly believable, with all their biases and peccadilloes.

Once again, Sophie Haydock claims the lead in my Book of the Year listing. I loved it,

I very much enjoyed Sophie Haydock's previous novel 'The Flames', about the women in Egon Schiele's life in Vienna, so was delighted to receive an ARC of Madame Matisse. Once again the focus is on the women who play an important role in the artist's life, in this case, Henri Matisse. The first is Amelie, Matisse's wife, who is a free spirit and sees him as a route out of the conventional life expected of a young woman in 1920s Paris. Upon moving from Paris to the Riviera when Matisse is older, a young Russian emigre, Lydia Delectorskaya becomes Matisse's assistant and inveigles herself within the household to the chagrin of Amelie. The third woman is Marguerite, Matisse's daughter by his first wife, who plays an active role in the French resistance during WW2. Madame Matisse is definitely a book for lovers of art and 20th century history, with three resilient strong women at its core. I wonder which artist Ms Haydock will cover next! Gustave Klimt would be wonderful ...
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Transworld Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A fascinating exploration of the three women in Henri Matisse's life - his wife, assistant and daughter. I found all three to be so interesting, but particularly was drawn to the story of his assistant Lydia. The book is clearly well researched as well as clearly written and evokes the era and location so well. I have since read more on the subject and will be recommending this to our library users who like historical fiction and character driven narratives.

Sophie Haydock’s ‘The Flames was one of my favourite books of 2022. I was utterly captivated by the world of artist Egon Schiele and the depiction of 20th Century Vienna. Even more so, the female muses that Schiele painted and was inspired by were characters that were instantly memorable. The writer imagines their interactions and relationships with Schiele, their love and admiration but also their bitterness and anger, in what feels like a meticulously researched work of fiction.
These themes and ideas are also very much the focus of the Sophie Haydock’s new novel Madame Matisse however here we are transported to 1930s France and to the life of French visual artist Henri Matisse. Even though both books have at their centre a male artist, it is the women that are the true focus and are at the heart of each novel. Their relationship with the creator, how they handle the challenges that the relationship brings about alongside their struggle to find their own selves within the particular society they inhabit and the respective constraints it poses is all incorporated within the pages of this book.
In Madame Matisse the narrative is driven by Matisse’s wife Amelie, a woman that defied society by marrying ‘beneath’ her and gave everything to support her husband’s passion and dreams. There is also Lydia Delectorskaya, a young Russian emigree and muse of Matisse, whose traumatic past we go back in time to discover. Thirdly, there is Matisse’s daughter from his first marriage Marguerite, who navigates a fraught political landscape with bravery and determination. I knew nothing about these women prior to reading the book and it was fascinating to explore 1930s France and the lives they inhabited. Sophie Haydock is so adept at creating characters with all their nuances and flaws, it has left me feeling like I want to find out more about these bold and brave women who will stay with me for a long time to come.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

The life and times of artist Henri Matisse are told through the eyes of the three most important women in his life - his wife Adele, his mistress and muse, Lydia, and his daughter Marguerite. Each woman has her own interesting, often heart-breaking story to tell, as life moves on from the early 2oth century, through the Russian Revolution, and up to and beyond World War II.
This was an interesting read - I like the way the author makes the women the main focus of Matisse's story, giving each the importance they deserve as brave, bold, independent women in the days when it was hard for women to forge their own path in life.
I'm not so keen on the way the story is structured - a linear narrative split iinto three parts, one for each woman, didn't lend itself to the tension, drama and emotion that must have simmered below the surface in their intertwined lives. Apart from the prologue, which hints of drama to come, there is not a great deal of suspense here. I liked this story, but I didn't love it.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction focused on the women in the lives of the artist Henri Matisse. There are three points of view, each given time and space to develop, across a wide time period on the twentieth century.

I hadn’t known anything about Matisse before reading and I liked the fact that the book focuses on the women who shaped him.

Given the wide time span too it was interesting to get perspectives on 20th century European history as the backdrop to the principle story line.