"The book is achingly beautifully written."
I was gifted a copy of this stunning debut novel for Christmas last year, so it is a recent read for me, but it will stay with me for a very long time. It is set in a beautifully drawn rural 1920’s Provence, where the echoes of the first world war still resound.
Joseph, an aspiring art journalist travels to a remote farmhouse deep in the sweltering hot countryside on the invitation of the famous, reclusive and volatile Tartuffe, to watch him work. He hopes this will be the making of him. There he encounters the silent and mysterious artist’s niece, Ettie, and a house filled with mystery and secrets. As the story unfolds and secrets are uncovered, every page is filled with atmosphere and light, a slow burning, simmering romance, and an undercurrent of female rage.
The book is achingly beautifully written. So evocative of Provence, art, colour, and the slow life of rural 1920's France, and the painful, twisted affairs of the human heart. An amazing book by a truly talented writer and can't wait to read what she writes next.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
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PROVENCE, 1920
Ettie moves through the remote farmhouse, silently creating the conditions that make her uncle's artistic genius possible.
Joseph, an aspiring journalist, has been invited to the house. He believes he'll make his name by interviewing the reclusive painter, the great Edouard Tartuffe.
But everyone has their secrets. And, under the cover of darkness, Ettie has spent years cultivating hers.
Over this sweltering summer, everyone's true colours will be revealed.
Because Ettie is ready to be seen.
Even if it means setting her world on fire.
The Artist features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, Feminism and feminist theory, Historical romance
The Artist is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Artist was written by Lucy Steeds and published by John Murray an imprint of John Murray Press
The Artist has 298 pages
£15.29
