‘A blaze of a book, poetic, passionate and quietly powerful’ Daily Mail
‘The year’s most lauded debut novelist . . . A sultry, headily perfumed portrait of monstrous male egos and oppressed overlooked women . . . The Artist uncovers its secrets by stealth’ Telegraph
‘Dextrous and powerful . . . a hugely accomplished portrait of ambition and self-fulfilment’ Guardian
‘The Artist is a lush, impressive debut; the writing is rich and sensuous, especially in descriptions of food, the landscape and the act of creation. Lucy Steeds is one to watch’ The Times
‘This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read’ Mail on Sunday
‘Enthralling . . . the descriptions of the landscape, the meals they eat and the art created are so rich and evocative it’s as if you’re there’ Good Housekeeping
**BEST BOOKS FOR 2025 from Stylist and Good Housekeeping**
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.
‘Gorgeous . . . Steeped in the heat and atmosphere of 1920s Provence, this novel brims with intrigue, hope and yearning’ Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory and The Burial Plot
‘Phenomenal . . . beautiful, pacey historical fiction, vividly realised. It drifts with the scent of summer, the land lit up and throbbing, the food piled high and richly painted, the paint as thick and buttery as food. I wanted to eat it. Yes, I even wanted to eat the paint. Read this book!’ Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal
‘I could not love this beautiful novel more . . . the final chapters left me with that delicious heart-bursting feeling, full of hope and delight’ Florence Knapp, author of The Names
‘Lucy Steeds transports the reader with her sensuous depictions of food, art, and landscape . . . an assured and atmospheric debut’ Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent
‘A furiously romantic, sun-drenched mystery . . . The Artist will leave you yearning in every sense of the word’ Yael van der Wouden, author of The Safekeep
‘An intoxicating tale of creativity, possession and freedom. An impressively assured debut which asks questions about all those who are painted over by history’ Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre
‘The year’s most lauded debut novelist . . . A sultry, headily perfumed portrait of monstrous male egos and oppressed overlooked women . . . The Artist uncovers its secrets by stealth’ Telegraph
‘Dextrous and powerful . . . a hugely accomplished portrait of ambition and self-fulfilment’ Guardian
‘The Artist is a lush, impressive debut; the writing is rich and sensuous, especially in descriptions of food, the landscape and the act of creation. Lucy Steeds is one to watch’ The Times
‘This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read’ Mail on Sunday
‘Enthralling . . . the descriptions of the landscape, the meals they eat and the art created are so rich and evocative it’s as if you’re there’ Good Housekeeping
**BEST BOOKS FOR 2025 from Stylist and Good Housekeeping**
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.
‘Gorgeous . . . Steeped in the heat and atmosphere of 1920s Provence, this novel brims with intrigue, hope and yearning’ Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory and The Burial Plot
‘Phenomenal . . . beautiful, pacey historical fiction, vividly realised. It drifts with the scent of summer, the land lit up and throbbing, the food piled high and richly painted, the paint as thick and buttery as food. I wanted to eat it. Yes, I even wanted to eat the paint. Read this book!’ Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal
‘I could not love this beautiful novel more . . . the final chapters left me with that delicious heart-bursting feeling, full of hope and delight’ Florence Knapp, author of The Names
‘Lucy Steeds transports the reader with her sensuous depictions of food, art, and landscape . . . an assured and atmospheric debut’ Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent
‘A furiously romantic, sun-drenched mystery . . . The Artist will leave you yearning in every sense of the word’ Yael van der Wouden, author of The Safekeep
‘An intoxicating tale of creativity, possession and freedom. An impressively assured debut which asks questions about all those who are painted over by history’ Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre
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Reviews
Lucy Steeds transports the reader with her sensuous depictions of food, art, and landscape . . . an assured and atmospheric debut about creativity, female agency, and the legacy of war
A furiously romantic, sun-drenched mystery about the violent power of good art. The Artist will leave you yearning in every sense of the word
The Artist is an intoxicating tale of creativity, possession and freedom told by the alternate voices of a young English writer and a French woman who have been drawn into the orbit of a celebrated but reclusive artist. As they circle around him during one hot summer in Provence, both his secrets and theirs slowly come into the light. This is a compelling, beautifully textured and impressively assured debut about the risks we take to get what we want, a novel which asks questions about all those who are painted over by history
Gorgeous . . . Steeped in the heat and atmosphere of 1920s Provence, this novel brims with intrigue, hope and yearning. The questions it asks will linger with me: about authenticity, about what it means to be an artist and to long to leave a mark on the world
Phenomenal . . . beautiful, pacey historical fiction, vividly realised. It drifts with the scent of summer, the land lit up and throbbing, the food piled high and richly painted, the paint as thick and buttery as food. I wanted to eat it. Yes, I even wanted to eat the paint. Read this book!
I could not love this beautiful novel more . . . the final chapters left me with that delicious heart-bursting feeling, full of hope and delight
Sensuous and brooding
Enthralling . . . the descriptions of the landscape, the meals they eat and the art created are so rich and evocative it's as if you're there
The Artist is a lush, impressive debut; the writing is rich and sensuous, especially in descriptions of food, the landscape and the act of creation. Lucy Steeds is one to watch
The stifling Provence landscape and the visceral nature of creating and consuming art are evoked beautifully . . . Steeds command of language is dextrous and powerful . . . a hugely accomplished portrait of ambition and self-fulfilment
The Artist is a lush, impressive debut; the writing is rich and sensuous, especially in descriptions of food, the landscape and the act of creation. Lucy Steeds, a graduate of the Faber Academy, is one to watch
A sultry, headily perfumed portrait of monstrous male egos and oppressed overlooked women . . . The Artist uncovers its secrets by stealth
A vivid and atmospheric literary novel, rich in observational detail, that explores and transcends the oppressive power dynamics of artistic creation
This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read
A blaze of a book, poetic, passionate and quietly powerful
The air is thick with the power of art, the sensuality of food, the desire to be seen and create alarming heat
Romantic . . . brings to life a painter's studio in 1920s Provence
Beautiful . . . Steeds uses vivid, sensory language to evoke the sultriness of a summer in Provence and the tyranny of living with a genius artist . . . A thought-provoking book whose characters will stay with you long after you've finished reading it
Steeds's debut is gorgeously immersive, the summer Provencal landscape vividly evoked and her descriptions of art arresting
The author has had so much advance praise for this novel that we feel slightly awed by it. It might be a 2025, fictional reply to Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, published in 1989, a book that proved to be publishing gold and single-handedly sent a million Brits down to the land of lavender and wine
Sheds light on the unsung women bhind great artists. Throw in the glorious remote Provence setting, and I can't imagine a better book to escape with