The Artist
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025
By Lucy Steeds
Read by Tanya Reynolds
Harry Hartog's review
A book about beauty, freedom, the tumultuousness of life and the traumas in it, The Artist by Lucy Steeds is a literary wonder-piece. Steeds writes with such a powerful, imaginative style, her prose is something of an artistic marvel. a novel full of elegance and emotional depth, I was instantly absorbed in the beauty of the story, with so many lines creating stunning visuals in my mind. Captivating characters and a story that dangles the ending just out of reach, I was obsessed with The Artist from the very start! - Rohan, Harry Hartog Macquarie
Description
All Joseph wants is to be let into Tartuffe's world. All Ettie wants is to escape it.
The year is 1920. The place is a remote farmhouse in Provence, home to the reclusive painter Edouard Tartuffe and his niece, Ettie. Into this strange, silent house walks Joseph: a young journalist hoping to write an article about Tartuffe. But the more he entangles himself in the peculiar household, the more Joseph's curiosity grows . . .
Ettie cooks and cleans for her uncle. She prepares his studio, scrubs his paintbrushes, and creates the perfect environment for him to work. She has never gone further than the local village. She is sharp-eyed and watchful. But beneath her cool exterior, Joseph senses something simmering. Ettie, Joseph and Tartuffe circle each other throughout the hot, crackling summer, until finally they collide.
The Artist is about two people grabbing the other by the hand and pulling each other into life.
- ISBN:
- 9781399819572
- Format:
- Paperback
- Pages:
- 304
- Published:
- Publisher:
- John Murray Press
- Imprint:
- John Murray Publishers Ltd
- Weight:
- 370 g