The Flames: A gripping historical novel set in 1900s Vienna, featuring four fiery women

'Fascinating & compelling. I loved all four women' ELODIE HARPER, author of THE WOLF DEN

'MAGNIFICENT...It's simply too good' KATIE LOWE, author of THE FURIES

'Utterly compelling' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of THE MERCIES

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Vienna, 1912. Behind every painting, there is a story...

A new century is dawning. Vienna is at its zenith, an opulent, extravagant city teeming with art, music and radical ideas. It is a place where anything seems possible...

Edith and Adele are sisters, the daughters of a wealthy bourgeois family. They are expected to follow the rules, to marry well, and produce children. Gertrude is in thrall to her flamboyant older brother. Marked by a traumatic childhood, she envies the freedom he so readily commands. Vally was born into poverty but is making her way in the world as a model for the eminent artist Gustav Klimt.

Fierce, passionate and determined, none of these women is quite what they seem. But their lives are set on a collision course when they become entangled with the controversial young artist Egon Schiele whose work - and private life - are sending shockwaves through Viennese society. All it will take is a single act of betrayal to set their world on fire...

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'Glorious' Guardian

'Confident...urgent...illuminating' Sunday Times

'Impressive' The Times

'Full of scandal, love, betrayal, and heartache' Cosmopolitan

'Mesmerising' Good Housekeeping

'A drama of love, loss, rivalry and betrayal. Brilliantly imagined' Saga
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DISCOVER MADAME MATISSE - THE BRILLIANT NEW NOVEL FROM SOPHIE HAYDOCK, coming in March 2026