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The Artist

Winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year 2025

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The Artist

By: Lucy Steeds
Narrated by: Tanya Reynolds
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About this listen

 WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
WINNER OF THE WATERSTONES DEBUT PRIZE 2025
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025
A RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME
A TELEGRAPH AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'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

'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' Sunday Times, BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Beautiful' Daily Telegraph, BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Dextrous and powerful . . . a hugely accomplished portrait of ambition and self-fulfilment' Guardian

'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

'A blaze of a book, poetic, passionate and quietly powerful' Daily Mail

'This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read' Mail on Sunday

'Captivating . . . with imagery as lush as an oil painting' Washington Post

'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

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.

'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

'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

'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

'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

BEST BOOKS FOR 2025 from Stylist and Good Housekeeping©2025 Lucy Steeds Historical Historical Fiction Heartfelt

Critic reviews

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
Vividly poetic . . . A seductive combination of romance, puzzle and poetry, The Artist also offers a considered interrogation of the value of art: to open windows in human existence, to push against limits, to bring freedom, perspective and light
The height of summer in 1920s Provence is a place of honeyed heat and slow-burn attraction. This is the intense, beautifully realised tale of reclusive painter Tata, his put-upon niece Ettie, who's living a secret artistic life of her own, and aspiring writer Joseph, who finds himself drawn into their tempestuous, luminous orbit in this smouldering book
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
A sultry, headily perfumed portrait of monstrous male egos and oppressed overlooked women . . . The Artist uncovers its secrets by stealth
This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read
The air is thick with the power of art, the sensuality of food, the desire to be seen and create alarming heat
A blaze of a book, poetic, passionate and quietly powerful
Romantic . . . brings to life a painter's studio in 1920s Provence
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
A vivid and atmospheric literary novel, rich in observational detail, that explores and transcends the oppressive power dynamics of artistic creation
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 (Sarah Perry, author of THE ESSEX SERPENT)
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 (Yael van der Wouden, author of THE SAFEKEEP)
All stars
Most relevant
This first novel fully deserves its prize and I loved !

Joseph Adelaide is an eager art journalist who travels from England to Provence in 1920 to interview the great artist Eduard Tartuffe. In his pocket is the artist's single word response to Joseph's request: "Venez". Living with the massively selfish Tartuffe completing all the domestic work and tending to all Tartuffe's needs is Ettie, his young niece. The developing relationship between Ettie and Joseph is portrayed beautifully in painterly words; the whole of this book is a film in waiting.

The various themes are all engrossing and vivid: Ettie's life-changing experiences as a nurse in the War; the devastating return of Joseph's beloved brother Rupert ruined by shell shock; the fate of Ettie's mother; Ettie's passions for her own art; the development of Tartuffe's monstrosity and vulnerability,; the glimpse pf the art world in Paris All is painted against a background of a profusion n of nature: the ripe fruit which Tartuffe paints - and above all the light, all of which we see through Ettie's eyes. It is perfectly balance and the strong narrative and the theme of self-fulfilment is full of suspense, surprise - and satisfaction.

Note to the producers: Lucy Steed has woven a lovely evocation of 1920s Provence and painting and her words are delicately chosen. The freighted word 'madeleine' is used four times and each time the narrator says 'madder-line' which is a horrible mispronunciation ruining the delicate spell the author is weaving.

Brilliant!

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Strange characters beautifully narrated very interesting story. Much enjoyed and highly recommend made me want to pick up a paint brush again

Interpretation of art

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Delighted to have happened upon this book, read so well. It is a feast for the ears and the imagination, full of warmth, light, passion, colour and love.

Thank you.

A Vivid and Sensual Story

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Wished there was more detail about her life after escaping from her uncle .. it was so brief !

Beautiful description of painting, light, nature and of love in all its forms and stages.

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The description of the summer, the raging control which is, at its heart, pathetic, this book absorbs you in the artist’s world.

Imaginative

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