About the Author

Sophie Haydock is an award-winning author living in east London. The Flames is her debut novel. She is the winner of the Impress Prize for New Writers. Sophie trained as a journalist at City University, London, and has worked at the Sunday Times Magazine, Tatler and BBC Three, as well as freelancing for publications including the Financial Times, Guardian Weekend magazine, and organisations such as the Arts Council, Royal Academy and Sotheby's. Passionate about short stories, Sophie also works for the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award and is associate director of the Word Factory literary organisation.
Her Instagram account @egonschieleswomen - dedicated to the women who posed for Egon Schiele - has a community of over 100,000 followers. For more information, visit- sophie-haydock.com.

Reviews

MAGNIFICENT. Feels destined to be a classic - exquisitely crafted and so absorbing. I loved it and REFUSE to accept it is a debut. It's simply too good.
*Katie Lowe, author of The Furies*

As a feminist reworking of Schiele's story, and as an exercise in redressing historical injustice, this novel is a glorious success. Haydock ensures that these women emerge from behind Schiele's gaze, and she also uses them to illuminate a period of seismic change... an impressive and highly enjoyable debut.
*GUARDIAN*

Completely convincing and utterly compelling, THE FLAMES gives vivid voice to four muses who refuse to be remembered as just that. Haydock is a writer to watch.
*Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies*

Confident...urgent...illuminating: you will never again look at Schiele's vivid portraits without wondering about his subjects' lives beyond the frame.
*SUNDAY TIMES*

In Sophie Haydock's impressive debut these women leap from Schiele's canvases, becoming fascinating and complex characters.
*THE TIMES, 'Best historical fiction books of 2022'*

Thought provoking and illuminating and a fascinating - I so enjoyed discovering the world and the women behind works of art I adore.
*Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding*

'A reimaging of the lives of artist Egon Schiele's four female 'muses' it is both fascinating and compelling. I loved all four women...and the final scenes with Egon himself were truly extraordinary.'
*Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den*

The four women who loved Schiele come back to life, combining an exquisite sense of place and era with a passion and sensuality that transcend time altogether.
*Isabel Costello, author of Scent*

'I knew nothing of Egon Schiele. I'm now obsessed, and heartbroken for all four women. An unforgettable book about wanting more for ourselves than we are told we are allowed.'
*Ericka Waller, author of Dog Days*

An intoxicating and evocative read full of controversy and drama. We loved it.
*Woman and Home*