MADAME MATISSE

SOPHIE HAYDOCK’S NOVEL ABOUT HENRI MATISSE

Based on a true story, Madame Matisse is a stunning novel about drama and betrayal; emotion and sex; glamour and tragedy, all set in the hotbed of the 1930s art movement in France

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A GUNSHOT. A BETRAYAL. THREE LIVES HANG IN THE BALANCE…

Growing up with liberal parents in Paris at the turn of the century, Amélie is a free spirit. When she meets an enigmatic young artist, she is drawn to the life of colour and passion he seems to promise.

Together, they share struggles and triumphs, heartbreak and joy, until they arrive on France’s sun-soaked Riviera. With them comes Marguerite, Matisse’s headstrong but courageous daughter.

But there too they meet Lydia, a young Russian emigree, who has fled her homeland following the revolution. Lydia also has her dreams. Her passions. And her ambition.

As their lives entangle, each woman must ask herself: what is she willing to sacrifice to follow her heart?

Behind every great artist, is a story of passions untold…

  • 'Sophie Haydock delivers another sizzling story of the art world, where sidelined women take centre stage. It’s an immersive tale of muses, betrayal, sex and bad behaviour'

    DAILY MAIL

  • ‘A stunning act of literary, historical and artistic reimagining, woven with incredible skill – and so beautifully written. It will stay with me for a long while’

    DONAL RYAN, AUTHOR OF HEART, BE AT PEACE

  • 'Madame Matisse is everything I want in a book: an evocative and thoughtful work, packed full of insights into the tumultuous world of the 1930s French art movement. Most crucially of all, it places the fascinating women who helped shape one of history’s most loved artists front and centre'

    HARRIET CONSTABLE, AUTHOR OF TOP TEN BESTSELLER, THE INSTRUMENTALIST

  • 'Gorgeously evocative, ambitious in scope, Madame Matisse sweeps through many of the major events of the twentieth century. A nuanced and humane portrait of three very different women who helped the artist achieve greatness'

    LUCY CALDWELL, AUTHOR OF THESE DAYS

  • 'Madame Matisse is a fascinating portrait of three extraordinary women whose lives were shaped by the conflicts, hardships and upheavals of early twentieth century Europe. Haydock, in her restrained and precise style, has written a worthy follow up to The Flames'

    ELIZABETH FREMANTLE, AUTHOR OF THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT

  • 'Following her hit novel, The Flames, Haydock brings us her gripping tale of obsession and sacrifice and firmly establishes herself as a novelist of great power and skill'

    PAUL MCVEIGH, AUTHOR OF THE GOOD SON

  • 'Deliciously immersive . . . Think of [Haydock] as the art world’s answer to Philippa Gregory . . . I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of startling, splashy colour'

    THE SPECTATOR

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