Artist

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.

Review: 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 * The Times, Best Historical Fiction of 2025 *
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 * Observer *
A sultry, headily perfumed portrait of monstrous male egos and oppressed overlooked women . . . The Artist uncovers its secrets by stealth * Telegraph *
This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read * Mail on Sunday *
The air is thick with the power of art, the sensuality of food, the desire to be seen and create alarming heat * Sainsbury's Magazine *
A blaze of a book, poetic, passionate and quietly powerful * Daily Mail *
Romantic . . . brings to life a painter's studio in 1920s Provence * Country & Town House *
Sensuous and brooding * Bookseller *
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 *
A vivid and atmospheric literary novel, rich in observational detail, that explores and transcends the oppressive power dynamics of artistic creation * Sydney Morning Herald *
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
The Artist is an intoxicating tale of creativity, possession and freedom told by the alternate voices of a young English writer and a French woman who have been drawn into the orbit of a celebrated but reclusive artist. As they circle around him during one hot summer in Provence, both his secrets and theirs slowly come into the light. This is a compelling, beautifully textured and impressively assured debut about the risks we take to get what we want, a novel which asks questions about all those who are painted over by history -- Joanna Quinn, author of THE WHALEBONE THEATRE
Gorgeous . . . Steeped in the heat and atmosphere of 1920s Provence, this novel brims with intrigue, hope and yearning. The questions it asks will linger with me: about authenticity, about what it means to be an artist and to long to leave a mark on the world -- 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
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
Beautiful . . . Steeds uses vivid, sensory language to evoke the sultriness of a summer in Provence and the tyranny of living with a genius artist . . . A thought-provoking book whose characters will stay with you long after you've finished reading it * Historical Novel Society *
Steeds's debut is gorgeously immersive, the summer Provencal landscape vividly evoked and her descriptions of art arresting * A Life in Books *
The author has had so much advance praise for this novel that we feel slightly awed by it. It might be a 2025, fictional reply to Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, published in 1989, a book that proved to be publishing gold and single-handedly sent a million Brits down to the land of lavender and wine * Off the Shelf, Quad *
Sheds light on the unsung women bhind great artists. Throw in the glorious remote Provence setting, and I can't imagine a better book to escape with * Stylist *