THE ARTIST

‘The Artist’ by Lucy Steeds is a beautifully crafted debut novel that combines romance, intrigue as well as an immersive experience into the art world circa 1920. Winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year 2025 and long-listed for the Women’s Book Prize earlier this year, this is a treat for any book club. And a wonderful gift for the festive season because it offers a delectable read and a magical escape to a hot sticky summer in the Provence. Just what we all need!

The novel begins in the National Gallery in London 1957 with ‘A woman, a painting. The sense of meeting an old friend’. The painting is that of ‘The Feast’, a highly accomplished piece by a famous reclusive artist, Edouard Tartuffe, ‘Master of Light’. By the end of the first chapter the reader is already aware of a tension, a guilty confession and the knowledge of a destructive secret - the burning of a masterpiece.

‘And most of all she remembers setting the blaze’.
This line is an early game changer but we are easily hooked. We are then taken back to 1920, to Tartuffe’s home, a remote farmhouse, which he shares with Ettie, his niece. Enter Joseph, a young, aspiring and enthusiastic English journalist who has been invited to the house in the hope of securing a story for his publisher. But the ebb and flow of the farmhouse has been disturbed. Switching between the voices of Joseph and Ettie the story of Tartuffe’s work, his obsession with still life and the drama behind his paintings begins to come to life. Steed’s writing is rich and sensuous and it is easy for us to be drawn into the artist’s world. Joseph agrees to sit for Tartuffe for a new painting ‘Young Man with Orange’ - in return for observing the creative genius in action and material for his article. But this is marred by the uncomfortable relationship that exists between Tartuffe and Ettie. Joseph is soon caught up in this claustrophobic setting but as an outsider he recognises the exploitation of Ettie by her uncle. Joseph also finds a kindred spirit in Ettie not only in their obsession with the art world but also an appreciation of the personal struggles that the younger generation experienced as a result of the recent Great War. They have a connection and with this a slow burning romance.

Spoiler Alert - There are no blinding surprises or 'never saw that coming' moments, but it does leave you with a warm and satisfactory glow! Steeds's writing makes for an intoxicating read - and a just winner of Waterstones Debut Fiction Award. The Den enjoyed discussing the topics of art, creative inspiration and our own experiences of art as admirers or as dabbling amateurs! And we definitely look forward to Steeds's next novel.