Doubleday snatches up debut novel

Sophie Haydock’s debut historical novel, The Flames, based on the lives of the muses behind Egon Schiele’s paintings, was pre-empted by Kirsty Dunseath at Doubleday in a major six-figure deal. Dunseath acquired world rights in a two book deal from Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment.

The Flames tells the story of Adele, Gertrude, Vally and Edith, the muses behind the painter Egon Schiele. The four very different women posed for the “charismatic” and “controversial” artist during the early 20th century. The synopsis of the book reads: With Egon Schiele poised on the brink of international success and the threat of war drawing closer, each woman attempts to write her own future until an act of betrayal changes everything.

Haydock has written previously about Schiele for the Royal Academy Magazine and Sotheby’s. The Flames won the 2018 Impress Prize for New Writers, and the opening sections of the novel were longlisted for the Retreat West First Chapter and shortlisted for the PENfro Book Festival’s First Chapter Competition. Haydock’s Instagram account @egonschieleswomen has an audience of 92,000 followers and seeks to shine a light on the women in Schiele’s paintings.

Mushens said: "As soon as I started reading The Flames I was mesmerised—Sophie creates the world of Schiele, and his muses, so vividly, and with such evident love for the women she is writing about. Dramatic, scandalous, and gripping, this is a novel to savour."

Dunseath said: "It was an absolute joy to read this brilliant, evocative novel. I was immediately transported to the streets of Vienna and the intoxicating world of these four women and the artist with whom their lives became entangled. Sophie Haydock has such a talent for bringing this world to vivid life and her characters sing off the page. I’m absolutely delighted to be welcoming her to the Doubleday list and excited about her future."

"To be working with such an exceptional team to bring this novel into the world is a dream come true," said Haydock. "I'm delighted that Kirsty and all those at Doubleday have fallen in love with the stories of the women who posed for Egon Schiele, and been moved by their troubled fates, which have gone untold for a century. Adele, Gertrude, Vally and Edith finally have the attention they deserve."

To learn more about Sophie and her book, you can visit her author page here.