WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
WINNER OF THE WATERSTONES DEBUT PRIZE 2025
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2026
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025
LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE 2026
A RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME
A TELEGRAPH AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A furiously romantic, sun-drenched mystery . . . The Artist will leave you yearning in every sense of the word' Yael van der Wouden, author of The Safekeep

'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 is one to watch' Sunday Times, BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Beautiful' Daily Telegraph, BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Dextrous and powerful . . . a hugely accomplished portrait of ambition and self-fulfilment' Guardian

'The year's most lauded debut novelist . . . A sultry, headily perfumed portrait of monstrous male egos and oppressed overlooked women . . . The Artist uncovers its secrets by stealth' Telegraph

'A blaze of a book, poetic, passionate and quietly powerful' Daily Mail

'This compelling, evocative debut will transport you to idyllic, sun-drenched Provence in 1920 . . . An absorbing, poetic read' Mail on Sunday

'Captivating . . . with imagery as lush as an oil painting' Washington Post

'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

PROVENCE, 1920

Ettie moves through the remote farmhouse, silently creating the conditions that make her uncle's artistic genius possible.

Joseph, an aspiring journalist, has been invited to the house. He believes he'll make his name by interviewing the reclusive painter, the great Edouard Tartuffe.

But everyone has their secrets. And, under the cover of darkness, Ettie has spent years cultivating hers.

Over this sweltering