Madame Matisse

On France's golden Riviera, the wife of an artist gives him an ultimatum: her or me. The dazzling new novel from Sophie Haydock, author of The Flames

'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

'[A] 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

This is the story of three women - one an orphan and refugee who finds a place in the studio of a famous French artist, the other a wife and mother who has stood by her husband for nearly forty years. The third is his daughter, caught in the crossfire between her mother and a father she adores.

Amelie is first drawn to Henri Matisse as a way of escaping the conventional life expected of her. A free spirit, she sees in this budding young artist a glorious future for them both. Ambitious and driven, she gives everything for her husband's art, ploughing her own desires, her time, her money into sustaining them both, even through years of struggle and disappointment.

Lydia Delectorskaya is a young Russian emigree, who fled her homeland following the death of her mother. After a fractured childhood, she is trying to make a place for herself on France's golden Riviera, amid the artists, film stars and dazzling elite. Eventually she finds employment with the Matisse family. From this point on, their lives are set on a collision course....

Marguerite is Matisse's eldest daughter. When the life of her family implodes, she must find her own way to make her mark and to navigate divided loyalties.

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. In art, as in life, this a time when the rules were made to be broken...


Genre: Historical

"Gorgeously evocative, ambitious in its scope, Madame Matisse sweeps through many of the major events of the twentieth century, whilst remaining laudably faithful to the true coordinates of people, places, artworks and events. A nuanced and humane portrait of three very different women who helped the artist achieve greatness." - Lucy Caldwell

"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

"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. Each of these distinctly different women are linked by the man they all loved, Henry Matisse. While he created a new aesthetic, they each carved their own rules, flying in the face of society's restrictive expectations. Sophie Haydock, in her restrained and precise style, has written a worthy follow up to The Flames." - Elizabeth Fremantle

"Utterly compelling." - Kiran Millwood Hargrave

"Haydock brings to life Europe at the turn of the 20th century seen through the eyes of Madame Matisse. Taking us on a journey starting at the painter's uninspired beginnings to his soaring success and international acclaim. 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