Last year I went on holiday to Provence in France at the height of lavender season. The heat, rich earthy smells and country sounds were so intense and this heady atmosphere is lavishly replicated in the prose of Steeds' debut novel. It's set in a remote house in this region inhabited by famous artist Edouard Tartuffe and his quiet, devoted niece Ettie. It's 1920 and ambitious journalist Joseph comes to interview the notoriously reclusive “Master of Light”, but he's quickly turned into a model for the painter's next great work of art. In their ensuing time together tensions rise as Tartuffe has an explosively tempestuous nature and disdain for anything outside his discipline of his painting. This is unnerving to Joseph but Ettie takes it in her stride while discretely attending to Tartuffe's every need. However, these characters also possess secrets which are gradually uncovered over the course of the story. The reveals are compelling but it's also meaningful how this tale delves into the trappings of hero-worship, the misogyny within the world of high art and the traumatic effects of WWI. Moreover, it's an engrossing portrait of a highly creative personality who has lived a strictly sheltered life and the challenges of emerging into the wider world.
Provence, July 2024
It's vivid the way in which Tartuffe's arrogance and controlling nature is depicted. I felt a jolt of shock with every outburst and tantrum from “Tata”. Though he's such a revered figure he's shown to be pitifully childish scooping handfuls of honey to suck and lashing out as a way of covering how much he fears being left alone. Though Ettie is only in the background at the start of this story she gradually emerges as a complex figure. The romantic element of the novel wasn't as compelling to me as the way in which her quiet personality gradually unfurls to show how she possesses great resilience and resourcefulness. I enjoyed how just as the dynamic between this trio began to grow stale there's a visit to the house from a colourfully outrageous and pretentious group of “artistes” who proclaim that they are “hunters of pleasure, gatherers of inspiration”. It's wonderful how the famous collector Peggy Guggenheim is amongst this group and the way she becomes a character in the novel. Overall, this is a thoroughly immersive tale which cleverly skewers the way egotistical men are praised in our culture while talented women are often overlooked or shunned.
