The Muse

The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club selection.

Suspensefully sweeping from London in the sixties to 1930s rural Spain, The Muse is an unforgettable novel about art and aspiration, love and obsession - a masterpiece from Jessie Burton, the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist.

'Those who loved The Miniaturist will find here all the cliffhangers, twists and heart-stopping revelations they expected, and in two evocative settings' - Daily Telegraph

A picture hides a thousand words . . .

On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. But though Quick takes Odelle into her confidence, and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery.

The truth about the painting lies in 1936 and a large house in southern Spain, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harbouring ambitions of her own. Into this fragile paradise come artist and revolutionary Isaac Robles and his half-sister Teresa, who immediately insinuate themselves into the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences . . .

'It takes all the promise of The Miniaturist - the complex female characters, an entrancing mystery, a lush and evocative sense of place - and executes it with wit and style' - Elle