THE FLAMES

Hattie Morahan's English accent and dramatic skills capture the passion and vulnerability of four women who posed for, and ultimately became obsessed with, the artist Egon Schiele. Morahan's measured pacing and intense emotion bring listeners into the lives of respectable sisters Adele and Edith Harms; Schiele's mistress, Walburga Neuzil (Vally), and Schiele's sister, Gertrude. In the opulent world of early-twentieth-century Vienna, Schiele, a protégé of Gustav Klimt, is a talented Expressionist painter who quickly becomes controversial for nude paintings that exude edgy sensuality featuring the four women and himself in scandalous poses. Reminiscing about Schiele's work at a show in the 1960s, Morahan's crotchety-voiced Adele informs listeners that the women in the portraits were real people with complicated lives. J.E.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2023]