Read This: Books under the Radar is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, or an author I admire – who recommends three books they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love. You can see the full list of books which have been selected, as well as the author’s latest book on Bookshop.org, where you can have a browse and buy any that take your fancy. Happy reading!

Read This: Sophie Haydock

I’ve been aware of Sophie’s debut novel, The Flames for a while, and then I ‘met’ her – virtually at least – when we both judged the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award short story competition for three years running. And now I have her next novel Madame Matisse in my sights. Here’s what she has to say about herself:

Sophie Haydock is an award-winning author, journalist and curator, living by the sea in Folkestone. She has a passion for uncovering hidden stories – whether in the archives, on the foreshore of the Thames as a licensed mudlark or in the pages of history. Her debut novel, The Flames, tells the story of the four women who posed for the scandalous Viennese artist Egon Schiele. Her second novel, Madame Matisse, explores the lives of the women who propelled Henri Matisse to immortality. Sophie is the curator of the Folkestone Book Festival, where she champions forgotten voices and shines a light on the stories that deserve to be told.

Find out more: www.sophie-haydock.com; Instagram @egonschieleswomen and _SophieHaydock_

The Expedition by Bea Uusma

This slim but extraordinary book follows the true story of Salomon Andrée’s doomed attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon in 1897. The three men in the expedition miraculously survived for three months after their crash landing, but their bodies were not discovered until 1930 – and the mystery of their deaths has been debated ever since. Bea Uusma, a Swedish doctor (and obsessive researcher), sets out on her own journey to uncover what really happened to the explorers. Her detective work is meticulous, and her writing is immersive, weaving together history, science and personal obsession in a way that is utterly gripping. It reads like a murder mystery – I couldn’t put it down. I found it particularly moving as I’m travelling to the Arctic this year on a residency. Uusma has a follow-up book, out later this year, and I can’t wait to read it as greedily as her last one.

Natural Histories by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by JT Lichtenstein

The Mexican author Guadalupe Nettel is one of the most fascinating short story writers working today. Natural Histories is a slim, eerie collection that explores the strange symbiosis between humans and the natural world. Each story features an animal – cockroaches, cats, fungi – acting as a kind of mirror to the protagonist’s deepest fears, desires or compulsions. Nettel’s writing is sharp and unsettling, with a quiet menace that lingers long after reading. Beautifully translated by JT Lichtenstein, the stories have a hypnotic quality, drawing you into their strange, uncomfortable intimacy. Nettel deserves to be widely known among English-language readers, and Natural Histories is a perfect introduction to her work.

Red House Alley by Else Jerusalem

First published in 1909, Red House Alley (Der heilige Skarabäus) is an astonishing, ahead-of-its-time novel that deserves far more attention. Set in Vienna’s brothels at the turn of the century, the novel exposes the brutal realities of sex work and the lives of the women trapped within it. Else Jerusalem was a trailblazing writer who led an extraordinary life – and her fearless depiction of female suffering, survival and solidarity is breathtakingly modern.I was honoured to be invited to write the introduction to the new unabridged edition, published in 2024, as the novel’s themes deeply connect to my work on Egon Schiele, who often painted prostitutes in early 20th-century Vienna. It was a pleasure to delve into this world and see how Jerusalem, rather than resorting to stereotypes, humanised her characters with depth and nuance. She drew on real figures, which resonates strongly with my own writing. More than a century later, Red House Alley remains as urgent and relevant as ever, holding up an unflinching mirror to society’s hypocrisies. Red House Alley has been reissued by Boiler House Press as part of their Recovered Books series, which aims to bring forgotten and often difficult-to-find books back into print for a new generation to enjoy.

 

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Back to back Guadalupe Nettels! Last week Huma Qureshi selected her novel, Still Born, and this week Sophie chooses her short stories. Something’s telling me I must read her. Have you read any of Sophie’s suggestions? If you’d like to be told about future Read This recommendations, you can follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter.

More Read This: Books Under the Radar

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Susmita Bhattacharya author of Table Manners
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Freya North author of The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne
Judith Heneghan author of Birdeye
Clare Mackintosh author of I Promise it won’t always Hurt like This
Barney Norris author of Undercurrent
Jo Leevers author of The Last Time I saw You
Alice Winn author of In Memmoriam
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Alice Peterson author of The Saturday Place
Jenna Smith bookblogger
Lucy Atkins author of Windmill Hill
LV Matthews author of To Love a Liar
Ruth Thomas author of The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line
Jo Furniss author of Dead Mile
Nina Stibbe author of Went to London, Took the Dog
Nussaibah Younis author of Fundamentally
Cara Hunter author of Making a Killing
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Cherie Jones author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House
Cate Baum author of The Land of Hope
Carole Burns author of Another Country
Sally Hughes, book blogger
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Tamsin Hope Thomas newsletter subscriber
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Adam Weymouth author of Lone Wolf
Huma Qureshi author of Playing Games