The Friday Night Club: A Novel about Hilma af Klint and Her Creative Circle
by Sofia Lundberg, Alyson Richman & M.J. Rose
"The Friday Night Club has everything I love in a novel: art, history, secrets, mysteries, friendships and love—along with a propulsive narrative. Kudos to Lundberg, Richman and Rose—and many thanks to them for bringing Hilma af Klint to life and giving her the attention her art deserves." —B.A. Shapiro, New York Times bestseller of Metropolis and The Art Forger
Early 1900s: The world belongs to men, and the art world in Stockholm, Sweden, is no different, until Hilma af Klint brings together a mysterious group of female painters and writers—Anna, Cornelia, Sigrid, and Mathilda—to form their own emotional and artistic support system.
The members of the Friday Night Club find themselves thrust into uncharted territory when Hilma and her best friend, Anna, begin dabbling in the occult, believing that through séances they can channel unseen spirits to help them achieve their potential as artists. “The Five,” as Hilma referred to them, was a group of immensely talented, fascinating women whose lives and work were cast into obscurity...until now.
The Present: Over a century later, an associate curator at the Guggenheim Museum, Eben Elliot, brings the Hilma af Klint show to New York where he uncovers questions about the Five and how the modern day art world is funded, which puts him in a precarious position both emotionally and professionally, as he witnesses how history can be manipulated.
The Friday Night Club is an illuminating historical novel that explores destiny, passion, and the threads that connect five women as they challenge artistic and societal traditions.
Sofia Lundberg is a Swedish journalist and former magazine editor. Her debut novel, The Red Address Book, has been published in 37 territories worldwide. Lauded by critics, Lundberg is the shining star of heartwarming—and heart-wrenching—Scandinavian fiction. She lives in Stockholm with her son.
Alyson Richman is a USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of several historical novels, including The Velvet Hours. The Garden of Letters, and The Last Wife. She is an accomplished painter and her novels combine her deep loves of art, historical research, and travel. She lives on Long Island with her husband and two children.
M.J. Rose is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She grew up in New York City exploring the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park. She is author of more than a dozen novels published in more than 30 countries.
Berkley
paperback
English
May 16, 2023
336 pages
5.13 x 0.87 x 7.96 inches
