Art, decadence and a debut novel

The short and intense life of a famous Austrian painter has inspired an acclaimed debut novel by a Shropshire author set in Vienna at the turn of the 19th century.

“The Pornographer of Vienna” by Lewis Crofts has just been launched in paperback and portrays the artist Egon Schiele as a young hedonist with a burning talent reflected in the raw, provocative sexuality of his paintings and drawings.

Crofts stays true to historical truth and his characters’ life stories, while imagining what might have been.

His fascination with Schiele was sparked while living in Prague, helped by his love of German and Bohemian languages and cultures.

A significant part of his research for the book was done in Shrewsbury library.

The story of Schiele’s creative genius is told in the context of portraying his city, Vienna, before World War One, and providing an insight into the lives of artists in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time.

The film Klimt, starring John Malkovich - Gustav Klimt features in the novel - and the recent sale of Sunflowers by Schiele in an auction at Christie’s for £11.3million, both demonstrate that he continues to be a topical and sought-after artist.

The book has already been favourably reviewed, the FT magazine declaring: “Underage whores, opium pipes and absinthe chasers… This book is thoroughly researched and well described. The author is bewitched by his subject’s decadence and by the period’s historical detail.”

Born in 1977, Lewis grew up in Somerset, and studied at Oxford. He now lives in Brussels working as a journalist.

“My parents moved to Betton Strange, near Cross Houses, about a decade ago and I have been based there ever since,” he said.

“I went to university in Oxford and have subsequently spent extended periods in Germany and the Czech Republic as a journalist and researching my book.

“Always being based in Shropshire, I worked on significant sections of my book in the Shrewsbury library and try to do most of my fiction writing here in the peace and quiet.

“I am currently working as a journalist in EU affairs while writing my next novel.

“This means I’m back and forth between Brussels and Shrewsbury.

“Although I went to school in Somerset, my family are from Shrewsbury. My father Gordon Crofts worked at Fullwood in Ellesmere for 42 years, and my mother Lynda worked in Shrewsbury at Jaeger before retiring this year.

“My brother Russell was born here and my godfather Neville Birch is secretary of Shropshire County Cricket Club.”