LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
One of the Top 10 Lovereading Reader Review Panel Summer Read selections.
A superlative debut novel that combines the complexity and atmosphere of the best historical tales with a touching meditation on the nature of art and its organic relationship with the human soul, The Miniaturist is an absolute delight of a book, that was inspired to the author by an actual cabinet she saw at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. Set in the 17th century in Holland's Venice of the North, we follow the tale of a young country girl who arrives in the city to marry an older merchant and receives as a wedding present a cabinet which mirrors in miniature the house she is to live in, and its contents, both human and inanimate. Its elusive creator lies in the shadows orchestrating her life and those of others in a haunting and magical way. An utter delight. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Shortlisted for the The Bookseller Book of the Year 2015.
Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2015.
Jessie Burton said: “I am indebted forever to the voting public for this incredible honour. It is no exaggeration to say this has been a life-transforming year for me, and this award is a very big cherry on the cake. There are always stories to write, and people who want to read them, and as the year closes, I find this very heartening news indeed. This wonderful acknowledgement will propel me into 2015, and I am deeply thankful to everyone who took the time to vote.”
Sarah Broadhurst's View....
A beautifully evocative first novel. Eighteen year old Nella arrives in her marital home to discover nothing is quite how she expected it to be. Her husband is cold and distant when he isn’t actually absent and far from becoming mistress of the household she must defer to her husband’s sister. When she’s presented with a cabinet house an even more mysterious world begins to be unlocked to her. As lush and full of fascinating mysteries as the miniature house itself.
Winner of the Specsavers Book of the Year at the Specsavers National Book Awards 2014.
Winner of the Books Are My Bag New Writer of the of the Year at the Specsavers National Book Awards 2014.
Sarah Broadhurst
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The Miniaturist Synopsis
There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed ...On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways ...Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its secrets she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their salvation or the architect of their downfall? Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with heart-pounding suspense, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781447250937 |
| Publication date: |
1st January 2015 |
| Author: |
Jessie Burton |
| Publisher: |
Picador an imprint of Pan Macmillan |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
432 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Jessie Burton Press Reviews
The kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading -- S. J. Watson, author of BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP
A fabulously gripping read that will appeal to fans of Girl With a Pearl Earring and The Goldfinch, but Burton is a genuinely new voice with her visceral take on sex, race and class ... Burton writes great complex female characters Observer A terrific novel: compelling cast, gripping plot, writing to savour -- Nathan Filer, author of THE SHOCK OF THE FALL
A remarkable debut - complex, involving and deeply atmospheric -- Deborah Moggach, author of TULIP FEVER
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton is set in 17th century Amsterdam where a trader presents his new wife Nella with a miniature replica of their home. Its tiny occupants mirror their real-life counterparts and show Nella what grave dangers lie in wait. -- Hot Books of 2014 Daily Express
Author
About Jessie Burton
Jessie Burton was born in 1982. She studied at Oxford University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, and has worked as an actress and a PA in the City. She now lives in south-east London, not far from where she grew up.
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