Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

The Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry BrottonThe Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry Brotton

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

Atmospheric, 13 Nov 2008
Beautiful and evocative, this was a joy to read and was told expertly and eloquently. The quiet tension that existed between maid and master was palpable and dramatic whilst understated at the same time. I loved Chevalier's descriptions of Griet's daily life and of the world around her especially the explanation of how the colours for Vermeer's paintings were produced. I enjoyed the book as much as the film (which I saw first) and thought they represented each other well. A lovely read.

Excellent read, 22 Aug 2008
This is the second novel I have read by Tracy Chevalier, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is the synopsis from Amazon on Girl With A Pearl Earring:

The Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and gripping. There were no boring parts and I read this book so quickly.

Chevalier's descriptions were amazing. I could easily picture the marketplace and the eight-tipped star, as well as the house the Vermeer's lived in and his studio. The book was written in a way that made me feel like I was there watching the events unfold before my very eyes.

There were characters I liked, such as Pieter the son. I loved how he sought out Griet and never gave up. And characters I disliked, such as van Ruijven who believed he could have whatever he wanted because he was rich. I found myself getting angry at him as I read the book, which is good, as a book should spark emotions in the reader.

My only complaint was the ending - it was a little abrupt for my liking. I still have questions that I would have liked answered, but with the ending as it is, that won't happen.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

9/10

Interesting concept but lacking spark, 08 Aug 2008
I thought the novel was based on an interesting concept - making a story to fit a painting. Quite often I will see a painting or photograph and wonder the story behind it and so I can see how this came about.

I thought the descriptions of Delft were interesting and the author had certainly done her homework. I had to award this book 3 stars because whilst the story was relatively enjoyable I kept hanging on thinking it was going to move a little faster, that some scandal was going to occur, that in fact anything was going to happen. It was a gentle read, but for me, it needed a bit of spark.

breathtaking, 07 Jul 2008
this is without a doubt the most beautiful book ever written. I have read it what seems like a million times and i love every moment. the way in which chevalier describes the city, the people and vermeer's studio is so evocative. i thoroughly recommend this book.

The artist and his muse, 12 Apr 2008
I adored this book finding it very evocative of a time when social standing was everything ... with servants naturally at the bottom, tradesmen in the middle with their own pecking order in the Guilds, and then the noblemen patrons.
Griet is forced down a level - when her father can no longer work as a tile artist her family becomes impoverished, and she is sent to work for the Vermeers. Soon the artist sees something in her and, initially unknown to the matriarch of the family, starts using Griet as his assistant. Their relationship has very few words and is unrequited although intense. Eventually Vermeer's wife finds out and Vermeer engineers to get Griet out of the house - she marries the butcher's son.
Although we know very little about Vermeer's life, we do know enough about the techniques of painting, including use of the camera obscura to help get proportions right, that the author can write convincingly about the creation of great works of art.
We see everything through Griet's eyes and we find she has an artist's vision herself for detail when she helps to improve a painting by altering the drape of a tablecloth in the setting.
Superb.

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

Atmospheric, 13 Nov 2008
Beautiful and evocative, this was a joy to read and was told expertly and eloquently. The quiet tension that existed between maid and master was palpable and dramatic whilst understated at the same time. I loved Chevalier's descriptions of Griet's daily life and of the world around her especially the explanation of how the colours for Vermeer's paintings were produced. I enjoyed the book as much as the film (which I saw first) and thought they represented each other well. A lovely read.

Excellent read, 22 Aug 2008
This is the second novel I have read by Tracy Chevalier, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is the synopsis from Amazon on Girl With A Pearl Earring:

The Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and gripping. There were no boring parts and I read this book so quickly.

Chevalier's descriptions were amazing. I could easily picture the marketplace and the eight-tipped star, as well as the house the Vermeer's lived in and his studio. The book was written in a way that made me feel like I was there watching the events unfold before my very eyes.

There were characters I liked, such as Pieter the son. I loved how he sought out Griet and never gave up. And characters I disliked, such as van Ruijven who believed he could have whatever he wanted because he was rich. I found myself getting angry at him as I read the book, which is good, as a book should spark emotions in the reader.

My only complaint was the ending - it was a little abrupt for my liking. I still have questions that I would have liked answered, but with the ending as it is, that won't happen.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

9/10

Interesting concept but lacking spark, 08 Aug 2008
I thought the novel was based on an interesting concept - making a story to fit a painting. Quite often I will see a painting or photograph and wonder the story behind it and so I can see how this came about.

I thought the descriptions of Delft were interesting and the author had certainly done her homework. I had to award this book 3 stars because whilst the story was relatively enjoyable I kept hanging on thinking it was going to move a little faster, that some scandal was going to occur, that in fact anything was going to happen. It was a gentle read, but for me, it needed a bit of spark.

breathtaking, 07 Jul 2008
this is without a doubt the most beautiful book ever written. I have read it what seems like a million times and i love every moment. the way in which chevalier describes the city, the people and vermeer's studio is so evocative. i thoroughly recommend this book.

The artist and his muse, 12 Apr 2008
I adored this book finding it very evocative of a time when social standing was everything ... with servants naturally at the bottom, tradesmen in the middle with their own pecking order in the Guilds, and then the noblemen patrons.
Griet is forced down a level - when her father can no longer work as a tile artist her family becomes impoverished, and she is sent to work for the Vermeers. Soon the artist sees something in her and, initially unknown to the matriarch of the family, starts using Griet as his assistant. Their relationship has very few words and is unrequited although intense. Eventually Vermeer's wife finds out and Vermeer engineers to get Griet out of the house - she marries the butcher's son.
Although we know very little about Vermeer's life, we do know enough about the techniques of painting, including use of the camera obscura to help get proportions right, that the author can write convincingly about the creation of great works of art.
We see everything through Griet's eyes and we find she has an artist's vision herself for detail when she helps to improve a painting by altering the drape of a tablecloth in the setting.
Superb.

Another stunning Chevalier book, 18 Dec 2007
Chevalier delivers, yet again, another stunning read. Another book full of beautiful prose, a great plot and a marvellous cast of characters. Who would have thought that you could weave a book so fab as this from such a simple idea as a cemetery. Chevalier brings Highgate cemetery alive and you are just transported back to the era. An excellent read. Highly recommended.

Historical fiction that educates as well as entertains, 25 Apr 2007
The story of Maude Coleman, Lavinia Waterhouse and their families is told in the first person by each character involved so it reads very much like a diary. I like how the reader gets to see everyone's perspectives on a situation instead of hearing a story from just one angle. We hear the traditional and modern views of the time...in a changing world where the women's suffrage movement is getting more and more forceful leading (in this story) to the Hyde Park demonstration.

As someone who enjoys walking around old Victorian cemeteries it was lovely to have this one brought to life with the people who visited and worked there. I found the details of mourning etiquette during the Victorian period and the early 1900's fascinating: How long is acceptable to mourn, what to wear and what to do with it after the mourning period is over, and the views of the time on cremation and who should be buried where in the cemetery.

A sensitive and fascinating read.

thought provoking!, 27 Feb 2006
I couldn't put this book down!
It was a tale of many characters, with the mood varying from humour to great sadness. The chapter concerning the rally, and the aftermath, had affected me the most.
It was very thought provoking and the stories stayed with me for ages afterwards.

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

Atmospheric, 13 Nov 2008
Beautiful and evocative, this was a joy to read and was told expertly and eloquently. The quiet tension that existed between maid and master was palpable and dramatic whilst understated at the same time. I loved Chevalier's descriptions of Griet's daily life and of the world around her especially the explanation of how the colours for Vermeer's paintings were produced. I enjoyed the book as much as the film (which I saw first) and thought they represented each other well. A lovely read.

Excellent read, 22 Aug 2008
This is the second novel I have read by Tracy Chevalier, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is the synopsis from Amazon on Girl With A Pearl Earring:

The Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and gripping. There were no boring parts and I read this book so quickly.

Chevalier's descriptions were amazing. I could easily picture the marketplace and the eight-tipped star, as well as the house the Vermeer's lived in and his studio. The book was written in a way that made me feel like I was there watching the events unfold before my very eyes.

There were characters I liked, such as Pieter the son. I loved how he sought out Griet and never gave up. And characters I disliked, such as van Ruijven who believed he could have whatever he wanted because he was rich. I found myself getting angry at him as I read the book, which is good, as a book should spark emotions in the reader.

My only complaint was the ending - it was a little abrupt for my liking. I still have questions that I would have liked answered, but with the ending as it is, that won't happen.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

9/10

Interesting concept but lacking spark, 08 Aug 2008
I thought the novel was based on an interesting concept - making a story to fit a painting. Quite often I will see a painting or photograph and wonder the story behind it and so I can see how this came about.

I thought the descriptions of Delft were interesting and the author had certainly done her homework. I had to award this book 3 stars because whilst the story was relatively enjoyable I kept hanging on thinking it was going to move a little faster, that some scandal was going to occur, that in fact anything was going to happen. It was a gentle read, but for me, it needed a bit of spark.

breathtaking, 07 Jul 2008
this is without a doubt the most beautiful book ever written. I have read it what seems like a million times and i love every moment. the way in which chevalier describes the city, the people and vermeer's studio is so evocative. i thoroughly recommend this book.

The artist and his muse, 12 Apr 2008
I adored this book finding it very evocative of a time when social standing was everything ... with servants naturally at the bottom, tradesmen in the middle with their own pecking order in the Guilds, and then the noblemen patrons.
Griet is forced down a level - when her father can no longer work as a tile artist her family becomes impoverished, and she is sent to work for the Vermeers. Soon the artist sees something in her and, initially unknown to the matriarch of the family, starts using Griet as his assistant. Their relationship has very few words and is unrequited although intense. Eventually Vermeer's wife finds out and Vermeer engineers to get Griet out of the house - she marries the butcher's son.
Although we know very little about Vermeer's life, we do know enough about the techniques of painting, including use of the camera obscura to help get proportions right, that the author can write convincingly about the creation of great works of art.
We see everything through Griet's eyes and we find she has an artist's vision herself for detail when she helps to improve a painting by altering the drape of a tablecloth in the setting.
Superb.

Another stunning Chevalier book, 18 Dec 2007
Chevalier delivers, yet again, another stunning read. Another book full of beautiful prose, a great plot and a marvellous cast of characters. Who would have thought that you could weave a book so fab as this from such a simple idea as a cemetery. Chevalier brings Highgate cemetery alive and you are just transported back to the era. An excellent read. Highly recommended.

Historical fiction that educates as well as entertains, 25 Apr 2007
The story of Maude Coleman, Lavinia Waterhouse and their families is told in the first person by each character involved so it reads very much like a diary. I like how the reader gets to see everyone's perspectives on a situation instead of hearing a story from just one angle. We hear the traditional and modern views of the time...in a changing world where the women's suffrage movement is getting more and more forceful leading (in this story) to the Hyde Park demonstration.

As someone who enjoys walking around old Victorian cemeteries it was lovely to have this one brought to life with the people who visited and worked there. I found the details of mourning etiquette during the Victorian period and the early 1900's fascinating: How long is acceptable to mourn, what to wear and what to do with it after the mourning period is over, and the views of the time on cremation and who should be buried where in the cemetery.

A sensitive and fascinating read.

thought provoking!, 27 Feb 2006
I couldn't put this book down!
It was a tale of many characters, with the mood varying from humour to great sadness. The chapter concerning the rally, and the aftermath, had affected me the most.
It was very thought provoking and the stories stayed with me for ages afterwards.

enjoyable historical-modern mix, 06 Aug 2008
I picked this from the bookshelf unsure as to whether I would like - I don't tend to read many historical dramas - but was plesantly suprised.

I gave it four stars because I found the switch from modern to historical slightly implausible. Some reviewers didn't like it as a method - I didn't mind it as a method but I found the premise it was based on was slightly too-far fetched.

I enjoyed the story and I would class it as a thriller -I was gripped in many parts and felt I was educated about the Hugenots. Actually for me the historical drama was more entertaining than the modern day - I found Ella to be mildly annoying and I'm not really sure I 'cared' what happened to her.

I am now reading The Girl with the Pearl Earring so haven't been put off Chevalier as an author, but I wouldn't say she was up there as a favourite (well unless The Girl gets better -finding it a bit plodding...)

Far inferior to Girl with a Pearl Earring, 14 Jul 2008
I am a newcomer to Tracey Chevalier, having read Girl with a Pearl Earring a few weeks ago! Absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to read more from Chevalier. Virgin Blue was the next one I picked up but I have to say, I was very disappointed. Wheareas Girl.. really stood out as an outstanding novel, Virgin Blue was very average. I didn't feel the characters were portrayed as strongly as they should have been and I ended up sympathising with the wrong people i.e I had more sympathy for Rick than Ella and Jean Pierre. Their love story had nothing to it at all and Ella just came across as a bit wet and contrary. The story set in the past had more promise but came to a bit of nothing in the end. As I loved Girl... so much, I am determined to persevere and read more from this author. Hopefully this book was inferior simply because it was the first. However, if this had been the first I had read, I probably wouldn't have bothered to read any more.

A good story, 05 Mar 2008
I enjoyed this book. I liked the two stories and how they were interwoven with history. The book carried a lot of personal resonance as I recently had a child with a midwife and am an American in Europe. Ella Turner's character did disappoint me as her internal thoughts were more British than American. For example, American women don't "get on with it". That sort of expression or way of dealing with life doesn't enter their mindset - but Ella Turner's character said this on one or more occassion as a way of dismissing her thoughts. It just didn't jar with the character's culture. I think that Ella Turner could have been better researched, to give her a more American attitude, and written out for this reason instead of just being given what someone who is writing an American woman assumes they think like a British woman. Also, not all Americans are obsessed with their ancestory!

Not so good!, 02 Feb 2008
I'm really surprised to read previous reviews. I found the characters very superficial. Ella is a very annoying person, the love story doesn't make sense and the historical events are completely disconnected with the present. Ella had an urge to find out about her ancestors, and this is where the past comes in, but the book ends up not making any emotional connections, which was a very big dissappiontment to me. Also, the language is very tacky that it takes me out of the story mood! Its good enough entertainment for a long trip, but doesn't offer more than that.

Captivating, 18 Aug 2007
France - the mid 1500's during the Protestant Reformation. A story of a girl called Isabelle who is nicknamed La Rousse after the Virgin Mary. Her nickname soon loses it's affection when a Calvinistic preacher arrives in the village a few years later, to preach 'The Truth'.

France - the present day. American Ella Turner is trying to fit into the village her and her husband have moved to with his job. Whilst her husband is busy working, Ella goes in search of her ancestors the Tourniers.

The author alternates between the two story lines although it is clear that they are inextricably linked. The writing style is very fluent, written in both the first and third person, slipping easily between them both.

A book that draws you in further with every page. Although I had already guessed the outcome, I found myself almost racing to get to the end such is the tension evoked as the book comes to it's conclusion. Chevalier manages this not only with the characters, especially Isabella, but by replacing the alternating chapters with alternating paragraphs, forcing a quickening pace.

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

Atmospheric, 13 Nov 2008
Beautiful and evocative, this was a joy to read and was told expertly and eloquently. The quiet tension that existed between maid and master was palpable and dramatic whilst understated at the same time. I loved Chevalier's descriptions of Griet's daily life and of the world around her especially the explanation of how the colours for Vermeer's paintings were produced. I enjoyed the book as much as the film (which I saw first) and thought they represented each other well. A lovely read.

Excellent read, 22 Aug 2008
This is the second novel I have read by Tracy Chevalier, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is the synopsis from Amazon on Girl With A Pearl Earring:

The Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and gripping. There were no boring parts and I read this book so quickly.

Chevalier's descriptions were amazing. I could easily picture the marketplace and the eight-tipped star, as well as the house the Vermeer's lived in and his studio. The book was written in a way that made me feel like I was there watching the events unfold before my very eyes.

There were characters I liked, such as Pieter the son. I loved how he sought out Griet and never gave up. And characters I disliked, such as van Ruijven who believed he could have whatever he wanted because he was rich. I found myself getting angry at him as I read the book, which is good, as a book should spark emotions in the reader.

My only complaint was the ending - it was a little abrupt for my liking. I still have questions that I would have liked answered, but with the ending as it is, that won't happen.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

9/10

Interesting concept but lacking spark, 08 Aug 2008
I thought the novel was based on an interesting concept - making a story to fit a painting. Quite often I will see a painting or photograph and wonder the story behind it and so I can see how this came about.

I thought the descriptions of Delft were interesting and the author had certainly done her homework. I had to award this book 3 stars because whilst the story was relatively enjoyable I kept hanging on thinking it was going to move a little faster, that some scandal was going to occur, that in fact anything was going to happen. It was a gentle read, but for me, it needed a bit of spark.

breathtaking, 07 Jul 2008
this is without a doubt the most beautiful book ever written. I have read it what seems like a million times and i love every moment. the way in which chevalier describes the city, the people and vermeer's studio is so evocative. i thoroughly recommend this book.

The artist and his muse, 12 Apr 2008
I adored this book finding it very evocative of a time when social standing was everything ... with servants naturally at the bottom, tradesmen in the middle with their own pecking order in the Guilds, and then the noblemen patrons.
Griet is forced down a level - when her father can no longer work as a tile artist her family becomes impoverished, and she is sent to work for the Vermeers. Soon the artist sees something in her and, initially unknown to the matriarch of the family, starts using Griet as his assistant. Their relationship has very few words and is unrequited although intense. Eventually Vermeer's wife finds out and Vermeer engineers to get Griet out of the house - she marries the butcher's son.
Although we know very little about Vermeer's life, we do know enough about the techniques of painting, including use of the camera obscura to help get proportions right, that the author can write convincingly about the creation of great works of art.
We see everything through Griet's eyes and we find she has an artist's vision herself for detail when she helps to improve a painting by altering the drape of a tablecloth in the setting.
Superb.

Another stunning Chevalier book, 18 Dec 2007
Chevalier delivers, yet again, another stunning read. Another book full of beautiful prose, a great plot and a marvellous cast of characters. Who would have thought that you could weave a book so fab as this from such a simple idea as a cemetery. Chevalier brings Highgate cemetery alive and you are just transported back to the era. An excellent read. Highly recommended.

Historical fiction that educates as well as entertains, 25 Apr 2007
The story of Maude Coleman, Lavinia Waterhouse and their families is told in the first person by each character involved so it reads very much like a diary. I like how the reader gets to see everyone's perspectives on a situation instead of hearing a story from just one angle. We hear the traditional and modern views of the time...in a changing world where the women's suffrage movement is getting more and more forceful leading (in this story) to the Hyde Park demonstration.

As someone who enjoys walking around old Victorian cemeteries it was lovely to have this one brought to life with the people who visited and worked there. I found the details of mourning etiquette during the Victorian period and the early 1900's fascinating: How long is acceptable to mourn, what to wear and what to do with it after the mourning period is over, and the views of the time on cremation and who should be buried where in the cemetery.

A sensitive and fascinating read.

thought provoking!, 27 Feb 2006
I couldn't put this book down!
It was a tale of many characters, with the mood varying from humour to great sadness. The chapter concerning the rally, and the aftermath, had affected me the most.
It was very thought provoking and the stories stayed with me for ages afterwards.

enjoyable historical-modern mix, 06 Aug 2008
I picked this from the bookshelf unsure as to whether I would like - I don't tend to read many historical dramas - but was plesantly suprised.

I gave it four stars because I found the switch from modern to historical slightly implausible. Some reviewers didn't like it as a method - I didn't mind it as a method but I found the premise it was based on was slightly too-far fetched.

I enjoyed the story and I would class it as a thriller -I was gripped in many parts and felt I was educated about the Hugenots. Actually for me the historical drama was more entertaining than the modern day - I found Ella to be mildly annoying and I'm not really sure I 'cared' what happened to her.

I am now reading The Girl with the Pearl Earring so haven't been put off Chevalier as an author, but I wouldn't say she was up there as a favourite (well unless The Girl gets better -finding it a bit plodding...)

Far inferior to Girl with a Pearl Earring, 14 Jul 2008
I am a newcomer to Tracey Chevalier, having read Girl with a Pearl Earring a few weeks ago! Absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to read more from Chevalier. Virgin Blue was the next one I picked up but I have to say, I was very disappointed. Wheareas Girl.. really stood out as an outstanding novel, Virgin Blue was very average. I didn't feel the characters were portrayed as strongly as they should have been and I ended up sympathising with the wrong people i.e I had more sympathy for Rick than Ella and Jean Pierre. Their love story had nothing to it at all and Ella just came across as a bit wet and contrary. The story set in the past had more promise but came to a bit of nothing in the end. As I loved Girl... so much, I am determined to persevere and read more from this author. Hopefully this book was inferior simply because it was the first. However, if this had been the first I had read, I probably wouldn't have bothered to read any more.

A good story, 05 Mar 2008
I enjoyed this book. I liked the two stories and how they were interwoven with history. The book carried a lot of personal resonance as I recently had a child with a midwife and am an American in Europe. Ella Turner's character did disappoint me as her internal thoughts were more British than American. For example, American women don't "get on with it". That sort of expression or way of dealing with life doesn't enter their mindset - but Ella Turner's character said this on one or more occassion as a way of dismissing her thoughts. It just didn't jar with the character's culture. I think that Ella Turner could have been better researched, to give her a more American attitude, and written out for this reason instead of just being given what someone who is writing an American woman assumes they think like a British woman. Also, not all Americans are obsessed with their ancestory!

Not so good!, 02 Feb 2008
I'm really surprised to read previous reviews. I found the characters very superficial. Ella is a very annoying person, the love story doesn't make sense and the historical events are completely disconnected with the present. Ella had an urge to find out about her ancestors, and this is where the past comes in, but the book ends up not making any emotional connections, which was a very big dissappiontment to me. Also, the language is very tacky that it takes me out of the story mood! Its good enough entertainment for a long trip, but doesn't offer more than that.

Captivating, 18 Aug 2007
France - the mid 1500's during the Protestant Reformation. A story of a girl called Isabelle who is nicknamed La Rousse after the Virgin Mary. Her nickname soon loses it's affection when a Calvinistic preacher arrives in the village a few years later, to preach 'The Truth'.

France - the present day. American Ella Turner is trying to fit into the village her and her husband have moved to with his job. Whilst her husband is busy working, Ella goes in search of her ancestors the Tourniers.

The author alternates between the two story lines although it is clear that they are inextricably linked. The writing style is very fluent, written in both the first and third person, slipping easily between them both.

A book that draws you in further with every page. Although I had already guessed the outcome, I found myself almost racing to get to the end such is the tension evoked as the book comes to it's conclusion. Chevalier manages this not only with the characters, especially Isabella, but by replacing the alternating chapters with alternating paragraphs, forcing a quickening pace.

Girl With a Pearl Earring, 09 Feb 2007
Tracy Chevalier's novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a story about a 16 year old girl called Griet. The narration takes place in the 17th century Delft, Holland where the head of the common protestant's family - Griet's father the tile painter looses his sight in a factory accident. Griet's parents have no choice but to send Griet to work as a maid. The girl's new employers - a famous couple - painter Johannes Vermeer and his wife come to meet her in her house where she is caught cutting vegetables for a soup. The way she arranges little cubes according to colours attracts painter's attention. Soon Griet moves to the couple's house where she is shocked by the Catholic paintings of Biblical scenes and feels rather uncomfortable. There she meets all the other family members - Vermeer's mother-in-law, five children and the old maid Tanneke. There she does her everyday chores quietly and with her cap on her face so that none of the hair would be visible and where she would hide her facial expressions from the others. However the girl is greatly excited by the works of the painter and many of her thoughts are dedicated to him. In the household she is not liked by everyone - Vermeer's wife Catherine and her 6 year old daughter Cornelia seem to try and make Griet's life a bit harder. The family, however, struggles with money and Vermeer is forced to paint what his patron - the wealthy van Ruijven wants. Becoming a woman, Griet meets up with the attention of the three men - butcher's son, van Ruijven and that of the painter. Eventually Griet becomes Vermeer's assistant and helps him make the paints and clean the studio. After painting many women, standing alone in different shades of light Vermeer spontaneously paints Griet with his wife's pearl earrings...The painting ends up to be scandalous and Griet leaves the Vermeer's house forever.
Tracy Chevalier's novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a fantastic work which owns exactly the same atmosphere which one would feel watching at the Vermeer's painting. The 17th century Delft, the guild, paintings in the Town Hall, the markets and people, butchers and maids, children playing in the market square - everything is so real and alive. I loved the way the novel was written and the story itself. All the characters were very real and believable, so the reader can attach to them rather easily. The novel is said to be inspired by the Vermeer's most famous painting - "Girl With a Pearl Earring" which has raised a lot of questions about who the girl was and why did she pose for the painter. Also, why hasn't the painting been sold for so long. The author's mission here seems to be to go back into the 17th century Holland, into the studio of Vermeer and bring back to life the mysterious girl who inspired Vermeer to paint such a successful painting.
Highly recommended.


Captivating Read, 23 Jan 2007
Having never read anything before by Tracy Chevalier I was suitably impressed with this. As I got more and more into the story I couldn't put it down! What's odd about this book (but fantastic as well) is that Ms Chavalier uses minimal language to describe people and scenes but yet it's enough to evoke strong images in your mind of what the people, the setting and the era must have been like. It's quite refreshing to read an author who can describe something to the reader in only a few words. I came away from this very impressed with Ms Chevalier's command of writing and intend to read more of her work to see if they are all as good as this!

Austere Light, 25 Aug 2006
Vermeer's portrait of the Girl with a Pearl Earring suggests a subtle unspoken communication between the girl and viewer. This masterpiece tells of knowing glances and unspoken understandings.

Chevallier's novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, is the literary analogy. She describes with exquisite sensitivity, and yet with the minimalism one might expect of Hemmingway, the ambiance of a Dutch society where stoic restraint dictates silence, and where social control is achieved with knowing glances and unspoken understandings. She describes perfectly this country were even the Catholics are Protestant in their severity. And yet one where the deepest affections shine through the austere light.

A SPELLBINDING NOVEL..., 26 Nov 2004
This gifted author weaves a mesmerizing tale around Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's most famous painting, creating an incandescent and luminous work of her own. His painting is a simple, though enigmatic, portrait of a girl with a pearl earring, about which little is known. The author, however, a born storyteller, creates a living, breathing story around it, using a singular, first person narrative. Told in spare, elegant prose, the author leaps into literary renown with this book.

The events in the book are viewed through the eyes of Griet, a sixteen year old Dutch girl, whose changed family circumstances force her into taking a position as a maid in the home of a renowned painter, the taciturn Johannes Vermeer. There, the painter resides with his tempestuous wife, Catharina, their brood of unruly children, his commanding and shrewd mother-in-law, Maria Thins, and their loyal housekeeper and cook, Tanneke. The author lovingly details seventeenth century life in the Dutch city of Delft. It is here that Griet's story unfolds.

Sensitive and perceptive, Griet is attuned to the under currents in the Vermeer household and, at first, takes care not to draw attention to herself. Still, she, the daughter of a tile painter, is curious about Vermeer's artistry and is drawn to his work and his methods. Vermeer, sensing a kindred artistic spirit in Griet, draws her into his world of paint, color, light, and beauty, creating an intimacy of the spirit between the two.

Still, Griet, a girl on the brink of becoming a woman, finds herself confused and breathlessly desiring more than she may have. Her longing for more than a communion of the spirit with Vermeer is palpable. It is, therefore, not surprising that the undercurrents in the Vermeer household should come bubbling to the surface and engulf Griet, much to her consternation.

This is a stunning literary work that fully realizes the promise that the author showed in her debut novel, "The Virgin Blue". She is an author that understands the less is often more, and she makes every word count. Deliberate and spare, her prose is lyrical in its simplicity, weaving a tale that will keep the reader spellbound. This is historical fiction at its finest. Bravo!

A maid's life in 17th century Holland, 06 Feb 2004
The audio cassette version of Girl With a Pearl Earring:

The fictional story behind Vermeer's famous painting revolves around sixteen-year old Griet, who becomes a maid in the artist's home to help her struggling family. She is a quiet, intelligent girl, fully aware of her rather helpless situation: She must do the hardest work from morning til night without sympathy or kindness in the cold house. She does, however, greatly admire the elusive Vermeer, and to her shock and secret joy, he asks her one day to be his model for a painting. She must also contend with the unwanted attentions of Vermeer's wealthy patron, and is unsure of her feelings for the amorous young butcher.

Since the uneducated Griet is the story's narrator, author Chevalier has written in a very simple, uncluttered style: There are virtually no compound sentences, few adjectives, and even fewer words describing emotions. This is because Griet's lot in life is to serve; it makes no difference how she feels about people, events, or tasks, so she doesn't dwell on them.

Griet never refers to Vermeer by name; he is always "The Master," or simply "Him." While a bit of an affectation on the part of the author, it reflects Griet's view of him as bigger than life; godlike. She never puts into words her feelings for him, nor does he for her; indeed people at that time kept their thoughts to themselves. We learn little about Vermeer, except that he took scant notice of his homelife, which was rife with conflict between the mistress, servants, and children. The last chapter was the most intense and was indeed a satisfying end to Griet's story.

Narrator Ruth Ann Phimister's voice is low and sounds too mature to be speaking the words of a sixteen-year old. However, she does convey Griet's pluckiness as well as her constant fatigue. While we don't learn about Vermeer, the story does gives us a glimpse into Dutch society in 1665. It is a quiet story.

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

Atmospheric, 13 Nov 2008
Beautiful and evocative, this was a joy to read and was told expertly and eloquently. The quiet tension that existed between maid and master was palpable and dramatic whilst understated at the same time. I loved Chevalier's descriptions of Griet's daily life and of the world around her especially the explanation of how the colours for Vermeer's paintings were produced. I enjoyed the book as much as the film (which I saw first) and thought they represented each other well. A lovely read.

Excellent read, 22 Aug 2008
This is the second novel I have read by Tracy Chevalier, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is the synopsis from Amazon on Girl With A Pearl Earring:

The Dutch painter Vermeer has remained one of the great enigmas of 17th-century Dutch art. While little is known of his personal life, his extraordinary paintings of natural and domestic life, with their subtle play of light and colour, have come to define the Dutch Golden Age. The mysterious portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has fascinated art historians for centuries, and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel of the same title.

Girl with a Pearl Earring centres on Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft in the 1660s. The appointment of the quiet, perceptive heroine of the novel, the servant Griet, gradually throws the household into turmoil as Vermeer and Griet become increasingly intimate, an increasingly tense situation that culminates in her working for Vermeer as his assistant, and ultimately sitting for him as a model. Chevalier deliberately cultivates a limpid, painstakingly observed style in homage to Vermeer, and the complex domestic tensions of the Vermeer household are vividly evoked, from the jealous, vain, young wife to the wise, taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic, but Girl with a Pearl Earring does contain a final delicious twist in its tail. Chevalier acknowledges her debt to Simon Schama's classic study of the Dutch Golden Age, The Embarrassment of Riches, and the novel comes hard on the heels of Deborah Moggach's similar tale of domestic intrigue behind the easel of 17th-century Dutch painting, Tulip Fever.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a fascinating piece of speculative historical fiction, but how much more can novelists extract from the Dutch Golden Age? --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and gripping. There were no boring parts and I read this book so quickly.

Chevalier's descriptions were amazing. I could easily picture the marketplace and the eight-tipped star, as well as the house the Vermeer's lived in and his studio. The book was written in a way that made me feel like I was there watching the events unfold before my very eyes.

There were characters I liked, such as Pieter the son. I loved how he sought out Griet and never gave up. And characters I disliked, such as van Ruijven who believed he could have whatever he wanted because he was rich. I found myself getting angry at him as I read the book, which is good, as a book should spark emotions in the reader.

My only complaint was the ending - it was a little abrupt for my liking. I still have questions that I would have liked answered, but with the ending as it is, that won't happen.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

9/10

Interesting concept but lacking spark, 08 Aug 2008
I thought the novel was based on an interesting concept - making a story to fit a painting. Quite often I will see a painting or photograph and wonder the story behind it and so I can see how this came about.

I thought the descriptions of Delft were interesting and the author had certainly done her homework. I had to award this book 3 stars because whilst the story was relatively enjoyable I kept hanging on thinking it was going to move a little faster, that some scandal was going to occur, that in fact anything was going to happen. It was a gentle read, but for me, it needed a bit of spark.

breathtaking, 07 Jul 2008
this is without a doubt the most beautiful book ever written. I have read it what seems like a million times and i love every moment. the way in which chevalier describes the city, the people and vermeer's studio is so evocative. i thoroughly recommend this book.

The artist and his muse, 12 Apr 2008
I adored this book finding it very evocative of a time when social standing was everything ... with servants naturally at the bottom, tradesmen in the middle with their own pecking order in the Guilds, and then the noblemen patrons.
Griet is forced down a level - when her father can no longer work as a tile artist her family becomes impoverished, and she is sent to work for the Vermeers. Soon the artist sees something in her and, initially unknown to the matriarch of the family, starts using Griet as his assistant. Their relationship has very few words and is unrequited although intense. Eventually Vermeer's wife finds out and Vermeer engineers to get Griet out of the house - she marries the butcher's son.
Although we know very little about Vermeer's life, we do know enough about the techniques of painting, including use of the camera obscura to help get proportions right, that the author can write convincingly about the creation of great works of art.
We see everything through Griet's eyes and we find she has an artist's vision herself for detail when she helps to improve a painting by altering the drape of a tablecloth in the setting.
Superb.

Another stunning Chevalier book, 18 Dec 2007
Chevalier delivers, yet again, another stunning read. Another book full of beautiful prose, a great plot and a marvellous cast of characters. Who would have thought that you could weave a book so fab as this from such a simple idea as a cemetery. Chevalier brings Highgate cemetery alive and you are just transported back to the era. An excellent read. Highly recommended.

Historical fiction that educates as well as entertains, 25 Apr 2007
The story of Maude Coleman, Lavinia Waterhouse and their families is told in the first person by each character involved so it reads very much like a diary. I like how the reader gets to see everyone's perspectives on a situation instead of hearing a story from just one angle. We hear the traditional and modern views of the time...in a changing world where the women's suffrage movement is getting more and more forceful leading (in this story) to the Hyde Park demonstration.

As someone who enjoys walking around old Victorian cemeteries it was lovely to have this one brought to life with the people who visited and worked there. I found the details of mourning etiquette during the Victorian period and the early 1900's fascinating: How long is acceptable to mourn, what to wear and what to do with it after the mourning period is over, and the views of the time on cremation and who should be buried where in the cemetery.

A sensitive and fascinating read.

thought provoking!, 27 Feb 2006
I couldn't put this book down!
It was a tale of many characters, with the mood varying from humour to great sadness. The chapter concerning the rally, and the aftermath, had affected me the most.
It was very thought provoking and the stories stayed with me for ages afterwards.

enjoyable historical-modern mix, 06 Aug 2008
I picked this from the bookshelf unsure as to whether I would like - I don't tend to read many historical dramas - but was plesantly suprised.

I gave it four stars because I found the switch from modern to historical slightly implausible. Some reviewers didn't like it as a method - I didn't mind it as a method but I found the premise it was based on was slightly too-far fetched.

I enjoyed the story and I would class it as a thriller -I was gripped in many parts and felt I was educated about the Hugenots. Actually for me the historical drama was more entertaining than the modern day - I found Ella to be mildly annoying and I'm not really sure I 'cared' what happened to her.

I am now reading The Girl with the Pearl Earring so haven't been put off Chevalier as an author, but I wouldn't say she was up there as a favourite (well unless The Girl gets better -finding it a bit plodding...)

Far inferior to Girl with a Pearl Earring, 14 Jul 2008
I am a newcomer to Tracey Chevalier, having read Girl with a Pearl Earring a few weeks ago! Absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to read more from Chevalier. Virgin Blue was the next one I picked up but I have to say, I was very disappointed. Wheareas Girl.. really stood out as an outstanding novel, Virgin Blue was very average. I didn't feel the characters were portrayed as strongly as they should have been and I ended up sympathising with the wrong people i.e I had more sympathy for Rick than Ella and Jean Pierre. Their love story had nothing to it at all and Ella just came across as a bit wet and contrary. The story set in the past had more promise but came to a bit of nothing in the end. As I loved Girl... so much, I am determined to persevere and read more from this author. Hopefully this book was inferior simply because it was the first. However, if this had been the first I had read, I probably wouldn't have bothered to read any more.

A good story, 05 Mar 2008
I enjoyed this book. I liked the two stories and how they were interwoven with history. The book carried a lot of personal resonance as I recently had a child with a midwife and am an American in Europe. Ella Turner's character did disappoint me as her internal thoughts were more British than American. For example, American women don't "get on with it". That sort of expression or way of dealing with life doesn't enter their mindset - but Ella Turner's character said this on one or more occassion as a way of dismissing her thoughts. It just didn't jar with the character's culture. I think that Ella Turner could have been better researched, to give her a more American attitude, and written out for this reason instead of just being given what someone who is writing an American woman assumes they think like a British woman. Also, not all Americans are obsessed with their ancestory!

Not so good!, 02 Feb 2008
I'm really surprised to read previous reviews. I found the characters very superficial. Ella is a very annoying person, the love story doesn't make sense and the historical events are completely disconnected with the present. Ella had an urge to find out about her ancestors, and this is where the past comes in, but the book ends up not making any emotional connections, which was a very big dissappiontment to me. Also, the language is very tacky that it takes me out of the story mood! Its good enough entertainment for a long trip, but doesn't offer more than that.

Captivating, 18 Aug 2007
France - the mid 1500's during the Protestant Reformation. A story of a girl called Isabelle who is nicknamed La Rousse after the Virgin Mary. Her nickname soon loses it's affection when a Calvinistic preacher arrives in the village a few years later, to preach 'The Truth'.

France - the present day. American Ella Turner is trying to fit into the village her and her husband have moved to with his job. Whilst her husband is busy working, Ella goes in search of her ancestors the Tourniers.

The author alternates between the two story lines although it is clear that they are inextricably linked. The writing style is very fluent, written in both the first and third person, slipping easily between them both.

A book that draws you in further with every page. Although I had already guessed the outcome, I found myself almost racing to get to the end such is the tension evoked as the book comes to it's conclusion. Chevalier manages this not only with the characters, especially Isabella, but by replacing the alternating chapters with alternating paragraphs, forcing a quickening pace.

Girl With a Pearl Earring, 09 Feb 2007
Tracy Chevalier's novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a story about a 16 year old girl called Griet. The narration takes place in the 17th century Delft, Holland where the head of the common protestant's family - Griet's father the tile painter looses his sight in a factory accident. Griet's parents have no choice but to send Griet to work as a maid. The girl's new employers - a famous couple - painter Johannes Vermeer and his wife come to meet her in her house where she is caught cutting vegetables for a soup. The way she arranges little cubes according to colours attracts painter's attention. Soon Griet moves to the couple's house where she is shocked by the Catholic paintings of Biblical scenes and feels rather uncomfortable. There she meets all the other family members - Vermeer's mother-in-law, five children and the old maid Tanneke. There she does her everyday chores quietly and with her cap on her face so that none of the hair would be visible and where she would hide her facial expressions from the others. However the girl is greatly excited by the works of the painter and many of her thoughts are dedicated to him. In the household she is not liked by everyone - Vermeer's wife Catherine and her 6 year old daughter Cornelia seem to try and make Griet's life a bit harder. The family, however, struggles with money and Vermeer is forced to paint what his patron - the wealthy van Ruijven wants. Becoming a woman, Griet meets up with the attention of the three men - butcher's son, van Ruijven and that of the painter. Eventually Griet becomes Vermeer's assistant and helps him make the paints and clean the studio. After painting many women, standing alone in different shades of light Vermeer spontaneously paints Griet with his wife's pearl earrings...The painting ends up to be scandalous and Griet leaves the Vermeer's house forever.
Tracy Chevalier's novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a fantastic work which owns exactly the same atmosphere which one would feel watching at the Vermeer's painting. The 17th century Delft, the guild, paintings in the Town Hall, the markets and people, butchers and maids, children playing in the market square - everything is so real and alive. I loved the way the novel was written and the story itself. All the characters were very real and believable, so the reader can attach to them rather easily. The novel is said to be inspired by the Vermeer's most famous painting - "Girl With a Pearl Earring" which has raised a lot of questions about who the girl was and why did she pose for the painter. Also, why hasn't the painting been sold for so long. The author's mission here seems to be to go back into the 17th century Holland, into the studio of Vermeer and bring back to life the mysterious girl who inspired Vermeer to paint such a successful painting.
Highly recommended.


Captivating Read, 23 Jan 2007
Having never read anything before by Tracy Chevalier I was suitably impressed with this. As I got more and more into the story I couldn't put it down! What's odd about this book (but fantastic as well) is that Ms Chavalier uses minimal language to describe people and scenes but yet it's enough to evoke strong images in your mind of what the people, the setting and the era must have been like. It's quite refreshing to read an author who can describe something to the reader in only a few words. I came away from this very impressed with Ms Chevalier's command of writing and intend to read more of her work to see if they are all as good as this!

Austere Light, 25 Aug 2006
Vermeer's portrait of the Girl with a Pearl Earring suggests a subtle unspoken communication between the girl and viewer. This masterpiece tells of knowing glances and unspoken understandings.

Chevallier's novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, is the literary analogy. She describes with exquisite sensitivity, and yet with the minimalism one might expect of Hemmingway, the ambiance of a Dutch society where stoic restraint dictates silence, and where social control is achieved with knowing glances and unspoken understandings. She describes perfectly this country were even the Catholics are Protestant in their severity. And yet one where the deepest affections shine through the austere light.

A SPELLBINDING NOVEL..., 26 Nov 2004
This gifted author weaves a mesmerizing tale around Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's most famous painting, creating an incandescent and luminous work of her own. His painting is a simple, though enigmatic, portrait of a girl with a pearl earring, about which little is known. The author, however, a born storyteller, creates a living, breathing story around it, using a singular, first person narrative. Told in spare, elegant prose, the author leaps into literary renown with this book.

The events in the book are viewed through the eyes of Griet, a sixteen year old Dutch girl, whose changed family circumstances force her into taking a position as a maid in the home of a renowned painter, the taciturn Johannes Vermeer. There, the painter resides with his tempestuous wife, Catharina, their brood of unruly children, his commanding and shrewd mother-in-law, Maria Thins, and their loyal housekeeper and cook, Tanneke. The author lovingly details seventeenth century life in the Dutch city of Delft. It is here that Griet's story unfolds.

Sensitive and perceptive, Griet is attuned to the under currents in the Vermeer household and, at first, takes care not to draw attention to herself. Still, she, the daughter of a tile painter, is curious about Vermeer's artistry and is drawn to his work and his methods. Vermeer, sensing a kindred artistic spirit in Griet, draws her into his world of paint, color, light, and beauty, creating an intimacy of the spirit between the two.

Still, Griet, a girl on the brink of becoming a woman, finds herself confused and breathlessly desiring more than she may have. Her longing for more than a communion of the spirit with Vermeer is palpable. It is, therefore, not surprising that the undercurrents in the Vermeer household should come bubbling to the surface and engulf Griet, much to her consternation.

This is a stunning literary work that fully realizes the promise that the author showed in her debut novel, "The Virgin Blue". She is an author that understands the less is often more, and she makes every word count. Deliberate and spare, her prose is lyrical in its simplicity, weaving a tale that will keep the reader spellbound. This is historical fiction at its finest. Bravo!

A maid's life in 17th century Holland, 06 Feb 2004
The audio cassette version of Girl With a Pearl Earring:

The fictional story behind Vermeer's famous painting revolves around sixteen-year old Griet, who becomes a maid in the artist's home to help her struggling family. She is a quiet, intelligent girl, fully aware of her rather helpless situation: She must do the hardest work from morning til night without sympathy or kindness in the cold house. She does, however, greatly admire the elusive Vermeer, and to her shock and secret joy, he asks her one day to be his model for a painting. She must also contend with the unwanted attentions of Vermeer's wealthy patron, and is unsure of her feelings for the amorous young butcher.

Since the uneducated Griet is the story's narrator, author Chevalier has written in a very simple, uncluttered style: There are virtually no compound sentences, few adjectives, and even fewer words describing emotions. This is because Griet's lot in life is to serve; it makes no difference how she feels about people, events, or tasks, so she doesn't dwell on them.

Griet never refers to Vermeer by name; he is always "The Master," or simply "Him." While a bit of an affectation on the part of the author, it reflects Griet's view of him as bigger than life; godlike. She never puts into words her feelings for him, nor does he for her; indeed people at that time kept their thoughts to themselves. We learn little about Vermeer, except that he took scant notice of his homelife, which was rife with conflict between the mistress, servants, and children. The last chapter was the most intense and was indeed a satisfying end to Griet's story.

Narrator Ruth Ann Phimister's voice is low and sounds too mature to be speaking the words of a sixteen-year old. However, she does convey Griet's pluckiness as well as her constant fatigue. While we don't learn about Vermeer, the story does gives us a glimpse into Dutch society in 1665. It is a quiet story.

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little about Blake, other than to recite excerpts from some of his works. The main story line revolves around Jem and Maggie, who wander around the streets of London a lot. Does one really get a feel for 'a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution' ? Grimy streets - yes, political atmosphere - no (except for one mob outside Blake's front door one night). As for Jem & Maggie's tale, one finishes the book thinking what was the point of this book.

Don't take this book on holiday, 18 Jul 2008
Don't make the mistake I did and take this book on holiday. Depressing, shallow and seemingly written by a ten-year old, this will make your holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons. I perservered to the end hoping it would get better, as I couldn't believe it was written by the same author as Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Virgin Blue. Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and I came away with nothing but the embarrassment of having read some kind of children's book. Two dimensional characters that I learned nothing about, nor did I care. It's as if Tracy Chevalier has got bored of writing but Harper Collins wanted to squeeze one more historical novel out of her. I would have been ashamed to put my name to this book.

For an antidote try reading Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale.

Not a good book, 16 Sep 2008
I have never read any Tracy Chevalier before, and after this book I never want to. I thought it was badly written and the story was boring. As for William Blake, to be honest including him was pointless, just trying to cash in on a formula. The Blake character could have been just any neighbour. To be fair it wasn't hard to read, and 18th century London was well portrayed, but if it hadn't been for Book Club, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

Lame, 16 Sep 2008
I was so looking forward to this book I carried it back to Buenos Aires savouring its safe position in my suitcase (books in English are hard to come by unless Ludlum, Follet et al).
I was so disappointed. I kept waiting for some semblance of a story to get started but nothing happens. Lame is the only word to apply and having studied William Blake, I really expected more than the passing mentions she accords him. His position in the story is far from central and the historical background is not absorbing.

Tracy tries too hard?, 26 Aug 2008
This novel should be renamed Tracy Chevalier: What I've Learned About Eighteenth Century London and the Dorset Piddles.
In each of her previous novels, Chevalier evokes the relevant period so effortlessly that you feel as if you're there too. In contrast, Burning Bright is stuffed some way past bursting point with what I felt was heavy-handed and self-conscious period detail. In particular, the scene where Maggie and Jem follow the Blakes across London appears to have been written so that she can show off how much she's found out in her research.
This isn't a terrible book, by any means, but falls well below Chevalier's own high standards - it's not particularly well written, the plot is slight and the characters feel cliched. I can only think that the subject didn't really inspire her.

Neither burning nor bright, 13 Aug 2008
Girl With A Pearl Earring gave an insight into Vermeer's life, working methods and the period in which he lived. Burning Bright, on the other hand, imparts very little