The Miniaturist / Jessie Burton

As 18-year-old Petronella Oortman crosses the threshold of her wealthy new husband's house, she cannot possibly imagine the secrets concealed behind its opulent facade or how severely the next few months will test her mettle.

Despite the social and financial protection it affords her, married life in this small household composed of a distant spouse, an austere sister-in-law, an irreverent maid and a puzzling manservant bears little resemblance to her girlish expectations or her mother's lessons.

Perhaps wishing to gain some control over her surroundings, Nella orders a few miniatures to furnish her wedding present, a cabinet house that almost perfectly replicates the conjugal home, but the uncannily accurate — and prophetic — pieces continue to arrive unsolicited as catastrophes and scandal loom. 

Seeing Nella navigate the scrutiny and prejudices of 18th-century Amsterdammer society, try to unravel the mysteries that surround her and come into her own was an absolute delight. This novel is as detailed and finely crafted as the miniatures it features, with characters that teem with life, and the many unexpected twists give it an intricacy far greater than I could have suspected from the opening pages. For me, the only defect in this remarkable work lies in the ending, which sadly leaves the fate of some characters up in the air.

This novel was inspired by Petronella Oortman's real doll's house, which can be admired at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Author Jessie Burton may only post about once per year on her blog, but she offers a fascinatingly intimate look at the highs and lows of a writer's life. You can also read a very interesting article about her long-standing interest in doll's houses (complete with M.R. James reference!).

You may be interested to know that The Miniaturist has been adapted into a TV miniseries by the BBC.

I borrowed this book from my library network through ILL.

Rating: ****