Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

'A portrait of radiance…Tracy Chevalier brings the real artist Vermeer and a fictional muse to life in a jewel of a novel' Time ‘If ever a novel rightly deserves its “five millions copies sold” achievement, it is this dazzling little masterpiece … Absolute magic’ Daily Mail

I will hold this novel close for the rest of my life’ Jessie Burton, author of The Minaturist Tense yet perfectly-paced and filled with the beauty of life's colours, Girl with the Pearl Earring is a masterpiece in its own right.

‘Timeless, delicate and as exquisitely measured as one of Vermeer's paintings. ‘A veritable work of art… one of those rare novels where all the decisions made by the author appear inevitable and right’ Rose Tremain Vivid and captivating, this timeless modern classic has become a successful film and an international bestseller, with over 5 million copies sold around the world now with a new introduction by the author. But then he gives her his wife’s pearl earrings to wear for a portrait, and a scandal erupts that could threaten Griet’s future… When servant girl Griet catches his eye, she soon becomes both student and muse. Johannes Vermeer can spot exceptional beauty. But who? What is she thinking as she stares out from one of the world’s best-loved paintings? Her second book, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was made into a movie starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson in 2003.Those eyes are fixed on someone. About The Author (Tracy Chevalier):Īuthor Tracy Rose Chevalier FRSL is British-American. Additionally, it is challenging for Griet to maintain good relations with the other housekeeper, Tanneke, who is irritable and envious. She makes friends with Maertge, the oldest daughter of the family, at their home, but she never gets along with Cornelia, the younger daughter who follows in the footsteps of her class-conscious mother, Catharina.

The fact that Griet is a Protestant and the Vermeers are part of the minority that is reluctantly accepted is an additional complicating factor. Due to the bad reputation maids have for stealing, spying, and sleeping with their employers, this is a drop in status in the strictly stratified society of the time. Her father is a tile painter and a member of the artists’ guild, so she finds work as a maid in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer. Griet, then 16 years old, is forced to move out of her family’s Delft home in 1664 after her father is blinded in an accident.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier