Trade Paperback
The Glassmaker
By Tracy Chevalier
‘Spellbinding…. Chevalier at her fabulous best. A rich, vivid and gently enchanting novel’ ELIF SHAFAK
FROM THE GLOBALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle.
Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.
The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?
Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.
'Spellbinding…. Chevalier at her fabulous best. A rich, vivid and gently enchanting novel' ELIF SHAFAK -
'This charming fable is at once a love story that skips through six centuries, and also a love song to the timeless craft of glassmaking. Chevalier probes the fierce rivalries and enduring loyalties of Murano's glass dynasties, capturing the roar of the furnace, the sweat on the skin, and the glittering beauty of Venetian glass' GERALDINE BROOKS -
'Chevalier, one of our great storytellers, brings us unexpected worlds: Venice and Murano, artisans and empresses, compelling us through five fascinating centuries, with one irresistible family, weaving stories that captivate and transport the reader' AMY BLOOM -
'Meticulously researched and evoking the beauty of the Venice lagoon, the story challenges and transports the reader through time and place' PHILIPPA GREGORY -
'Tracy Chevalier pens a novel as ambitious, audacious, and artistic as a Venetian glass goblet… The Glassmaker is a thing of beauty' KATE QUINN -
'A richly-drawn tale about loyalty and heartbreak, as well as a love letter to the craftsmen—and women—who created exquisite treasures that endure through the ages. A stunning achievement. I couldn’t put it down' FIONA DAVIS -
”'Inspiring, heartbreaking, and magical, The Glassmaker is an inventive and extraordinary feat and an epic for the ages” - KRISTIN HARMEL