Midnight Blue

A Novel

De: Simone van der Vlugt

Narrado por: Imogen Church

From Simone Van Der Vlugt comes her European best-selling novel of a young woman's rise as a painter in Holland's Golden Age - perfect for fans of The Miniaturist, Tulip Fever, and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Amsterdam, 1654: Against the backdrop of Holland's Golden Age, a dangerous secret threatens to destroy a young widow's new life.

Following the sudden death of her husband, 25-year-old Catrin leaves her small village and takes a job as a housekeeper to the successful Van Nulandt merchant family. Amsterdam is a city at the peak of its powers: Science and art are flourishing in the Golden Age, and Dutch ships bring back exotic riches from the Far East. Madam Van Nulandt passes her time taking expensive painting lessons from a local master, Rembrandt van Rigin, and when Catrin takes up a brush to finish some of her mistress' work, Rembrandt realizes the maid has genuine talent and encourages her to continue.

When a figure from her past threatens her new life, Catrin flees to the smaller city of Delft. There, her gift as a painter earns her a chance to earn a living painting pottery at a local workshop. Slowly, the workshop begins to develop a new type of pottery to rival fancy blue-on-white imported Chinese porcelain - and the graceful and coveted Delft Blue designs she creates help revolutionize the industry. But when tragedy strikes, Catrin must decide whether to defend her newfound independence or return to the village that she'd fled.

©2018 Simone van der Vlugt (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Delightful historical adventure!

Loved the history of Delft! Only knew a little bit in the past about these beautiful blue and white pieces.

Excellent book for a trip!

This story was engaging and kept both my husband’s and my attention. Voice of narrator is terrific!

Delightful historical fiction for potters

If you are a potter, this is a must read! It seemed as if it would be predictable at one point early in the book, but I was delighted to find that it had a solid story line.

Really liked this

Engaging. Great narration- this narrator is really compelling.
Unusual subject and setting.
Girl power. All the ends tie up I. A satisfying way!

Beach or trip read

Entertaining story..a lot was covered. At times felt I needed more time context to stay aligned with the author. Reader was excellent.

Loved this book!

As a lover and collector of blue porcelain, the cover grabbed my attention. The book did not disappoint. A great story intertwined with history.

Second helpings

This is the second time I have read this book. It is just as good the second time, especially since the narrator pronounced all of the Dutch words! Such a fascinating story and so we’ll written.

Excellent narration!

Both story and narration were excellent! My attention was held throughout the book and the historical component was informative.

Interesting links to history

Excellent glimpses into history with a developed perspective from the main character. Many times I paused to see if that event really happened. The fact that we pulled into the storyline had me wanting to learn more. Very well written and excellent character depth.

Light and engaging read

The storyline was well developed, I enjoyed the readers ability to bring different characters alive through her manner of reading.