Oh well! It is a book meant to be read and enjoyed. It has already been sold in over 30 countries and now a film option is being considered as well. She sold the novel for a six-figure deal to Picador. The Silkworm has slid below The Miniaturist on Booksellers charts within days of it being released.įor many struggling writers, Jessie Burton’s dream run is like a fairy tale. Rowling a run for the top slot of bestseller lists of Europe. Even so this novel was five years in the making. So what she has achieved is a balance between an unusual story, creating the atmosphere, tackling something new, making it relevant to a modern audience and through it all kept her eye on strong storytelling. All this while she, was a struggling actress. Jessie Burton was inspired to write this novel after a weekend visit to the Rijk Museum where she spotted Petronella Oortiman’s miniature doll house. ( Here is more: and ) Soon thereafter she attended a creative writing course run by a literary agency. Some of the issues are about homosexuality–considered to be a criminal offence out-of-wedlock mother interracial alliances women being the head of the household or not emancipation of women etc.

It has the details and atmosphere of seventeenth century Holland, but for all purposes of storytelling it caters primarily to a modern reader. This is a novel that purports to be historical fiction but is not exactly one. She seems to be privy to secrets which even the family members are oblivious of. Nella is mystified and at times terrified by how accurately the miniaturist depicts events in the Brandt household. Nella tries on many occasions to meet the miniaturist but fails, only catches fleeting glimpses of the woman artisan - Petronella Windelbreke. She is given a wedding gift of a replica of their home which is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist. It is a tale about the young bride Nella Oortman, wife of the illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. It is set in seventeenth century Amsterdam.

The Miniaturist is Jessie Burton’s debut novel.

The miniaturist book