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    Girl With a Pearl Earring
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    Girl With a Pearl Earring
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    Girl With a Pearl Earring
    Ebook259 pages4 hours

    Girl With a Pearl Earring

    By Tracy Chevalier

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    OVER FIVE MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE

    ‘A phenomenon’ Jessie Burton
    ‘Dazzling’ Daily Mail
    ‘Truly magical' Guardian

    Those eyes are fixed on someone. But who? What is she thinking as she stares out from one of the world’s best-loved paintings?

    Johannes Vermeer can spot exceptional beauty. When servant girl Griet catches his eye, she soon becomes both student and muse. 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…

    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.

    ‘A veritable work of art… one of those rare novels where all the decisions made by the author appear inevitable and right’ Rose Tremain

    ‘Timeless, delicate and as exquisitely measured as one of Vermeer's paintings. 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. Just a phenomenon. I will hold this novel close for the rest of my life’ Jessie Burton, author of The Minaturist

    ‘If ever a novel rightly deserves its “five millions copies sold” achievement, it is this dazzling little masterpiece … Absolute magic’ Daily Mail

    'A portrait of radiance…Tracy Chevalier brings the real artist Vermeer and a fictional muse to life in a jewel of a novel' Time

    ‘Chevalier doesn't put a foot wrong in this triumphant work … It is a beautifully written tale that mirrors the elegance of the painting that inspired it’ Wall Street Journal

    'A wonderful novel, mysterious, steeped in atmosphere, deeply revealing about the process of painting…truly magical' Guardian

    ‘It is no wonder that this beautifully-written story has sold more than five million copies and been made into a successful film. An absolute triumph’ Woman’s Weekly

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateApr 17, 2009
    ISBN9780007324361
    Author

    Tracy Chevalier

    Tracy Chevalier is the author of the New York Times bestsellers At the Edge of the Orchard and Girl with a Pearl Earring, among others. She lives in London.  

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    Reviews for Girl With a Pearl Earring

    4/5

    156 ratings160 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      4.5 Stars. A well told story and excellent reading experience that just carries you away. An interesting perspective of life in 17th Century Holland and how artists frame pictures, and structure a picture. Tracy Chevalier's books may be short but they do have a flavour all of their own and give you an experience of life in the times she writes about. I very much look forward to my next book by her.
    • 2/5
      Unfortunately the painting is far more interesting than the book.
    • 5/5
      The artist Johannes Vermeer hires a girl (Griet) to work in his household.
    • 4/5
      delightful
    • 4/5
      I wanted more.
    • 3/5
      I was surprised really at how different a work this was from The Virgin Blue which I read immediately prior to this. It seems my experience with authors that go back and forth between past and present is that they tend to do it consistently, but this was rooted firmly in the 17th century. I enjoyed the historical aspects of a time and place with which I was not already familiar. Quick easy read.
    • 5/5
      Loved both book and movie despite thinking I wouldn't care for either. A simple story about the awakening of consciousness of art in a young woman.
    • 5/5
      An extraordinarily well-written book - the fictionalized story behind the famous Vermeer painting. Luminously written. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but these thousand words paint a magnificent picture.I went to a book-signing in January 2001 and Chevalier said she wanted the reader to fly through the book with breathless anticipation. That's certainly how I read it the first time. But then I read it again - slowly - to savor each perfect word. I prefer the slow read, and I told Chevalier that.Our book club had a lot of discussion on whether the book should have / could have ended earlier ... when she is in the center of the square deciding in which direction to go.There is a scene in the book where Vermeer is trying to get Griet to "see" the colors in the clouds. At the end of that scene Griet says "After that, I could not stop looking at things." I felt the same way on reading Girl With a Pearl Earring. Just typing this review makes me look around and really observe the world around me.Quite simply a magnificent book
    • 2/5
      Maybe I just have a problem with historical fiction, and the very good possibility that none of this ever happened the way the author says it happened.

      Also, Vermeer holds a hallowed if somewhat two-dimensional place in my heart. Perhaps I simply don't like seeing him made flesh.
    • 4/5
      A beautiful and simply written book, putting forward a theory behind the provenance of Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Very evocative of the location and time. I haven't seen the subsequent film, but would wholeheartedly recommend this beautifully written book.
    • 5/5
      Girl With a Pearl Earring is the fictionalized story behind the girl in Johannes Vermeer's famous painting with the same title. Very little is known about Vermeer's real life and no one knows who the real Girl With a Pearl Earring is so most all of the plot is from Tracy Chevalier's imagination.Sixteen year old Griet is from a poor Protestant family living in 1660s Holland. She goes to work as a housekeeper for the Vermeer family so she can help contribute to her family's dire financial situation. The work is hard and the days are long. Because of her attention to detail, Griet is given the job of cleaning Vermeer's studio and leaving everything in exactly the same place it was before she cleaned. This makes Vermeer's wife jealous - she's not even allowed in the studio because she is so clumsy.I could not put this book down. Griet is a great character. She is strong but recognizes the limitations of being a woman in the 17th century. She's smart enough to work with the social confines of her situation to survive and thrive. The relationship between Vermeer and Griet was complex, at times it seemed like a parent/child dynamic and other times it seemed to have more romantic tension. The author did a great job of putting the reader right in the middle of Delft, the town in Holland where the story takes place. I highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      A very quiet, calm book, even during the climax. The narrator's voice is firm and even throughout, interspersed with stunning moments of wit or desire which only help keep the reader entranced. Vermeer himself is portrayed as silent and monumental as a stone. Usually, I would think that having the two main characters remain so still would be a detriment to any novel, but in this instance it came off as a masterpiece.
    • 3/5
      One of my favorite books of all time.
    • 4/5
      Good book, couldn't predict the ending...fun to read about that time period.
    • 5/5
      Loved everything about this book - the characters, the description, and the plot. The book led me to investigate Vermeer's paintings. Would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction. Also would point them to "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" - another wonderful Vermeer story
    • 3/5
      I love the book for its details of Vermeer's time.
    • 4/5
      An apparently inocuous historical fiction that, nevertheless, in a simple way, conveys the unique atmosphere of the time and the beauty in the art of painting. Unpretentious but lovely, unassuming and yet sublime.
    • 4/5
      This was not the story I was expecting when I downloaded it and I am so glad it wasn't. I really enjoyed the simplicity of this story. The narrator (Jenna Lamia) only added to the simplicity. Griet was an interesting character that added a new dynamic to this artist's family life. She was swept up in his artistic life without losing herself completely to it. I loved hearing about how the various paintings were planned out and executed. I also loved the ending of the story and could not have imagined a better one."
    • 5/5
      This was a good fast read. Nice Historical Fiction to take you away.
    • 5/5
      Fascinating dramatization of the creation of a painting as well as life in Amsterdam at that time.
    • 5/5
      Lovely setting and mood.
    • 5/5
      A great book by one of my favorite authors. If you haven't read any of her books, this is a great one to start with. The characters are believable and endearing.
    • 4/5
      Girl with a Pearl Earring is an elegant blend of fact and fiction that is well-researched and poetic. The author writes about the known 17th century Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer, from the point of view of his fictional muse, Griet, and she weaves a fantastical, but plausible, story of how the painting that he is most famous for came to be. The language is beautiful, the story is full of subtle tension, and it is enjoyable to witness Griet's awakening, not only with regards to art, but to life in general. When, and if, I ever see the painting, I will not look at it in the same way. This novel would be most enjoyed by those who love art and historical fiction.
    • 5/5
      Loved this story and now want the painting! Amazing that the author could create an entire story around one painting. Guess it is true that "a picture is worth a thousand words".
    • 4/5
      For a story where not very much actually happens, this is a great read. I hadn't seen the film so did not have any image in my head. However, such pictures are painted with the words that I could see the characters and settings.
    • 4/5
      Well written and engaging. Very nice indeed.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful and very interesting.
    • 5/5
      I'm an easy audience for this kind of book, mixing real historical people with fiction, even more so when it's about art... I liked this book a lot, I thought the narrative was very evocative and I felt like I was right there, in Vermeer's house.
    • 5/5
      An excellent book. A great story weaved around a real painting. Perfectly conveyed the atmosphere of Delft in the 17th century
    • 5/5
      Great changes and public events take place mainly at the domestic and emotional level to those making them happen. Chevalier is again superb at portraying a period by focussing on the interior lives of its under-regarded bit-part players. So here we are in the prosperous confident Delft of the 17th century, and she brings alive the tile-painters, water haulers, and market-traders, as well as the petty domestic tiffs and travails of the busy Vermeer household, overfull of children, servants, artistic expressiveness, and debt.