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The Golden Tulip: A Novel |
Author: Rosalind Laker
Published: 2007-11-27 |
List price: $14.95
Our price: $10.17
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As of: January 06th, 2009 08:04:30 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 I loved it
I read novels at night, some nights I read for 10 minutes, other nights maybe a half hour. With this book I was reading for an hour or more because I couldn't put it down. I loved the book and it certainly kept me interested. I will be buying more books by Rosalind Laker.
 A plethora of interesting subjects
This novel was extremely interesting, as it covered a wide scope of areas: art and the Amsterstam artist's guild, tulip growing and tulip mania, and the context of the Dutch war with France.
The characters are well-developed, and the female protagonist is one which was easy to relate to.
However, there was not a strong beginning to this novel, and I would advice readers to stick with it through the first few chapters as it does get much better. The problem, in my opinion, with the beginning of this novel is that the author has tried to pack in too much background information in a short period of time. It gets tiresome, as each page skips to years ahead. A quick prologue may have been a better way of allowing the reader to acquire the necessary background information.
Yet, once you are past these initial chapters, the story takes over and you will find yourself emerged in the fascinating world of 17th century Amsterdam.
Review by Mirella Patzer - Historical Fiction Author
Bloodstone Castle
Heinrich the Fowler: Father of the Ottonian Empire
In 18th century Holland, after the tulip trade boom, the Dutch people turn their interests and their hearts to artists such as Rembrandt and Franz Halls. Hendrick Visser is a student of art under Franz Hall. The sale of his paintings would earn him a comfortable living were it not for his compulsive gambling and incessant drinking. His vices continually force his family into a hand-to-mouth existence and always on the edge of devastation and financial ruin. Despite his failings, his wife Anna, and three daughters Francesca, Aletta, and Sybylla, love him and help him through his scrapes. When Hendrick's wife dies in childbirth, his three daughters become even more vulnerable to their father's vice-driven whims and desperate acts.
Francesca, Hendrick's eldest daughter is a talented artist and she has been assigned to study with Johannes Vermeer, a master artist from Delft. Francesca falls in love with Pieter van Doorne, a tulip merchant. Meanwhile, Hendrick looses heavily at gambling. Desperate to pay off his gambling debts, he secretly enters into an arrangement and ransoms Francesca off to unscrupulous man named Ludolf van Deventer who has become obsessed with her, even to the point of committing murder. Not only is Francesca terrified of the man, but she is also repulsed by him.
Aletta is fearful of leaving her future in the hands of her father so she begins to paint, selling her work secretly to a lower class of society. When Hendrick discovers her sub-standard clandestine ventures into the art world, he destroys her paintings and banishes her from his home and his life.
Sybylla seeks escape through marriage into a rich family and is highly materialistic.
The Golden Tulip is a tale about the three sisters and their struggles to overcome the turmoil in their lives caused not only by societal mores and values, but by addiction. Rosalind Laker sweeps her reader into 18th century Holland, successfully bringing to life wonderful vividness and authenticity. She knows well the customs, history, and world of artists during that time. As always, her novels have wonderful three dimensional characters and extraordinary plot twists. Rosalind Laker's novels never ever disappoint and always make for fascinating reads.
Not what the back cover said.
The Golden Tulip
This is my first book from this author. I did really enjoy it. Three sisters help guide their father and take care of him after their mother has passed during childbirth. One is the caretaker, one is selfish and one is in between. The father has bad gambling problems and gambles the worst thing EVER, his oldest daughter's future to one of his patron's to get out of a HUGE gambling debt. We follow Francesca's story quite a bit, but we also follow the other two sisters as well.
I did enjoy this book quite a bit, I won't give away anything in my review. It had me hooked from Chapter 1. I could just picture Holland. However, it wasn't as it said on the back cover. "Tulip mania" had already ended. It will be an unforgettable book and I will be wanting to check out more from Ms. Laker.
Very addicting and well written...
The Golden Tulip will appeal to the heart of all those who struggle to reach their dreams. The story, set in periods of Dutch history, weaves innocence and deception into a captivating tale.
You are carried back in time to notable confrontations with stunning realism. Artistic creativity of the true masters, bright and bold fields of tulips, and the dark side of unethical behavior all surface in unexpected places. Each chapter addresses the challenges of one of the character, and you are often left wondering when they will reappear. If you try to predict the next move, you best put on your detective cloak. The author skillfully uses twists and turns surprising even the best of readers.
The characters, though a bit confusing at first, grow vivid and real with each turning page. Some are intensely and intimately described and yet others are mysterious shadows. There is a wonderful variety of naivety, common sense, shocking reality and evil in its purest form. Action fills almost every page and a rollercoaster of emotional challenges soon beset the reader.
The story has many side plots which enhance the book. You will find a wide web of intrigue at its finest, romance with shocking consequences, and shameful dishonesty with scandalous results. The overall writing style flows easily. The settings and actions come alive as the author reaches not only your senses but your heart as well.
The Golden Tulip is a wonderful story for those who love to dream. It may surprise you what the human heart can endure...and still survive.
Armchair Interviews says: Everyone can relate to having dreams.
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