book cover of The Miniaturist
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The Miniaturist

(2014)
(The first book in the Miniaturist series)
A novel by

 
 
Awards
2014 British Book Award Book of the Year
2014 British Book Award Fiction Book of the Year

The phenomenal number one bestseller and a major BBC TV series.
A Richard and Judy Book Club Pick.

Winner of the Specsavers National Book Award and Waterstones Book of the Year.

Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with heart-pounding suspense, Jessie Burton's historical novel set in Amsterdam, The Miniaturist, is a story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution.

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways . . .

Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its secrets she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their salvation or the architect of their downfall?

'My first instinct on finishing this book was to immediately read it again' - Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites


Genre: Historical

Praise for this book

"Utterly transporting, The Miniaturist is one of those rare debut novels that excels in every regard. The past is brought to life in potent, sensory detail: one feels steeped in it. Burton's prose beguiles the reader, while a riptide of a plot takes hold with an unrelenting grip of suspense. My first instinct on finishing this book was to immediately read it again." - Hannah Kent

"A remarkable debut – complex, involving and deeply atmospheric." - Deborah Moggach

"The Miniaturist is that rarest of things – beautifully written, yet also a compelling page-turner. It's haunting, magical, and full of surprises, the kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading." - S J Watson


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