A tale of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception and retribution -- set in a refined society ablaze with tulip fever.
In 1630s Amsterdam, tulip... read full description
In 1630s Amsterdam, tulip... read full description
reviews
Feb 05, 2011
Friends of
rated it: 
Deborah Moggach paints a convincing and resonant portrait of a world poised between religion and secularism, tradition and trade, city and globe. Her appreciation for Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other painters of their ilk infuses her physical descriptions as well as her verbal renderings of visual art. Like the Dutch still lives and portraits from the 17th century, Moggach's novel delves into the relationship between body, sex, mortality, spirit, and art. The voluptuousness of the flesh only draws
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Jan 06, 2011
bookczuk
rated it: 
Kind of a sad little book -- "the course of true love never did run smooth" proven true. I picked it up because the back cover spoke of Amsterdam in the 1630's during the height of tulipmania. And it spoke of some painters of the time, many of whom I like a great deal.
The story is several intertwined, and told from varying points of view: Wealthy Cornelis Sandvoort and his beautiful wife Sophia, their maid-servant Maria and her fishmonger lover Willem, painter Jan van L More...
The story is several intertwined, and told from varying points of view: Wealthy Cornelis Sandvoort and his beautiful wife Sophia, their maid-servant Maria and her fishmonger lover Willem, painter Jan van L More...
Jul 18, 2010
Cat
rated it:
This book was voluptuous historical fiction without anyone's bodice actually getting ripped off. (There's sex and love in the book -- just no actual bodice-ripping or silly over-the-top romance.)
Moggach paints a convincing and resonant portrait of a world poised between religion and secularism, tradition and trade, city and globe. Her appreciation for Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other painters of their ilk infuses her physical descriptions as well as her verbal renderings of visual art More...
Moggach paints a convincing and resonant portrait of a world poised between religion and secularism, tradition and trade, city and globe. Her appreciation for Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other painters of their ilk infuses her physical descriptions as well as her verbal renderings of visual art More...
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Jun 23, 2010
Sophia
rated it:
Deborah Moggach's Tulip Fever is set during an interesting historical moment: 1636 Amsterdam. Ten years after the Dutch purchased Manhattan island, while Harvard College was being formed an ocean away, Amsterdam was in the midst of a tulip speculation bubble. Unfortunately, Tulip Fever mainly concerns itself with a melodramatic love story. When wealthy, heirless merchant Cornelis Sandvoort aimed at immortality by commissioning Jan van Loos to paint a portrait of himself and his young wife Sophia
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May 25, 2009
Sun
rated it: 
Set in 17th century Amsterdam, Sophia is the young wife of the rich but wrinkly Cornelis, who commissions a painting of himself with his wife. Sophia is essentially a listless housewife who falls for Jan, the stereotypical artist with a messy studio and unbrushed hair. Their story is juxtaposed to the romance between Maria, Sophia's maid, and Willem, a simple fishmonger.
Moggach adopts a cloying style and the main characters are uninspired and unsympathetic. The manuscript should hav More...
Moggach adopts a cloying style and the main characters are uninspired and unsympathetic. The manuscript should hav More...
Sep 10, 2011
Diana
rated it:
The tulip speculation bubble is only an aside in what is basically a 17th century soap opera. The time period offered so much potential, not just the tulip bulbs, but also an age of great Dutch artists, unfortunately none of it is explored in any substantive way. In retrospect, save 2 chapters (one about a bulb grower and one about Jan's bulb trading, this novel could be transposed to almost any place/time.
Perhaps the best thing I can say is that it reads quickly with its short chapt More...
Perhaps the best thing I can say is that it reads quickly with its short chapt More...
Apr 26, 2009
liz
rated it:
An historical novel set in Amsterdam about painting, love, and - yep - tulip fever. I liked it overall, even though it was slightly predictable, and the characters weren't especially complex. One thing that I wasn't sure if I would like but did is that Moggach writes each of the chapters from different points of view - including some as "The Painting" or "Autumn." While I was nervous at first that this would be too gimmicky, she keeps the more abstract chapters short, and
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Aug 30, 2011
Jean
rated it:
I have read nearly all Deborah Moggach's novels and enjoyed them very much, but I put off reading "Tulip Fever" as it seemed very different from her modern novels. Apparently the book was inspired by various Dutch paintings which are shown in the book and is set in 17th century Amsterdam.
The plot is rather far-fetched, bordering on fantasy, quite unlike her other well-crafted modern novels. One has to suspend belief at the twists and turns of the plot and none of the characte More...
The plot is rather far-fetched, bordering on fantasy, quite unlike her other well-crafted modern novels. One has to suspend belief at the twists and turns of the plot and none of the characte More...
Feb 01, 2012
Andrea
rated it: 
This was a great story set in Seventeenth-century Amsterdam. In the grip of tulip mania the story describes an atmosphere like that of a gambling den where opium is being smoked. All the city is speculating and prices are climbing ever higher. There is also a love of art and the finer things in life. Everyone is striving for more and this story twists and turns leading us down a path with the many players to a new life for each. For some it may not have been what they had dreamed for them
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Jun 03, 2009
Sandy
rated it:
A poignant book about an older man whose beautiful young wife falls in love with a painter and together they hatch and attempt to carry out a plan to escape from him..... It was called 'a love story' but I found absolutely no compassion for either of the lovers nor anything romantic about their trysts. All I felt was the eventual sadness and despair of this good, older man who dearly loved hi wife..... Young love did nothing for me.... guess I'm getting old! The book was, however, interesting fo
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Oct 23, 2009
Kristen
rated it:
I have decided to read different fictional books books that include the tulipomania that crossed Europe in the 1600s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania in case you're interested). Just something fun to do.
This book read, like one of the reviews said on the back, like a thriller. It sets up the characters and their situations for a while, and I wasn't hooked until the plot started to thicken. I couldn't wait to see how all of the various subplots panned out. I zoomed throug More...
This book read, like one of the reviews said on the back, like a thriller. It sets up the characters and their situations for a while, and I wasn't hooked until the plot started to thicken. I couldn't wait to see how all of the various subplots panned out. I zoomed throug More...
Mar 30, 2011
Karen
rated it:
In the 1630s Amsterdam, a wealthy businessman is married to a beautiful, younger wife. He commissions an artist to paint their portrait. Predictably, the young wife falls in love with the young artist. There are some other twists and turns that are not predictable and there is some suspense about how the 2 young lovers are going to pull off their plans for the future; however I was not pulled into the story and could not get interested in the characters.
This is a love story with dece More...
This is a love story with dece More...
Jul 02, 2009
A wonderful "portrait" of Amsterdam in the 1630's which is abuzz with tulipomania. In the midst of this the main characters interact in a rollicking farce of passion, intrigue, and greed. Deborah Moggach,the British author of twelve previous novels, writes colorfully yet sparingly as each chapter unfolds like a picture book.
The author herself is a colorful character who lives in Hampstead, London, my old stamping ground, and it turns out that my brother and I knew her in the ea More...
The author herself is a colorful character who lives in Hampstead, London, my old stamping ground, and it turns out that my brother and I knew her in the ea More...
Oct 18, 2009
Ali
rated it:
This is a really pacy pageturner, and historical too, and I enjoy historical fiction. Not sure the narrative voice was always authentic to the period - Sophia did not feel like a 17th century young woman to me at all. But it was certainly a good read. The lies and deceptions carried out by the characters in the well constructed plot make this unputdownable. I felt really sorry for poor old Cornelis, who is the one most duped by everyone. Not knowing anything about the Tulipomania in Amsterdam a
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Jan 30, 2009
Ladiibbug
rated it:
Read prior to 2008 - Historical Fiction ... and SO much more!
Tulip Fever is way high up on my list of "The Best Books I've Ever Read." And Tulip Fever is #1 on my list of "All-Time, Incredible, Jaw Dropping Book Endings."
Set in Amsterdam amid the wild speculation in the tulip and tulip bulb speculation, a young woman is married to an kind, older, wealthy merchant who is deeply in love with her. She, however, is in love with another.
Desper More...
Tulip Fever is way high up on my list of "The Best Books I've Ever Read." And Tulip Fever is #1 on my list of "All-Time, Incredible, Jaw Dropping Book Endings."
Set in Amsterdam amid the wild speculation in the tulip and tulip bulb speculation, a young woman is married to an kind, older, wealthy merchant who is deeply in love with her. She, however, is in love with another.
Desper More...
Apr 19, 2011
Susan
rated it:
Deborah Moggach's Tulip Fever is a fine airlines book that kept me company for most of an 8-hour flight from Amsterdam to DC. Although the plot is too compact and symmetrical to be quite believable, Moggach does a great job of animating Dutch genre paintings of the first half of the 17th century and showing what I think is a decline into still lifes. A minor portrait painter develops a passion for his sitter, the delectable wife of an old and prosperous Dutch trader just as tulipomania hits.
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Jul 10, 2011
Taylor
rated it:
Found this book on the recycle shelf at the resort in Greece after I'd finished the two books I brought with me. Was THRILLED at how beautifully she writes. Was sucked in to what would happen in the end, even though I can't stand reading books about people who make foolishly bad decisions. Thought it was interesting how the story line matched up with real works of art. Liked reading about Amsterdam in the 1600s after we'd just been there last week--could really picture the canals and streets
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Jan 15, 2011
Raina
rated it:
Deborah Moggach paints a convincing and resonant portrait of a world poised between religion and secularism, tradition and trade, city and globe. Her appreciation for Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other painters of their ilk infuses her physical descriptions as well as her verbal renderings of visual art. Like the Dutch still lives and portraits from the 17th century, Moggach's novel delves into the relationship between body, sex, mortality, spirit, and art. The voluptuousness of the flesh only draws
More...
Oct 26, 2009
bookyeti
rated it: 
a lewd attempt at historical fiction
Cornelis Sandvoort is a middle-aged merchant living in 17th century Amsterdam. He wants to capture his prosperity on canvas and commissions artist Jan van Loos to to paint a portrait of himself and his beautiful young wife, Sophia, whom he has ‘rescued’ from a life of poverty. When the roguish painter Jan van Loos and Sophia fall in love, they resolve to do anything to stay together. An elaborate deception ensues!
Despite the title and b More...
Cornelis Sandvoort is a middle-aged merchant living in 17th century Amsterdam. He wants to capture his prosperity on canvas and commissions artist Jan van Loos to to paint a portrait of himself and his beautiful young wife, Sophia, whom he has ‘rescued’ from a life of poverty. When the roguish painter Jan van Loos and Sophia fall in love, they resolve to do anything to stay together. An elaborate deception ensues!
Despite the title and b More...
Sep 02, 2007
Friend the Girl
rated it:
... or believability, or chronological consistency. I'm a big history nerd when it comes to the 1600s in general, and I really like good historical fiction. So far, this isn't it. The book had promise, being set in Amsterdam in 1630, when tulip speculation was just starting to take over Holland and entire fortunes were made and lost over flower bulbs. Tulip Fever focuses on an elderly merchant, his young wife, and the painter commissioned to immortalize them on canvas during the peak of their we
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Mar 29, 2009
Phyllis
rated it:
I will be travelling in Holland from May-June. Although the copyright is 1999 the theme is vaguely familiar. It is set in 1630 Amsterdam and describes tulipomania which has seized the country. The story surrounds the life of a young beautiful wife, Sophia, who is married to a much older rich merchant, Cornelis Sandvoort. A young artist, Jan van Loos, is commissioned to paint the couple. You can imagine what will happen but the final outcome is a major deception involving many characters.
Jul 29, 2011
Jayne
rated it:
An unusual setting for a novel, particularly from this author who generally writes about the modern age. She has done her research, though, and this book is full of atmospheric historical detail contained within her usual lively prose. The edition I read even had a series of photographs showing Dutch art of the seventeenth century, which provided added context. The story is of a secret love affair and a daring deception. You desperately want it to work out, but fear it may not.... A good read wi
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Oct 13, 2009
LindyLouMac
rated it:
It is five years since I have read a book by this author and I found it rather different from previous titles I have read by her. It is a sad and beautifully written novel but I did not find it all stimulating. It took me a long time to get into the story and I nearly gave up, not doing so only because I have never found any of this authors work so disappointing before now. There was no depth in my opinion, either to the characters or in the story which is basically very touching.
Apr 03, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
Reminded me of "The girl with a pearl earring" as it is set in Amsterdam during Rembrant's lifetime. Not as touching as "The girl..." but still an enjoyable read. Young wife marries older man to escape a life of poverty then falls in love with the portrait painter employed by her husband. A torrid affair follows with a faked pregnancy to complicate things and many caped scamperings along canal board walks by the young wife to reach her lovers loft.
Mar 17, 2009
Judy
rated it:
A fast paced read set in 1630s Holland during the peak of tulipmania--when a single bulb was more valuable than a mansion or gold--but an interesting view of the times through the young wife of an older well-to-do businessman, her maid, her lover who is also one of the dutch painters. There are enough twists, turns and surprises to make this a great murder mystery--without a murder. I couldn't put it down during the last third of the book.
Mar 15, 2008
Beth
rated it:
An interesting but flawed book read by Ruia Lenska, a woman with a very deep voice. The story takes place in Amsterdam in the 1630s and focuses on Sophia, Cornelis, and Jan van Loos. Cornelis, a 61 year-old widower, has remarried. Sophia, his young, beautiful wife, has traded her beauty for financial security for herself and her family. When Cornelis decides to have their portrait painted by Jan van Loos, he unwittingly invites passion and infidelity into his home. Told from varying points
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Aug 26, 2009
Julie
rated it:
I was a little disappointed by this book. The background--speculation in tulip bulb in Holland during the 17th century--wasn't fleshed out enough. It wasn't clear to me why the Dutch went so crazy about tulip bulbs, to the point that one bulb could be sold for a small fortune--enough to buy a house. The setting and plot seemed a bit familiar/derivative after the recent spate of novels that jump off from a painting, such as Girl with the Pearl Earring.
Jul 16, 2009
Linda
rated it:
“Young Sophia marries elderly Cornelius Sandvoort, a wealthy merchant, to escape poverty and help her family. When Cornelius decides to have their portrait painted, Jan van Loos, a talented penniless painter, awakens Sophia’s desires and she succumbs to the two Dutch passions for art and tulips. In order to flee Amsterdam together, the lovers need money so they gamble their limited funds on tulip bulb speculation."
Aug 29, 2011
Jillian
rated it:
"It was ok" is exactly how I would describe my feelings on this book. It did keep me turning pages to find out how they were going to get out of the impossible situation they set up for themselves, but I never really connected with any of the characters. The alternating first-person/third-person narration didn't do much for me either. I guess I prefer "happier" books - this one left me feeling heavy and hopeless.
Aug 20, 2009
JoAnne
rated it:
"She stands there, motionless. She is suspended, caught between past and present. She is color, waiting to be mixed; a painting, ready to be brushed into life. She is a moment waiting to be fixed forever under a shiny varnish."
1630's Amsterdam, historical fiction sprinkled with painters and tulips. Reminds me of Girl With a Pearl Earring, mostly loved it.
1630's Amsterdam, historical fiction sprinkled with painters and tulips. Reminds me of Girl With a Pearl Earring, mostly loved it.
