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Midnight Blue

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Midnight Blue

By: Simone van der Vlugt
Narrated by: Imogen Church
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About this listen

Amsterdam 1654: a dangerous secret threatens to destroy a young widow’s new life.

Following the sudden death of her husband, twenty-five year old Catrin leaves her small village and takes a job as housekeeper to the successful Van Nulandt merchant family. Amsterdam is a city at the peak of its powers: science and art are flourishing and Dutch ships bring back exotic riches from the Far East.

When a figure from her past threatens her new life, Catrin flees to Delft. There, her painting talent earns her a chance as a pottery painter. Slowly, the workshop begins to develop a new type of pottery to rival the coveted Chinese porcelain – and Delft Blue is born. But when tragedy strikes, Catrin has a hard choice to make.

Rich and engrossing, Midnight Blue is perfect for fans of Tulip Fever and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

 Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance World Literature

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Critic reviews

‘A beautiful story about the fate of a seventeenth-century young woman and the early days of the blue-and-white pottery from Delft… You live and suffer with Catrijn. You recognise her dilemmas.’
Nederlands Dagblad (Netherlands Daily)

‘Van der Vlugt has immersed herself in the pottery painting of the time and weaves fact and fiction into a gripping story.’ Leidsch Dagblad (Leiden Daily)

'A clever story about a strong woman.' Leestafel

'A great historical novel, with thriller aspects and romance.' Biepmiepje

'The local colour, the fascinating story, the interesting history, definitely for me born in Delft, means you read MIDNIGHT BLUE in one sitting.' boekenbloggenderwijs.nl
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Nothing much to learn here about the art of pottery painting, life in either rural or urban Netherlands of the time, or human relationships generally. The setting could have been any modern place in a 1st or 2nd world country and could have been a lot more believable. Gave up at the half.

21st century concepts in 17th century surroundings

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A beautiful book. Full of suspense and passion right to the very last word. The historical events bring it to live and tell an even bigger story. Really recommend it

Suspense and passion to the very last word

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I am a Brit living in Amsterdam and picked this book up for the background setting, and in this regard it was interesting. Though it’s a novel, the places and the historical background are real and there were some genuinely illuminating insights into some Dutch history (the origins and rise of Delftware) and some real events of the 17c.
It is a very light read and I knew from the earliest chapters where it was heading (predictable temporarily thwarted romance, with all impediments conveniently removed before the rather coy denouement).
I didn’t really enjoy the readers voice. So combined with the simplicity of language and the predictability of the narrative arc I was left a bit unsatisfied.
I looked for shades of Tracey Chevalier and in terms of historical setting I got it. Otherwise not.

Predictable historical romance

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