The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

This has been on my ‘to read’ list for ages so I was looking forward to reading it after hearing so much about it.  The setting for the novel is 17^th century Amsterdam, which I found interesting.  The story is told from the point of view of Nella, a young woman from the countryside and newly married to Johannes Brandt, a successful merchant.  It is a marriage of convenience.  On arriving at her new home Nella is apprehensive about married life and how to run such an important household.  Her unease is increased when she meets Marin, Johannes remote and severe sister.  Marin used to be mistress of the household, but offers little guidance to Nella.  Each night Nella waits for her husband’s arrival in the matrimonial bed, but he never appears.  It is clear from fairly early on that Nella is living in a house of secrets.  As a late wedding present Johannes buys her a miniature replica of their home.  At first Nella views his choice of gift as childish, but then she orders some miniature pieces to go in the house and becomes obsessed with her new hobby.  She is impressed by the craftsmanship of the pieces and becomes fascinated when she learns they are made by a woman.  But when pieces start arriving that Nella hasn't ordered and that seem to forecast the future she becomes frightened.  I liked the way that Nella’s character developed.  I found the Miniaturist the least interesting part and felt that this sub-plot could have been removed without affecting the rest of the story.  There are some beautiful descriptions and I enjoyed Jessie's writing style.