The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

This one has a clever twist on a family saga that takes place over many generations. Instead of constantly introducing all the new members of a family that it would take to fill the time between 1486 and the present day, Tracy Chevalier has devised a scenario where on the island of Murano, time doesn't move in the same way as the rest of the world, and that allows her to keep the same central characters living through many centuries.

The Rosso family are glassmakers, and we are presented with an overview of the the trade as it moves from only producing quality pieces for the aristocracy in the fifteenth century to the mass production of tourist trinkets in the present day.

Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter of a glassmaking family, and as a woman she is not allowed into the workshops or to have anything to do with the production of glass. Her job is to assist her mother in the running of the house and deal with the vast quantities of laundry and cooking that are required by a multi-generational household. This role was to be her lot until such time as she married into another glassmaking family, but after seeing a neighbouring glassmakers wife producing ornamental glass beads, she discovers a newly emerging market that she can work for without needing to use the huge furnace in the workshop.

All her beads are created by spinning fine strands of glass around a metal rod to give them clarity and depth, and after a while she is proficient in handling all the vibrant colours that she can lay her hands on. Her brothers take no notice of this 'worthless' work and their disinterest allows her to quietly build her reputation with a German merchant who trades her work alongside traditional pieces of Murano glass.

There is a lot of history bound up in the story and Tracy Chevalier has clearly put in many hours doing her research. We have all heard of Venice and the nearby island of Murano, but not many of us will know how the trade in glass was built up over the years and how it reacted to global issues such as war and plague.

This is an excellent book from the author of The Girl with the Pearl Earring and really makes history come alive.

Comments

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