Topping Introduction: Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist, set in 17th century Amsterdam, is a riveting tale of dualities: love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and reality.

Based on the real tradition of giving a bride a miniature replica of her new home, so that she can practice her homemaking skills, it is a wonderful story about a young woman in difficult circumstances. Surrounded by the mysterious household of her new, wealthy husband in Amsterdam, Nella begins to furnish her tiny replica house with the help of a strange ‘miniaturist’ craftsman, whose creations begin to mirror the real home in unnerving ways.

Written in a style that is at once both intoxicating and thrilling, The Miniaturist is a novel possessed of an extraordinarily original voice, weaving an addictive plot with complex characters and an atmosphere of the profoundly mysterious. The Miniaturist, with its visceral take on race, class and sex, is a must-read to fans of The Goldfinch and The Girl With the Pearl Earring.