The Glassmaker
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By Tracy Chevalier
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1 review
‘Spellbinding’ ELIF SHAFAK
‘Ingenious’ THE TIMES, Book of the Year ’Sparkling’OBSERVER ‘A triumph’ PHILIP PULLMAN ‘As finely wrought as a dazzling Murano bead’ INDEPENDENT ’Meticulously researched and evoking the beauty of the Venice lagoon’ PHILIPPA GREGORY ‘A spectacular feat, crafted by a maestra at the top of her game’ SPECTATOR FROM THE GLOBALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle. Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime. Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss. The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her? Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass. TweetResources for this book
Reviews
St Just Thursday Evening Reading Group 5th February 2026.
The Glassmaker. Tracy Chevalier.
A different take on the popular time-slip concept: a very clever one, and very interesting. We discussed to what extent we thought this structure worked, and what opportunities it allowed. Comparisons were made with The Time Traveler’s Wife.
We talked about the city of Venice, its construction, its continuity, its isolation and how its citizens referred to the “Terra Firma” as a land outside their experience, and how many things stayed the same through the centuries.
It was also mentioned how the art of glassmaking did not apparently alter very much from the 15th century to the 17th, and how it changed from the 19th century onwards.
Some readers felt that the characters were not very well developed, except for Orsola, but that strong female characters tended to recur.
A very interesting book to read, highly descriptive of Venice, and fascinating especially to those who have visited the city.
