About this item
A beguiling story about artistic vision and sensual depth that eerily and eloquently re-creates the feeling of the famous painting that inspired itIn seventeenth-century Delft, there's a strict social order-rich and poor, Catholic and Protestant, master and servant-and all know their place. When Griet becomes a maid in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, she thinks she knows her role: housework, laundry, and the care of his six children. She even feels able to handle his shrewd mother-in-law; his restless, sensual wife; and their jealous servant. What no one expects is that Griet's quiet manner, quick perceptions, and fascination with her master's paintings will draw her inexorably into his world. Their growing intimacy sparks whispers; and when Vermeer paints her wearing his wife's pearl earrings, the gossip escalates into a full-blown scandal that irrevocably changes Griet's life.
About the Author
Born:19 October 1962 in Washington, DC. Youngest of 3 children. Father was a photographer for The Washington Post. Childhood:Nerdy. Spent a lot of time lying on my bed reading. Favorite authors back then: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madeleine L'Engle, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Joan Aiken, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander. Book I would have taken to a desert island: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Education:BA in English, Oberlin College, Ohio, 1984. No one was surprised that I went there; I was made for such a progressive, liberal place. MA in creative writing, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, 1994. There's a lot of debate about whether or not you can be taught to write. Why doesn't anyone ask that of professional singers, painters, dancers? That year forced me to write all the time and take it seriously. Geography:Moved to London after graduating from Oberlin in 1984. I had studied for a semester in London and thought it was a great place, so came over for fun, expecting to go back to the US after 6 months to get serious. I'm still in London, and still not entirely serious. Even have dual citizenship - though I keep the American accent intact. Family:1 English husband 1 English son 1 tortoiseshell cat.Career:Before writing, was a reference book editor, working on encyclopedias about writers. (Yup, still nerdy.) Learned how to research and how to make sentences better. Eventually I wanted to fix my own sentences rather than others', so I quit and did the MA.Writing:Talked a lot about becoming a writer as a kid, but actual pen to paper contact was minimal. Started writing short stories in my 20s, then began first novel, The Virgin Blue, during the MA year. With Girl With a Pearl Earring (written in 1998) , I became a full-time writer, and have since juggled it with motherhood
