The novel opens as Thea Brandt turns 18. Motherless, she lives with her aunt Nella, her father Otto and their servant, Cornelia, in a large house located on one of the most prestigious canals of Amsterdam, in 1705. Despite the “variegated multiplicity” of this city port, where traders from all walks of life already mingle at the time, the young woman, who is mixed race, attracts curious glances because of her features considered too dark. Anxious to protect her, her aunt looks for a good match for her, convinced that only marriage can ensure her future. Thus Nella multiplies the steps so that her niece is well visible in the upper spheres of the bourgeoisie. But her plans are dangerously compromised by the fact that Thea is secretly dating the set painter at the theater where she spends all her free time, and their financial situation continues to plummet. Torn between her dreams of freedom and her aunt’s ambitions, Thea must decide which way to go, as her choices will affect her entire family.
Whether you like historical novels or not, you will fall under the spell of this bewitching novel, despite its fairly classic plot. Jessie Burton’s pen is of an irresistible magnetism that the translator (who translates the novels of David Vann, among others) knew how to render impeccably. It is read to discover life in Amsterdam in the 18th century, which is reconstructed in minute detail through all those little things of everyday life – the kitchen, the damp cold of winter, the clothes, the movements… But also to immerse in the intimacy of a clan that defies the norms of the time, and for its characters worthy of Greek tragedies, undermined by secrets and the weight of shame. The heroine, Thea Brandt, shines on her own with an intensity reminiscent of the young Emily Brontë, played by Emma Mackey in Frances O’Connor’s film Emily (released last winter). If all fans of the genre will love it, novices will be treated to a pleasant surprise.
The Golden House is the independent sequel to Miniaturist, Jessie Burton’s first novel that has become a real worldwide bestseller since its release (in 2015, at Gallimard). The author makes many references to events that occurred in the previous title (which she summarizes at the beginning), but these do not in any way prevent us from following the thread of the story if we have not read it. . On the contrary, after having completed The Golden House, we will only want to discover Miniaturist even more to find, 18 years earlier, a young newly married Nella, to meet Thea’s mother before her birth. , and lift the veil on this mysterious miniaturist whose shadow returns to hover over the Brandt family in The Golden House.
