Tulip Fever | 
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
In Tulip Fever, acclaimed author Deborah Moggach has created that rarest of novels--a literary tour de force that is also brilliantly, compulsively readable. Not since Patrick Suskind's Perfume has a work of fiction so vividly evoked a time, a place, and a passion.
In 1630s Amsterdam, tulip fever has seized the populace. Everywhere men are seduced by the fantastic exotic flower. But for wealthy merchant Cornelis Sandvoort, it is his young and beautiful wife, Sophia, who stirs his soul. She is the prize he desires, the woman he hopes will bring him the joy that not even his considerable fortune can buy.
Cornelis yearns for an heir, but so far he and Sophia have failed to produce one. In a bid for immortality, he commissions a portrait of them both by the talented young painter Jan van Loos. But as Van Loos begins to capture Sophia's likeness on canvas, a slow passion begins to burn between the beautiful young wife and the talented artist. As the portrait unfolds, so a slow dance is begun among the household's inhabitants. Ambitions, desires, and dreams breed a grand deception--and as the lies multiply, events move toward a thrilling and tragic climax.
In this richly imagined international bestseller, Deborah Moggach deftly brings to life a world of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception--and tulips.
Deborah Moggach is the author of twelve previous novels. She lives in London.
But as Van Loos begins to capture Sophia's likeness on canvas, a slow passion begins to burn between the beautiful young wife and the talented artist. As the portrait unfolds, so a slow dance is begun among the household's inhabitants. Ambitions, desires, and dreams breed a grand deception--and as the lies multiply, events move toward a thrilling and tragic climax.
In this richly imagined international bestseller, Deborah Moggach deftly brings to life a world of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception--and tulips.
Amazon.com Review
Deborah Moggach's Tulip Fever takes place in 17th-century Amsterdam, where roguish Rembrandt wannabes like Jan van Loos are just waiting to fall into ticklish situations. In this case, a paunchy merchant named Cornelis Sandvoort wanders into the artist's studio, hoping to impress posterity with a portrait of himself and his young wife. Apart from the fat commission, which van Loos can use, there is the bride to consider. Beautiful and bored, Sophia is easily swayed by his youthful passion--but this time, the raffish van Loos actually falls in love with one of his sexual conquests. The two carry out their affair with increasing doses of rashness and deception, meanwhile becoming dependent on the complicity of a servant, the astonishing gullibility of the old man, and the fast cash to be made on the tulip-bulb exchange. The plot of Moggach's 13th novel neatly matches the speculative frenzy of the period, careening from one improbable thrill to the next. It was, to be sure, a time of stunning economic lunacy, when a single Semper Augustus bulb could be sold for "six fine horses, three oxheads of wine, a dozen sheep, two dozen silver goblets and a seascape by Esaias van de Velde." The author expertly dabs in this sort of period detail, and her chapter epigraphs quote some charming 17th-century Dutch sources on morals and conventional wisdom. Indeed, it's these quasi-surreal touches--whales washing up on the coast, chimney pots toppling into the street, women rubbing goose fat into their hands--that make the lovers' overheated sentiments so plausible. "For centuries to come," the narrator says, "people will gaze at these paintings and wonder what is about to happen." Tulip Fever gives us the chance to do exactly that. --John Ponyicsanyi
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Customer Reviews:
• Nice Cover Art, But This Book Left Me Feeling Flat 27 March, 2006
I am Dutch and lived in Holland until I was nine. I bought this book with high expectations. Yes, there are some echoes of 17th Century Dutch life in this novel. Yes, it touches on the tulip fever that left investors destitute when the bubble broke. Yes, one tulip bulb cost as much as a house.
But the plot in this book is basically about a love triangle between an artist, an old merchant, and his young wife. As a romance novel, the book is badly written. I can't imagine many men liking this book at all.
The title of this book is very misleading. I thought I'd learn a great deal about the tulip bubble that ruined so many lives. As it turns out, a high school research paper would have been more descriptive. I learned a little about 17th century Dutch artists, but not enough.
If you want to learn more about Dutch life and Dutch artists, read The Girl With the Pearl Earring or The Girl in Hyacinth Blue or The Coffee Trader.
This book didn't take long to read, and I bought it used through an Amazon discount bookseller, so I didn't waste much money either. (We Dutch are thrifty, something that does not come across in this book.)
My advice? Save your money and find this book at your local library.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A35S6VU411E1CD
• A Tale That Blossoms 28 April, 2006
Appearing at first to be shallow, predictable, and simplistic, Tulip Fever blossoms into a rich tale of passion and deception. A full cast of characters that includes a maid in a difficult situation, a servant who can't be trusted, and a doctor with regrets, all play a role in the deception planned by the two lovers. Moggach acquaints us with the ambitions, dreams, passions and disappointments of the characters which enable the deception planned by the two lovers to stand a chance at success. Although the tulip trade is not the central focus of the book, Moggach skillfully weaves it into the tale along with the cultural mores and frustrations of Amsterdam society and draws a clever parallel between tulip fever and the risks that people are willing to take to achieve happiness. Despite what I would consider to be an implausible relationship between the characters, I found Tulip Fever to be fascinating look at human nature and what drives people to do astonishing things.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1M6AXC34XFPTG
• More Of A A Small Hot Flash Than A True Fever For This Historical Fiction Fan 15 June, 2006
Tulip Fever is a kind of soap opera like historical novel, set in Amsterdam, when the city was the center of art and culture and beauty in Europe. As far as books like this one go it isn't bad, but I can't say I was overly awed by it.
This story is of a wife named Sophia with an older husband named Cornelis who falls in love with a painter named Jan van Loos who paints their portrait. Her only friend is her maid, Maria and she is hopelessly lonely. Desperate to somehow escape the comfortable but emotionally dead life she leads Sophie grabs at the chance to use Maria's pregnancy as a means of escape.
As I said, this book is very soap opera-ish. There are lots of elaborate plans, fortunes gained and lost, and a whole lot of tragedy. The setting of this novel is quite well done. Amsterdam comes alive as a city of elegant art and beauty everywhere. The tulip mania that gripped the city so badly is portrayed as a flirty business, dangerous to gamble on, but irresistible because of the beauty of the tulip in bloom.
What I didn't like about this book was the love story between Sophie and Jan. It felt extremely unconvincing. I hate stories where people talk to each other maybe once, exchange a couple of heated glances and then are all of a sudden deeply in love with each other. Because the love story doesn't pan out, a lot of the novel doesn't either. Sophie is also an unconvincing character. Not a lot of her actions make sense. Additionally the view point in this novel alternates a lot, from Sophie in first person, to everyone else, including sometimes Sophie, in third person. While I do think multiple view points were necessary for the story to be told perhaps the number of viewpoints could have been cut down on.
The really good part about this book was Maria, who had a real personality and a really convincing love and story.
Three stars in the end. If you like historical fiction you'll get some enjoyment out of this.
For more books on the tulip craze check out "Earthly Joys" by Philippa Gregory, which is about an English gardener and at one point in the book he falls in love with tulips.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2K9FXOFFHVNWG
• 17th Century Soap Opera 03 January, 2007
Deborah Moggach's Tulip Fever reads like a soap opera from the 17th Century: characters are on the surface, motives are obvious but hidden, and plots are far out. But, like many soap operas, it's an enjoyable, guilty little pleasure. Take it for what it's worth: a compelling and quick read, with a little geographical and historical education thrown in. In short, the book is worth the short amount of time you need to invest in it.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A35V3FYBE133SL
• Beoordeel Geen Boek Door Zijn Dekking. 20 September, 2005
After reading such good books as "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" and "Hyacinth Blue", I'm afraid I found this book rather disappointing. I felt like I was reading a cheesy bodice ripper dressed up as an arty historical novel. Such a lovely cover too. What a pity!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1KT8MFE7BXQCH
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