3 Stars
This book is set in 1705, eighteen years after the end of The Miniaturist. Thea Brandt, who lives with her father Otto and her Aunt Nella, turns eighteen. The family lives in a large house in a prestigious Amsterdam neighbourhood but they have major financial concerns. Nella decides that it is time for Thea to marry and sets out to arrange a high status, lucrative marriage, though finding a suitable husband for her illegitimate, mixed-race niece whose family has suffered public shame may be difficult. In the meantime, Thea is spending time at the theatre enjoying performances and spending time with Walter, a set painter and her secret lover. She also begins receiving miniature figurines which seem to be the work of the miniaturist, a shadowy figure from Nella’s past who seems to have the ability to see people’s secrets and to steer their future.
The inclusion of the miniaturist is one reason for this book not really being a standalone. Her presence means readers who have not read The Miniaturist will be confused. She is mentioned over and over again, though no additional information is given about her. A major mystery in the first book is how the miniaturist knows so much about Nella, especially when sometimes the objects she sends seem prophetic? All that has changed is that Thea is now the recipient of her figurines. Is a third book being planned?
Thea, who is the age Nella is in The Miniaturist, and Nella are foil characters. Thea is the romantic. She wants to find true love and yearns for adventure, escape from her cold, austere home which is full of secrets. She is willful and self-centred; she thinks she knows everything and her aunt knows nothing. The irony of her comment to her aunt that “’You were never like me’” can only be fully appreciated by those who have read The Miniaturist. Even after remembering her age, I found Thea very annoying at the beginning. Of course, she does gain maturity since experience is a harsh teacher. I did, however, think that her behaviour does not fit that of a young woman in the early 18th century. In her attitude to sex, she behaves like a woman from the 20th or 21st centuries.
Nella is the pragmatist. Her wants stability and security for herself and her family. Maintaining the veneer of gentility and respectability and being accepted by society are important to her. In The Miniaturist, Nella, a timid and naïve girl, develops independence, determination, and resourcefulness over the course of the three months of her marriage. She has lost those traits? Yet though she is very conventional, Nella has a surprisingly open-minded attitude to Thea’s sex life?
The plot is not complicated; in fact, it is predictable. Certainly, it is not difficult to guess where everyone will end up at the end. Some of the foreshadowing is certainly heavy-handed. When lovers meet surrounded by “fake crumbling castles looming over their heads” in a “room of make-believe,” it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what is going to happen!
There is one plot element that is problematic. When a marriage is arranged, a dowry is an inevitable part of the arrangement, but Nella never worries about how they will find the money for a dowry, even if the amount requested is paltry? The pragmatic woman stops thinking sensibly and realistically? Even Thea comments about the maid spending all of her dowry at the market preparing an elaborate feast for the groom-to-be!
The message of the book is that “Things can change” and new beginnings are possible. The ending for all the characters clearly indicates this hopeful message. Another message is that “The past always comes to meet the present,” a message that is also emphasized at the end. Again, those who have read The Miniaturist will see more clearly how the ending completes a circle begun when Nella was 18.
When I read The Miniaturist, I wasn’t particularly impressed and, unfortunately, The House of Fortune also falls short in my estimation.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
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