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Book Review of Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring
reviewed on + 187 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


I had put off reading this book even though I knew it had gotten rave reviews. For some reason I didn't think I would enjoy it. What a mistake...this is a beautifully written story and I could not put it down. I read it in one day!! A blend of fact and fiction, it tells the story of a young woman who worked as a maid for the family of Vermeer, the 1660s Dutch painter and posed for his famous picture "Girl With A Pearl Earring". Tracy Chevalier uses historic facts along with poetic license to blend together a stirring story of what it would have been like for a young, poor and illiterate woman of that time to be at the mercy of her upper class employers and their aquaintances. This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.