The Glassmaker is an epic read covering six centuries yet featuring the same principal characters throughout. It’s a device which shouldn’t work and yet it does. The centuries pass, national and global events occur as well as events within the family and it is the Rosso family which hold it all together. Orsola Rosso is a young girl in the fourteenth century. Denied the opportunity to become a glass maker like her brothers, she learns to make beads from a craftswoman in a rival family. The descriptions of the glassmaking skills are wonderful as are the descriptions of Venice over the centuries and Murano, the island where the glass makers live and work. At its height, Murano glass was prized throughout the world but to survive it became necessary to adapt and Orsola guides her family as best she can, sensitive to the senior status of her mother and her brothers. I found the earlier half of the book the most compelling, in particular the family’s struggle to survive the frequent outbreaks of the plague. The Glassmaker brings Venice vividly to life across the centuries. One of my favourite Tracy Chevallier books.

My thanks to the author, publishers and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for a voluntary, independent review.

I was so excited to receive an advance copy of The Glassmaker since one of Tracy Chevalier's other books, A Single Thread, is an all-time favourite of mine. It was just the reason I needed to explore some more of her work.

In several ways, the novel explores similar themes to A Single Thread: finding meaning as a "spare woman" and the power of art, craft and creativity are both at the fore. However, Chevalier does so much more than this in The Glassmaker, creating a spellbinding world centred around Murano and Venice. The places at the heart of the novel shine through on every page – this could not have been set anywhere else – and the author perfectly captures the singular nature of the Veneto through painstaking research that is woven lightly into the story.

The other stars of this novel are its characters, particularly the women (and our protagonist, Orsola). Their depiction gave the book its emotional heft – the familial relationships and dash of romance were relatable and moving. I particularly appreciated the satisfying conclusion.

The Glassmaker is set apart from other historical fiction I've read because of the author's original approach to time. The book opens with a brief explanation of time "alla veneziana" which addresses the central conceit that time flows differently in this region and we will encounter our characters over many centuries. I was curious to see how this would work and it was ultimately quite unobtrusive. The later sections did not hook me in quite as much as those earlier on and it felt like time was speeding up (which was perhaps deliberate), but the temporal magic was fitting and did not seem gimmicky.

This book left me with a much greater appreciation of the need to protect traditions passed down with the generations, whilst remaining open to change and progress. This delicate balance was explored beautifully.

Lovers of historical fiction (with a hint of magical realism) will adore this novel, and I would particularly recommend it to fans of authors such as Isabel Allende, Elif Shafak and Maggie O'Farrell. I will certainly be seeking out more of Tracy Chevalier's work.

This was a real gem of a novel that is so well-researched and utterly immersive and I would give it more than five stars if I could. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of The Glassmaker in exchange for an honest review. I have since purchased my own copy of the book with beautiful end papers and sprayed edges and it will be taking pride of place amongst my most treasured books.

Just wonderful - a felt totally transported and loved every vivid page. So generous and clever and full of life and spirit. A towering achievement.

An enjoyable novel about glassmaking in Murano. The story spans the centuries from the 1480s to 1922, and Covid - yet Orsola (the protagonist) and her family age much more slowly! (The reason for this is not apparent to this reader). Not, in my opinion, Tracey Chevalier's best work, but worth a read.

With thanks to NetGalley and The Borough Press for and ARC.

Wow - this book was so stunningly beautiful - easily one of my favourite reads of the year and one that I will think about often.

Just fabulous. What a brilliant storyline and writing and I just love the way the story unfolds over the years. The characters are just so vivid and story so clever; you totally feel as though you are living in Venice and watching their stories play out.

This historical fiction about a family of glassmakers on Murano was atmospheric and had a great sense of place.
It took me a while to realise what was happening with the time jumps. There'd be a big time jump so that the novel spans hundreds of years but the characters would age much slower. This didn't really work for me but was a clever idea.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Chevalier’s writing is a joy. - so easy to read and so enthralling. I adored this journey into Murano and Venice’s history.

The narration and playing with time were quirky and although they should not have worked they really did. It allowed the novel to cover briefly many periods of time and the history of glass making while allowing for character depth and continuity.

I loved the myriad characters and descriptions of family life.

Beautifully written and a wonderful escape into Murano.

Loved this! I particularly enjoyed the way Chevalier played with time in this novel. I’m pretty sure it improved the pace of the storytelling. As well-researched and evocative as I’ve come to expect from one of my favourite authors of historical fiction.

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier is a beautifully crafted novel about glassmaking, the Island of Murano and Venice.
At the heart of the story is the large Rosso family who we follow for centuries.

Chevalier clearly did her research when it comes to glass and bead-making, and it was interesting how the work evolved over time and following the daily lives of the makers.

There are a lot of names, several generations + extra characters here - take some time to organise them in your mind.

The structure and the timeline of this novel is very original. It’s a risky move and either the skipping forward in time whilst following the same protagonist (who doesn’t naturally age ) will work for you, or it won’t.
Personally, I would have been very happy with this read as a plain historical fiction novel diving even deeper into the characters. A lot of the writing is dedicated to the skills and process of glassmaking over hundreds of years. I felt the balance here could have been better, I wanted to be more invested in Orsola and her personal journey - the book compromises here allowing for characters to ‘live forever’ for the sake of showing the history of glassmaking over time.

The time-jumping is ok but as a reader you have to adapt to mobile phones and zoom calls towards the end of the story (and Covid!) when the novel originally started in the 1400’s and Venice / Murano was ravaged by the plague. I guess it shows the way life is cyclical and it is clever if you allow for the magical realism.

Finally; Venice is on my list of places to visit and I love the way Chevalier described the city and its surroundings.
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Rating 3/5 with extra points for research and the beautiful descriptions of Venice with a dash of Italian language.

Free copy from NetGally in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful book recommendation: ‘The Glass Maker’ by @tracychevalierwriter.

Set in the glassmaking enclave of Murano, in the Venetian lagoon, across several centuries, this is a thing of beauty that ripples with gorgeous descriptions, characters to care about, and a thought provoking perspective on history, time, and place.

It follows the life and fortunes of Orsola, daughter of a longstanding if unexceptional glass family, the Rossi, taking in others who the tide of time washes into their lives, including German merchants, a gorgeous Venetian fisherman, and an enslaved African gondolier.

It’s not a high stakes, tense, plot-driven read; it ripples and flows like glass, or the Venetian lagoon (no coincidence, I suspect).

Within the novel, time flows much more slowly in Murano and Venice than on the mainland, or ‘terra firma’. It’s an unusual premise and I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but Chevalier makes it work brilliantly. Her characters are so well crafted that it somehow feels natural to see them deal with plague, trade, colonialism, war, technology, tourism, climate change, and Covid without things feeling strained (this can’t have been easy - I’m in awe).

There’s also some mighty skilful weaving of glassmaking information and historical detail into a narrative that glows with family tensions and tenderness. And I ended up caring deeply about the Rosso family and loved learning about Murano glass, even if I did struggle a bit to take in the technical details at the start. It was more than worth persevering for what bloomed into a wonderful book.

Absolutely beautiful book. What a gift to have read it early. I simply adore the setting and the historical references to the magical glass industry and its evolution. The main character is a wonderful woman, what bliss to live with her for so very long. Thanks so much.

We meet our protagonist, Orsola Rosso, as a young girl in 15th Century Murano, where she lives with her family of glassmakers. Since women are not supposed to work with glass, she is not apprenticed into glassblowing as her brothers are, but meeting a woman from another glassblowing family gives her the opportunity to make glass beads.

We then follow the fortunes of Orsola and her family as they encounter many changes and outside forces, such as the plague, Venice’s economic decline, and Coronavirus. Yep. This is also a time travel book. Well, kind of. Time on the island of Murano apparently passes slower for Orsola and her family and friends, so they only age a few years when decades pass elsewhere.

I loved the story of Orsola and her family, and found the lives of glassmakers on the outskirts of Venice absolutely riveting. I personally didn’t need the leaping about through time, and found it took me out of the story, rather than it drawing me into the various new situations they found themselves in. They also weren’t given any opportunity to develop as characters based on the norms and conventions of the new time they found themselves in, so I did feel it was a rather jarring convention.

Other than this element, though, this was a wonderful insight into a fascinating period of time, and I would recommend it to any fans of historical fiction.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

I want to talk first about the element of fantasy that runs through the book since that will be a stumbling block for some people. (As some people are thrown out of a book by an incorrect fact or location in an area they know well.) The concept is that time runs differently in Venice; it is slower than the terraferma beyond the lagoon. So when we follow the story of Orsola Rosso through the centuries it is her story and those close to her. If you can accept this idea then I believe it will enhance the story for you as it did for me. Instead of the flow of the narrative being interrupted by having to get to know new characters through different generations we get to know Orsola in all the minutiae of her life.
The story starts in 1486 with 9-year old Orsola when a woman glassmaker is rare but not completely unknown. She meets one of those rare glassmakers, Maria Barovier, who is just about to pioneer the creation of rosetta beads. But, although her father is a master of a glass workshop, Orsola's life is running errands and gardening, cleaning and laundry … so much laundry. One small theme running through the book is the never-ending labour of laundry and the mention of a washing machine near the end of the book is as much a triumph as any glass creation.
Her father dies in a freak accident and while her inexperienced brothers try to manage the workshop and business, Orsola learns the technique of making beads to bring in some extra money. She becomes a skilled bead maker, respected for her craft, but never finds the renown of her male contemporaries. Her life is not all glass, she finds and loses loves and family, suffers through the restrictions of two plagues, has a fleeting meeting with Casanova, and reaches the 21st century to discover the legacy her greatest love has left her.
I became engrossed in all the detail of this book with its focus on glassmaking but also day-to-day life on Murano. For me this is one of the author's most successful books.

The Glassmaker opens in 1486 in Murano, across the lagoon from Venice. It tells the story of glassmaker Orsola Rosso, up to the present day.

What I liked: Chevalier is a wonderful writer, no doubt about it. She creates a beautiful, vivid picture of Venice and Murano.

What I disliked: Yes, it follows Orsola from 1486 to the present day; one family, one main character. And therein lies the fatal flaw in this potentially beautiful, but disappointing, work. It’s concept is that the timeline skips through the centuries, but the main characters are the same. We become engrossed in the life of Orsola Rosso as she becomes a glassmaker in the 15th century. She struggles to hone her craft in a patriarchal society where only men can be respected artisans. Then the novel skips roughly a century and again we are following Orsola, and the same cast of characters, in a new timeline. Then again, same cast, new era… and so on up to 2020. And no, she’s not a vampire or other immortal, just a ‘character’ transported into different times.

Why oh why did Chevalier — an author whose books I have hitherto loved — persist with this irritating time-jumping concept? It doesn’t work! It feels like she wrote part of an excellent historical novel and then got bored or ran out of ideas and just started retelling the same tale in another time. It completely wiped out my suspension of disbelief. It drags you into silly celebrity-focused tangents (creating a necklace for Napoleon’s Josephine…). It makes you start actively seeking anachronisms. And once my disbelief was pierced, I could no longer accept the premise that Orsola was an incredibly gifted glassmaker. Which was presumably supposed to be the whole point of the story.

OK, I’m not thick. I accept that the point was to create a picture of Murano glassmaking through the ages, and the characters were just a vehicle for this so they could be reused in different times without needing to create new characters. Well, if I had wanted to read a nonfiction book about Murano glassmakers I would have read one. In novels, it’s ALL about the characters. They are not merely vessels. I need to believe in them as real, live, mortal people (even the ones that are unreal, dead, immortal….).

With each new timeline, Orsola became less vivid, more transparent, until she shattered in my hands.

I kept reading because, well, Chevalier is indeed a wonderful writer and her prose are a pleasure to read. And Orsola is an appealing character. And — and this is the main reason — I kept hoping there was a point to all this, and that I would eventually get it. I didn’t.

My advice? If you haven’t already done so, read Chevalier’s Girl With a Pearl Earring instead. Now that’s a timeless classic to lose yourself in.

My thanks to Netgalley for giving me a free copy of this book. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.

Loved this one from start to finish. Characters well drawn and interesting storyline - intrigued to learn about glassmaking in Venice & Murano and found Orsolo such an engaging character, though how the same characters went on through time barely aging in spite of years passing was a hard concept for me initially though so engaged it really didn't detract.

The Glassmaker is one of my top reads of 2024. Set on Murano, this is the story of female glassmakers through time, told with a thread of magical artistic license - described in the blurb as 'time flows differently here ... skipping like a stone through the centuries...' The book follows a female glassblower from the Rosso family, Orsola, whose character binds the book together over 500 or so years. I loved the sense of passage of time, the changes in glassmaking practice and the beadmaking traditions. An atmospheric and at times poignant read but such a great story.

With many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A recent addition to my list of favourite authors Tracy Chevalier is one who always teaches the reader. She must enjoy the research and it shows, she packs a book with didactic information which is usually woven around the story innately and you absorb the two together. But, this book is a disappointment after her previous novels. It felt very formulaic, witha tortured love story, a womans battle to be in the family business etc. It just felt unserious, not literary enough for me. There is also a strange conceit with the timeline which adds little except questions. Sorry. Not for me. Do not start with this of you want to try TC. A Single Thread is a hundred times more accomplished.

I have read several of her other books and enjoyed them. I love glass and was interested to learn more about Murano. It is fair to say I had high hopes for this book.

Alas it wasn’t to be. I did learn quite a bit about glass making but think I would have preferred to read a non fiction book as opposed to the way it was woven into historical fiction with some random time traveling.

Not for me but that to NetGalley for the ARC.

Interesting concept of glass-making (particularly Murano glass) through the centuries.
I've read a few of Tracy Chevalier's books & find them easy to read.