The Glassmaker: A Novel
Named a Best Historical Novel of 2024 by The Sunday Times, The Independent, and BookPage
“The Glassmaker is as finely wrought as a dazzling Murano bead. . . . Chevalier reaffirms her status as one of the reigning queens of historical fiction.” —The Independent
“This charming fable is at once a love story that skips through six centuries, and also a love song to the timeless craft of glassmaking. Chevalier probes the fierce rivalries and enduring loyalties of Murano's glass dynasties, capturing the roar of the furnace, the sweat on the skin, and the glittering beauty of Venetian glass.” – Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse
From the bestselling historical novelist, a rich, transporting story that follows a family of glassmakers from the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day.
It is 1486 and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on Murano, the island revered for the craft. As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass—but she has the hands for it, the heart, and a vision. When her father dies, she teaches herself to make glass beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists. In every era, the Rosso women ensure that their work, and their bonds, endure.
Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is as inventive as it is spellbinding: a mesmerizing portrait of a woman, a family, and a city as everlasting as their glass.
“The Glassmaker is as finely wrought as a dazzling Murano bead. . . . Chevalier reaffirms her status as one of the reigning queens of historical fiction.” —The Independent
“This charming fable is at once a love story that skips through six centuries, and also a love song to the timeless craft of glassmaking. Chevalier probes the fierce rivalries and enduring loyalties of Murano's glass dynasties, capturing the roar of the furnace, the sweat on the skin, and the glittering beauty of Venetian glass.” – Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse
From the bestselling historical novelist, a rich, transporting story that follows a family of glassmakers from the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day.
It is 1486 and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on Murano, the island revered for the craft. As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass—but she has the hands for it, the heart, and a vision. When her father dies, she teaches herself to make glass beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists. In every era, the Rosso women ensure that their work, and their bonds, endure.
Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is as inventive as it is spellbinding: a mesmerizing portrait of a woman, a family, and a city as everlasting as their glass.
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Community Reviews
I was fascinated by this historical fiction book set in various time periods in Venice. At first, it was a little odd that the time periods changed, but the characters did not, but by the end, it was nice to have familiar names. So often with multi-generational books set in different times, the characters are constantly changing and it can get confusing without an extensive list of characters.
I've been to Venice and to Murano to see the glass blowing and I have a beautiful necklace of Murano beads that I wore to my daughter's wedding. If I ever go back to Italy, Venice is one place that I would love to revisit.
Orsola Rosso, daughter of Lorenzo and Laura, is from a family of glassmakers who reside on the island of Murano. After her father's death, her tempermental brother, Mario is left in charge of the glass making business, but he is not a maestro and the family begins to struggle. Orsolo learns how to make beads from a rival family, the Barovier's, but she cannot use the workshop. She fashions her beads by the light of candles. Through the years, the popularity of beads increases, used for trade and for decorative purposes. This diversification helps save the family throughout difficult times. She is in love with Antonio, who has come to help Marco, but is scorned because he was not from one of the Muranese families.
The years of the plague were devastating for the Venetians and Muranese and trade came to a halt. If a family member had the plague, others in the family were quarantined for 40 days. Those with disease were sent away to another island. It is Antonio who saves the family from starvation by bringing them food via a basket hung from the window. Eventually, Marco arranges for her to marry Stefano, from another prominent glassmaking business and Antonio moves to Prague. From time to time, he sends Orsola glass dolphins that he has configured.
The story follows the history of Murano and Venetia. At one point, the Austrians take control and ruin the businesses by raising tariffs. They also fill in some of the canals and build bridges in Venice. Klingberg is the German trader who acts as the middleman for the Rosso family, assigns them commissions, and handles their money. Orsola learns to negotiate with him, and at first tries to keep her bead-making a secret from Marco.
Orsola and Stefano have a daughter, Angela, and the characters age only by a few years despite the jumps of time by 100s of years. So we see the growth of the Rosso family by her brothers, Marco and Giacomo. An interesting character is the African (Moro) Domengo, who is a gondolier and becomes a close friend of Orsola's, passing on to her the beautiful dolphins from her beloved, Antonio
I've been to Venice and to Murano to see the glass blowing and I have a beautiful necklace of Murano beads that I wore to my daughter's wedding. If I ever go back to Italy, Venice is one place that I would love to revisit.
Orsola Rosso, daughter of Lorenzo and Laura, is from a family of glassmakers who reside on the island of Murano. After her father's death, her tempermental brother, Mario is left in charge of the glass making business, but he is not a maestro and the family begins to struggle. Orsolo learns how to make beads from a rival family, the Barovier's, but she cannot use the workshop. She fashions her beads by the light of candles. Through the years, the popularity of beads increases, used for trade and for decorative purposes. This diversification helps save the family throughout difficult times. She is in love with Antonio, who has come to help Marco, but is scorned because he was not from one of the Muranese families.
The years of the plague were devastating for the Venetians and Muranese and trade came to a halt. If a family member had the plague, others in the family were quarantined for 40 days. Those with disease were sent away to another island. It is Antonio who saves the family from starvation by bringing them food via a basket hung from the window. Eventually, Marco arranges for her to marry Stefano, from another prominent glassmaking business and Antonio moves to Prague. From time to time, he sends Orsola glass dolphins that he has configured.
The story follows the history of Murano and Venetia. At one point, the Austrians take control and ruin the businesses by raising tariffs. They also fill in some of the canals and build bridges in Venice. Klingberg is the German trader who acts as the middleman for the Rosso family, assigns them commissions, and handles their money. Orsola learns to negotiate with him, and at first tries to keep her bead-making a secret from Marco.
Orsola and Stefano have a daughter, Angela, and the characters age only by a few years despite the jumps of time by 100s of years. So we see the growth of the Rosso family by her brothers, Marco and Giacomo. An interesting character is the African (Moro) Domengo, who is a gondolier and becomes a close friend of Orsola's, passing on to her the beautiful dolphins from her beloved, Antonio
This was interesting look into the ancient art of Murano glassmaking - told through the lens of a single family who ‘skipped through the changes and ages’. Literally. Meaning, the central characters were the same characters, barely aging, over 500 years. I’ve heard this book referred to as a love sonnet to the world of glassmaking, and would have to agree with this sentiment. So with that this in mind, I enjoyed the story as a fabulous fable, and suspended belief for the bigger picture of how glass artisanship, and families involved in it, evolved over the years. I recommended this book to my Bookclub, a few of whom have traveled to the island and Venice, and have purchased Murano necklaces.
Although the story telling was beautiful (classic Chevalier) and it was interesting to follow the family through all the world history, I found it to be lacking a connection that I was excited to see through. The dolphins were of course the throughline but that part felt off and weird when considered with the rest of the book. It didn't work for me.
Time waits for no man. But maybe for a woman...
An odd sci-fi twist - set in Venice and Murano - where time passes incrementally compared to the rest of the world. As centuries progress, we follow one family of glass makers. You learn about the history of glass making and Venice. The protagonist remained duty-bound and adrift; there is no fairy tale ending here.
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