2.5 but not rounding up as I would not tell anyone to read this book. Not feeling the love that others did. I found this flat. Plowed through it.

I should have really been engaged, but was not at all. None of the characters really captured my interest--as they should have. Why? The story line was particularly appealing:

"Judith Leyster aims to be the first woman accepted into the prestigious Haarlem artist's guild... Her wayward brother, Abraham, and her closest friend, Maria, both fight demons of their own ... all three begin to find the threads of fulfillment, they find themselves swept up into a conspiracy of the city's most powerful and ruthless men..."

Further, I recently completed a female-centric Museum Hack tour at the National Gallery of Art where Judith was featured in a 2009 art exhibition. But, although a well-researched piece of historical fiction, this book just didn't do it for me.

The writing was good enough--but nothing stellar, and there were some annoying [to me] phrases. Too much shivering:
"her skin shivered with a lacework of pleasure"
"a shiver of pleasure ran up her thigh."
"the house shivered and fell into silence." AND MORE shivering still.

Also:
"her emotions twitched like the lid of a simmering pot."
"her blood warmed even more than the day's heat should have allowed."

And instances where I think the author was trying to be "deep" but failed. Lackluster intended drama. As noted, I plowed through to see how the storyline would resolve. Also, didn't much care for the ending.

On the positive side. I learned a few new things. Life and politics in the Haarlem Guild. And, for example, what a tafelet is -- a reusable notebook with pages that could be scrubbed out [as in painting]. A stuffed crocodile hanging from the ceiling signaled an apothecary. Much about technique and technical matters of painting--at the time--linseed oil, colors, grinding, etc. But, were cherry and apple tarts really standard fare for an apothecary--as noted?

So, if you're interested in the subject, perhaps you ought to ignore my review and read this book. But.

This is a very evocative telling of life in 17th century Netherlands, for the female members of families in the Artists Guilds. Talent is not enough to merit training for Maria, though she shares a room with her father's female apprentice Judith Leyster. Both are already grown women in their twenties, but around them young painters have become masters at a younger age.
At last both of them take decisive steps into the world on their own, Judith taking illicit commissions to afford her master's fee, Maria traveling to Leiden is search of a missing Guild artifact. But the road forward is fraught with daily perils not encountered by the male artists. And despite managing to set up her own workshop and apprenticeships, Judith walks a fine line, one group demanding three times the talent, and the other chastising her for putting her art before ties of friends and family.
Even when she helps to save her dear friend Maria's life, Maria interprets it in a spirit of betrayal.

In the end, the first and only female master of the Haarlem School would give up painting for marriage to a fellow painter, using her energies to keep his books and only seldom turn out a canvas. Yet this was the age of expansion and the marriage was a happy one. Making history demanded stepping away from invisibility in order to pursue her ideal.
It was a good idea to contrast her achievement with the life of her good friend, since talent does not happen only to brothers and not to sisters. How a person handles being gifted when society is not encouraging is interesting too.

A fascinating novel that draws us into the 17th century Netherlands ,I really enjoyed being immersed in the time the world of the artist Judith Lyster and her attempts to be accepted into the art world dominated by men.A historical novel a mystery involved absolutely excellent book.#amberjackpublishing#netgalley,

Fascinating!
This is a beautifully woven and beautifully written book which seems extraordinarily timely for women today showing us how the struggles women have had mirroring the struggles they're still having.
I very much enjoyed reading about seventeenth-century Dutch life.

This is the kind of slow-paced, absorbing book I like to read while sitting in front of a fire and drinking a glass of red wine. It took me immediately to 17th century Netherlands. I loved getting to know Judith. Considering how hard it is now for female artists to be accepted by the power brokers, it was even harder back in the 17th century. I enjoyed reading about her struggles, and I also enjoyed learning how hard it was to paint back in those days. They couldn't go and buy paints from the store like we do, but they had to grind them and mix them with oil--all before painting a thing. And artists had to do a long apprenticeship before they were accepted into the Guild. Only after Guild membership could they try to sell their paintings. Wow. That was fascinating.

I wasn't as happy with the character of Maria. She acted more like she was 13 rather than a decade older. I never could understand her lack of gratitude for what Judith did for her and her anger about their relationship. I think she could have either been sharpened or made less important.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! I enjoyed this lovely little escape, which coincided perfectly with studying a chapter on painting in a humanities class. I tend to respond to most fiction by desiring that it had more depth, but I also realize it's not literature so much as entertainment we're dealing with here and for that purpose, it served nicely. Thanks again!

Interesting book about the Dutch history of art and painting and the struggles one women had to break into this field of all males. Reading was a little choppy at times but really enjoyed the history portrayed in this book.

”It was a wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become”
-- "Viva la Vida", Coldplay, Songwriters: Christopher A. J. Martin / Guy Rupert Berryman / Jonathan Mark Buckland / William Champion

“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.” James McNeil Whistler

”Judith leaned against the small window ledge and looked inside. The frigid twilight air seeped past her cloak into her many layers of tunics and her well-worn bodice, and the painted ledge below her numb fingertips had dulled to the gray of a low sky. Behind the glass, the inn’s golden light beckoned, and though it was not yet suppertime, already drinkers dressed in shades of brown sat at small tables. Her teeth chattered with cold and nerves.”

It is February of 1633 as this story begins, and Judith Leyster has trusted a painting of hers to a man who is inside, to offer to sell this painting to those gathered. She was not, at that time, a member of the Guild, but in time she would become one of the first two women to attain master status in the Haarlem artist’s guild. On that evening, as she waited to receive the coins from her painting that would not come, it would have seemed like an impossible dream.

At the age of thirteen, she was apprenticed to Frans de Grebber. Ten years have passed since she began her apprenticeship, and she is not allowed to sell her art without achieving master status. It is not an easy road for a female, few have tried, none had yet been chosen. That does not mean that de Grebber does not believe in her, he does, but she will have to convince more people than just de Grebber.

Judith shares this story with Maria, the daughter of de Grebber, around her own age, and an artist-in-training, as well. But Maria is more devoted to her religion, to the Catholic Church and its teachings, which have been banned there. There are other characters, but primarily this is a story of the art world, the lives of female artists, or women who were trying to become formally recognized as artists, in the Haarlem artist guild.

The writing is often lovely, the story is set in a time when any woman trying to create a path of her own was not only difficult, but often put them in a dangerous position. Callaghan’s attention to detail really has a transporting effect, and I felt and saw it all as I was reading this. The atmosphere of the streets reminded me, a bit, of the descriptive writing in Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist, which I enjoyed, but I would have to say that I enjoyed this a bit more.

Three hundred and eighty-five years have passed since Judith’s dreams of becoming an acknowledged artist came true, and yet, even with that recognition bestowed upon her, she would never, in her lifetime, achieve the status of her male peers.


Pub Date: 13 NOV 2018

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Amberjack Publishing

Judith Leyton works hard and does whatever is needed to be admitted to the Artists Guild. As the only woman, she must overcome prejudice and disdain as she fights to prove she is as worthy as any man.

I found this to be a fascinating fictional look into a time period I know little about. The author did a phenomenal job of bringing the setting to life in her narrative. The day to day aspects of what this artist !at have had to deal with made the story more real.

On the other hand, we have Maria, the daughter of the artist who trained Judith. The author went with the premise that these two would have been friends. However, I found the chapters devotes to what Maria was dealing with uninteresting. No doubt she had her own trials, but it felt as though her story took away from Judith’s.

Overall, it is an excellent historical telling of a gifted artist. I would recommend it to readers with an appreciation for art.

The book gracefully evoked the Golden Age of Dutch painting—the workshops, the streets of Haarlem, even details such as what the women's dresses felt like—without coming across like a textbook and without huge dumps of exposition. But I didn't much care about any of the characters, and the plotting was choppy at times. It wasn't a bad book, and it made my commute go by quickly, but it's not a book I'm likely to remember six months from now.

Thank you, NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing, for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Callaghan's thoughtful prose creates a richly detailed novel that feels relevant despite taking place nearly 400 years ago. The struggles experienced by Judith feel eerily similar to the battles that women fight today in largely male dominated arenas. I appreciate Callaghan's desire to give attention to a lesser known historical figure.

This is a fascinating story based on the life of painter Judith Leyster, set in Haarlem Holland in 1633. The author details Judith's struggles to become accepted by St. Luke's Guild and to establish herself in her own workshop. At this time, the world was dominated by men. She is well-portrayed and the descriptive writing is superb.

A wonderfully painted tale of the imagined life of Judith Leyster. An artist in the Dutch golden age, Leyster was one of the only women awarded master status in the Guild. This novel seeks to highlight what set her apart from other female painters of the age. Woven together with intrigue and daring, this story is different from other depictions of artists a la Girl With The Pearl Earring or similar prose. Carrie Callaghan deftly sketches a many-sided and adroit portrait of Leyster as well as her more well-known contemporaries. Written from a female point of view, it was refreshing and new to see and also easier to relate to for me than some of the other writings in the same genre. Pick it up! Highly recommend.

This is a historical fiction about the first woman to attain master status in painting. She also owned her own shop. This woman was Judith Leyster. I found this book very interesting and informative. I had no idea a woman was up there with all the great painters. Amazing! By no means was it easy for her. The book points out a time when a painting was discovered as hers, a females, the price went down. Whereas if it had been a male painter, the price would have been higher. Talk about discrimination. Of course this was in the 1600's. It's a great book. Loved the storyline. It portrays her as being selfish. Only about her painting, but I choose to consider her as strong, driven and especially brave!

4.5 stars! This refreshing book gave me a good deal to think about while keeping me turning pages. The stars of the book are Judith and Maria, though there are a number of other well known painters making cameo appearances (and that’s always fun).

Imagine this: Judith Leyster, woman painter in Haarlem, was actually admitted to the city’s art guild in 1635. What hardships did she have in pursuing her work, and do they compare to the hardships that professional women face today? In what ways does she pay for her desire to be treated equally? Calaghan’s debut novel made me think through my own professional career over the last twenty plus years. Judith fought each inch of the way to live by her brush; this still rings true today.

Also, her relationships with family and friends, such as that with Maria, don’t actually make her efforts easier. For example, though Judith and Maria basically grew up together, they’ve grown apart and don’t know how to find their way back to their friendship. Basically that desire, though there for both, takes a lower place to the other desires of their hearts, as our friendships so often do. I enjoyed watching the ebb and flow of this friendship to its conclusion in the book. Maria was the harder of the two characters to relate to (for me), due to her crushing guilt over everything-everything, but she felt very true, historically speaking, and I enjoyed rooting for her to stand tall and shed the guilt cloak.

Now what was different for me about this book (that I really enjoyed) is that—though there was a love interest or two—that was certainly not the point of the novel. The focal point is truly about two women trying to live (or find) their dreams in a man’s word. Also the world and art came alive with the descriptions. Great job, Carrie! Highly recommend.

Fantastic! Well r searched and fully immersive! See full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2480678016

* I would like to thank the Author, the Publisher and Netgalley for providing me generously with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
A Light of Her Own is a most beautiful novel about a Dutch artist, Judith Leyster, who lived in the 17th century and was probably the first female painter to have been admitted to the Guild. The novel is absolutely amazing for several reasons. To begin with, while reading I could visualize paintings in the style of the Dutch school, sometimes two or three sentences, sometimes a paragraph prompted descriptions of beautiful scenes of everyday life in street market or indoors, with most important aspect: the light and the colours. Another reason for my liking this novel massively was the detailed desrciption of a life of a painter in the town of Haarlem, problems, techniques, customs and traditions and religious dilemmas. Carrie Callagham did a thorough research into Dutch Masters and the novels takes us as close to them and times as possible. And one other thing, the background: the houses, clothes, hairstyles, food - they are perfectly presented by the Author. Reading A Light of Her Own was like looking at the paintings which could have been created by Dutch artists of the 17th century.
The novel was an amazing surprise for me as I have been interested in the Dutch Masters for some years now and it complemeted my interests perfectly.
A highly recommendable read!

I am Dutch born and so happy to find a book about Dutch history, in particular about women painters in the Dutch guilded age. We know about Rembrandt, we know about Vermeer, but what about painters like Judith? The author did a great job showing a different side to the world of Dutch art, highly recommend.

Amazingly detailed story that will have readers staring at the world as a fine painter would. A woman driven to pursue art during a time and a place where she was not wanted. She was undeterred. The author paints a main character who is ambitious, strong, flawed, and believable. A second point-of-view character embarks on a journey with a shocking twist. With a satisfying ending, readers will be happy for having spent time with the book and this pioneering female painter.

Judith Leyster (1609-1660) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. She was one of the first two women to be admitted to the prestigious Haarlem artist’s guild as it is not clear who was the first woman. “She was the only woman who attained master status and operated her own workshop in the city at that time. (…) The limited contemporary documentation on her life makes it difficult to know much about her training and career.”

“Judith likely studied in Frans de Grebber’s workshop – quite possibly because he had a daughter a few years older who also painted.” Therefore, the author invented the friendship between Judith and Maria.

The story starts with Judith being apprenticed at Frans de Grebber, where she is best friends with his daughter Maria. At 24, she dreams about having her own workshop, working on her own commissions, but she cannot do this unless she is a member of the guild. She applies to be admitted to the artist’s guild as she dreams of being an accomplished artist. Her ambition leads her to gaining the title of the master, which allows her to host apprentices in her own studio, which is a potential source of income.

On the other hand, Maria under her father’s wing could have had an easier path to becoming an accomplished artist. But her heart is not in painting, but in devotion to God.

I was confused about Maria’s story. I understand the point of her devotion in a country where the faith is banned to reflect religious situation of the time period. But this didn’t enrich the story, rather made it confusing. The pages given to Maria in this book should have been used solely on Judith’s story.

Judith’s story in this book concentrates on her struggle of attaining the title and having her own workshop as a woman in a world controlled by men. Through her struggle, the author skillfully presents the rules of the Guild. Only in the epilogue, it is mentioned her marriage to Jan Miense Molenaer, an artist himself and their five children. This in any way does not undermine the story. The concentration of the story on the struggle was an excellent approach.