THE TIFFANY GIRL is a historical fiction set in 1899 about the "Tiffany Girls" a group of women artists who worked on the beautiful Tiffany glass-stained windows.

I loved reading about these women and the beautiful art they were creating with stained glass. I've always loved the beauty in the Tiffany Lamps so a historical fiction about the women behind the scenes was exactly what I needed. I loved looking at the Four Seasons windows while reading and this book sent me down so many Google searches.

The storylines of the three women were interesting and I liked how it showed some of the 1900s rules for working women and what life was like at the turn of the century in NYC.

My only question (and I think because I have an advanced copy) is I wanted to know more in an author's note. It sounds like one is in the final version. I wanted to know the real from the fiction. I love historical fiction so much and a good author's note is my favorite thing!

I loved this amazing book! Leaning about the glass was interesting and the characters were so well developed. I loved the emotional depth each woman had. I would recommend this book to anyone!

This is a fascinating look at the workshop of Louis Comfort Tiffany and of the women who worked there at the turn of the 20th century. The book shines when it focuses on the details of how the stunning stained glass panels and decorative objects like lamps, inkwells, and favrile glass were designed and executed and why Tiffany glass is still so distinctive. However, with only a few exceptions, the characters are only sketchily drawn. The exceptions include Emilie Pascal and Grace Griffiths, both Tiffany girls working together and roommates at the nearby boardinghouse. Both have secrets that are only slowly revealed, and both are artists in their own right, but I feel that the author focuses too much on their love lives and the difficulties that women faced when forced to choose between marriage and a career, and how many obstacles were thrown in their way when they choose a career. It also hurt the story that the various men involved are only two-dimensional, certainly with those involved with Emilie, and to a lesser extent, with Grace's beau. On the whole, this is a decent story, but not as good as it could have been.

I've been to several Tiffany exhibits and museums, and this story resonated with me. Although life was hard for women in 1899, these very young women were paid the same salary as men which was amazing at that time. Within this community of friends and workers, watched over by the boarding house "mother," they encouraged each other to grow and find their places in life. Very heart-warming and well-written and researched.

The Tiffany Girls by Shelley Noble is an unforgettable and a powerful, page-turning tale.
Set in Manhattan 1899 this enthralling historical novel is a fascinating story of the unknown group of women artists behind Tiffany’s most legendary glassworks.
Shelley Noble does a wonderful job creating an inspirational story of bravery and courage.
The novel is filled with vivid descriptions and rich with history and timeless emotion I was utterly hooked to this story.
The history was so fascinating I was hanging onto every word.
I truly admired these women.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This story was very interesting and informative. I enjoyed learning about The Tiffany glass studio and how the windows were made. I wanted more of the ladies’ personal story though. The book had great potential, but I felt that small storylines that the author started were glazed over. I would have preferred if the story delved deeper into those side stories.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It’s 1899, and Louis Comfort Tiffany is preparing a series of dramatic artworks made of glass to show at the Paris World Exposition the next spring. His workshop is unusual by the standards of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: not only does he hire women artists but he pays them at rates similar to those of his male employees. Even Louis Tiffany, however, will not hire a married woman. And as the pace at the workshop picks up with the exposition drawing closer, every young female artist who gets engaged raises the stakes and increases the work load for those who remain.

Against this backdrop, Shelley Noble juxtaposes the stories of three “Tiffany Girls,” as they were called at the time. First is Emilie Pascal, who flees France to escape possible criminal charges accrued by her abusive father, an art forger. The second, Grace Griffith, enjoys the security of her work at Tiffany’s but yearns to use her talents in producing political cartoons for the local papers. Clara Driscoll, the third, oversees the work of the other two—and all the other Tiffany Girls—but she is an artist in her own right, determined to realize her vision of an exquisite but expensive dragonfly lamp that will one day become a signature Tiffany creation.

The experiences of these three women intersect and overlap with a wider group of associates, both male and female, to give a rich portrayal of working-class life in New York around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Each of the central characters is well rounded and interesting, but it’s the story of Emilie, her artistic sensibilities, and her struggle to free herself from her difficult past that will stay with you long after you reach the last page.

I will be running a written blog interview with this author (link below) around the time of the book’s release.

The Tiffany Girls follows a group of women who work for Louis Comfort Tiffany, the famed glassworks creator in 1899 New York City. Through them, we learned of the intricacies of this art form, as well as the struggle women face during that time.

Clara, Grace, and Emilie each have a story to tell and each one describe the circumstances women had to overcome to accomplish their goals. This tale definitely tackled weightier topics than I had anticipated and I very much appreciated that. At some point it did feel like the story started to waiver into the mellow dramatic, but would pull back before it became overwrought.

I enjoyed learning about the making of the famed glass windows, but did feel the story became bogged down with the details. When this happened, the story certainly slowed for me and I found myself skimming those sections. Overall, this was a solid three star read. I always appreciate a story based on real life people/stories, and this one certainly showcased the sisterhood of these women.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow Books for my DRC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Tiffany Girls is an intriguing look into an interesting part of history. The story has heartbreaking moments and uplifting moments making it a wonderful historical fiction novel!

Thank you for the digital ARC. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Tiffany Girls brings a fascinating story of everyday women who worked at workshop for Mr. Tiffany, and were required to remain single in order to work for him. But they were treated equally with male coworkers, receiving equal pay.

NYC, 1899. The story weaves the paths of three ambitious women.

Emilie Pascal, daughter of an art forger, leaves the shunned life in Paris, and arrives in NYC in hopes of working for the studio of Louis C. Tiffany.

Grace Griffith admires Mr. Tiffany for hiring women, who make some of his most praised designs. She wishes she couldn’t be secretive about her dream job, which is being a cartoonist for journals and newspapers.

Clara Driscoll is the manager of the women’s division at Tiffany, and she has her own ambition. She attempts to capture the essence of the flight of dragonflies into a lamp. Later, it becomes Tiffany’s signature design.

As the stories of these women are woven, it is set against the atmospheric background of Tiffany’s workshop and their latest project which they work on for the Paris Exposition. As they work on creating the “Four Seasons” window, there is cutting of the glass, matching of the colors, and painstaking work of putting all the tiny pieces together. Then, the excitement of the big moment comes by displaying it at the Paris Expo. The atmosphere is contagious. It makes you want to be part of it.

It is written with passion and shedding light on every day women, who never truly received credit for their incredible work. Along the way, creating camaraderie among women, friendship and their drive to be artists in the way possible in their time.

THE TIFFANY GIRLS is well-researched historical fiction that should appeal to many readers. We have 3 point-of-view characters: Emilie, Grace, and Clara. Although they are easy to keep track of, I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with them. For example, Emilie's point of view begins with her dramatic escape--but we don't really know what her situation is so it's difficult to dredge up emotion for her.

Grace's storyline, which moves well, was my favorite.

I loved the insights into glass works and Mr. Tiffany. Also, the settings in New York and Paris are beautifully rendered.

Overall, my primary concern with this novel is that the writing feels choppy and repetitive, with the author kind of beating the reader over the head to belabor points. In part because of this repetition, the pace drags.

However, the ending is very satisfying and overall this is an enjoyable novel. I will look forward to more from this author.

I love reading fiction that is based on factual sources, such as personal letters, then threaded with an imagined plot. This novel was exactly that mix. I admire the art of Tiffany very much so loved reading about the process and understanding the full talent of the Tiffany employees and how they were as much a part of the beautiful end result as Tiffany who got so much of the credit.
And throughout the theme was women being strong and independent and carving their own futures. The boardinghouse scenes were my favorite, with the motherly Mrs B watching over them all. It was easy to forget how young they all were, more mature than their counterparts now a days.
If you like art, Paris, New York and female friendship in a plot, then you are going to love this, thank you Netgalley for the ARC.