Orsola Russo's tale is a time-twisty one, with a stretched bridge over many centuries.

It was satisfying to see how she managed through time to grow and use her power in a Man's World, ultimately able to establish and maintain her family's reputation in the art and skill from past generations - glassmaking. Orsola's speciality, in particular is interesting - she's making beads against all challenges from disdainful menfolk (beads are not useful, and art is not reason enough as art is not useful).

Skipping over centuries gave specific opportunities to think about the hard lives lived in the 1400's, in a community perched on wetlands. However, from time to time I was lost in transitions recovery from which interrupted the flow and overall satisfaction of the read. That said, if a reader is interested in Venice, glassmaking and its ancient influencers, as well as Venetian life for women 1486 - 2023, this will be a read to pick up.

*A sincere thank you to Tracy Chevalier, Penguin Group Viking, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

Tracy Chevalier has profoundly influenced my appreciation for historical fiction, and I’ve explored all her novels. The Glassmaker is set on the enchanting island of Murano, tracing the story of the Rosso family of glassmakers from 1486 to the present. This innovative storytelling style invites a bit of suspension of disbelief, but as always, Chevalier’s narrative pulls you in.

At the center of the tale is Orsola Rosso, a remarkable woman in the male-dominated world of glassmaking. Though she specializes in creating beads—dismissively referred to by her brother as escrementi di topo, or "mouse turds"—her family has a rich legacy of crafting exquisite art glass, including stunning drinking vessels and decorative plates. As political climates and fashion trends shift, the family's fortunes rise and fall, yet it’s the humble beads that keep them afloat during tough times.

Chevalier delves into the evolution of glassmaking, highlighting the transition from fine art pieces to the mass production of beads sought after in foreign markets. The Rosso family’s adherence to trade secrets is illustrated by the strict prohibition against leaving the island, safeguarding their craft. However, as glassmaking techniques spread throughout Europe, competition poses a significant threat to Murano artisans.

Historical events, such as Napoleon’s conquest of Italy, play a pivotal role in the narrative, allowing him to bestow Venice to Austria. This led to significant changes in the city, with modernization efforts reshaping its landscape. The demand for glass beads surged due to trade in Africa and the New World, shifting the focus of manufacturing from quality to quantity, while tourism later brought a flood of cheap imitations from China.

The plague of 1574 brings devastation and despair to the Rosso family, echoing the hardships faced during the Covid pandemic in 2019, illustrating the cyclical nature of suffering through history.

Orsola's character is enriched by her friendship with an enslaved African gondolier, who serves the Austrian buyer of her glasswork. He astutely observes, “Slavery runs the world; commerce turns because of human sweat, much of it unpaid,” reminding us of the darker undercurrents of trade.

Chevalier also addresses the pressing issue of climate change, portraying the increasingly frequent floods that plague Venice. She beautifully compares her storytelling to a stone skipping across water, deftly traversing time while keeping the same characters, revealing how Orsola and the Rosso family adapt to the challenges they encounter.

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier is a captivating historical novel that immerses readers in the intricate world of glassmaking in 16th-century Venice. Through the eyes of its compelling protagonist, we explore the art and science of this delicate craft, as well as the societal pressures and personal struggles that come with it. Chevalier's meticulous research shines through, bringing the sights and sounds of Venice to life while providing an intimate look at the glassmakers' community. The detailed descriptions of the glassmaking process not only serve to educate but also enhance the overall richness of the narrative.

The character development in The Glassmaker is another standout feature, as Chevalier masterfully weaves together the lives of artisans, nobility, and the common people. The protagonist's journey toward self-discovery and independence is beautifully portrayed, reflecting the broader themes of creativity and ambition. The relationships she forges along the way—whether fraught with tension or filled with warmth—add emotional depth to the story, making her struggles resonate deeply with readers.

While the pacing can occasionally lag in the middle, the lush storytelling and evocative settings more than compensate for it. Chevalier's ability to blend personal narratives with historical context creates a captivating reading experience that feels both informative and engaging. Overall, The Glassmaker is a beautifully crafted novel that not only celebrates the artistry of glassmaking but also explores timeless themes of love, ambition, and the pursuit of one's passion. It's a rich and rewarding read that will leave a lasting impression on fans of historical fiction.

Chevalier chooses the vehicle of Orsula Russo, a nine-year-old girl, who was born into an elite glassmaking family to tell the history of Venice and Murano glass. Using the fantasy of a skipping stone, Chevalier takes us through history and time, beginning in the year of 1494. and takes us up to and through Covid-19. The skipping across the years was a little confusing but the book was thoroughly engaging. I loved this book.

Historical fiction, fantasy, and a love story all in one. Orsola Rosso and her family of glassmakers in Murano, Italy. There is a magical quality to this novel about the importance of family and tradition. An intriguing read from start to finish. Pay attention to the passage of time!

Great storytelling. I have been to Venice and the Murano glass studios. Tracy Chevalier did a wonderful job telling the story of the glass makers and giving everyone the history of the craft. Great character development as well.

Whenever I see a new book by Tracy Chevalier it goes on my list to be read. And then I procrastinate because life gets in the way. If you are going to read her you need to make a commitment because her writing and research is just that good. The Glassmaker is better than good. I admired her stone skimming device to cover the eras of the Rosso family and the evolution and perhaps devolution of this Murano glass making family. While treating the time line so vicariously may be a stretch, I was able to minimize my disbelief and continue with the story.

From 1486 when Venice is known as the trade center of “Europe and much of the rest of the word” to the Pandemic of the twenty-first century, the story is told by Orsola Rosso, a woman who would not be held back by her gender. All the major events of the five hundred years between the Renaissance and our modern day Pandemic have a moment in the story in relation to the Murano glass makers.

Chevalier’s books are not fast reading, nor should they be. Besides the attention to history, her characters and setting are so well described and imbued with emotion and honesty that it takes time to parse and reflect and sometimes to put your heartbreak in check.

My thanks to Viking/Penguin Random House for a copy of The Glassmaker.

The Glassmaker is an enthralling and lushly written historical novel by Tracy Chevalier. Released 18th June 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Viking imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is an engaging and meticulously written historical novel which starts in early Renaissance Venice and follows the secret craft of the glassmakers of Murano. It's the story of one gifted young female artist specifically, honing her craft in secret, set against the wider backdrop of the massive political and cultural upheavals of the period.

The prose is beautifully descriptive and polished. It's a classically written, well edited, smoothly engineered machine and although it's not at all derivative, will appeal to readers of classic historical authors like Umberto Eco, Jude Morgen, and Sue Monk Kidd.

Four strong stars. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home library, or book club study.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Glassmaker was an excellent read. I loved the character study and the writing felt propulsive. I would read more from this author again.

A stunning novel that I just flew through the pages of, engrossed and captivated into the world of Murano glass and Venetian waterways. Chevalier employs an interesting twist on time in which Venice and its surrounding islands are in an almost timeless bubble, while the rest of the world is throttling forwards, spanning five centuries of time, progress, and war. The author describes it almost like a stone skipping across the lagoon water. In this almost suspended state, generations of Murano glassmaking families and Venetian shipping merchants show the rise and fall of the heightth of Venetian trade in the world. The artful craft of glass by heated furnace or lamp into a diverse array of goods with beauty and function from beaded jewelry to detailed delicate goblets is honored and celebrated through Chevalier’s story. Setting becomes a main character in this penned love letter to gondola navigated waters, courtyards filled with family seed bead stringers, and dangerous hot glass workshops thrumming in a symphony of collaborative work around a head maestro. Women continue to fight for their place in male patriarchal professions, families, and home roles, as well as for their right to love freely whomever they choose regardless of family and societal obligations. The author captures the magic and allure that has always surrounded Venice, even in all its glorious imperfections, flaws, and storied past.

After learning about various glassmaking techniques, its talented artisans, and its long history in this treasured read, readers or book clubs may want to look into a glassmaking popup workshop or demonstration at their local art center or glassblowing studio to pair with this book selection. And if an international trip to the one and only Venice isn’t on your calendar anytime soon, either the stateside shrine to glass in New York, the Corning Museum of Glass, may kelp satiate your new love for all things glass or checking out the many Dale Chihuly exhibits across the country in museums and conservatories! For a virtual tour of Venice and Murano, check out Tracy’s social media and website for photos and videos by the author herself. All these ideas could enhance and pair well with your next book club meeting or your own reading experience, just as Tracy immersed herself to inspire her writing experience. (Check out Tracy below in pictures making her own glass beads and rowing a gondola!) But first, take a look at all the uniquely different cover designs for THE GLASSMAKER from different countries across the world: France, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand; as well as following Tracy for the upcoming book covers for Germany and Spain!

The Glassmaker follows Orsola Rosso's family through time as they struggle to stay afloat financially in the family's Murano glassblowing business. To make ends meet, Orsola takes up making glass beads and she begins to have some amount of success with this. She also has romance come into her life, but fate is not kind to Orsola, and neither is Tracy Chevalier. The novel doesn't take place in a set time period; readers are constantly moving into the future to tell the wide spanning history of Murano, neighboring Venice and the history of the family up to the time of Covid. This does nothing for the plot except to keep Orsola and her family gripped in a struggling glass business and poverty for centuries, which is cruel to the characters and readers. Chevalier would have done better to have just picked one time period and stuck with it.

Tracy Chevalier writes the most beautiful historical fiction The Glassmakers drew me in and involved me in the story of these artisans.Murano ,Italy a look at the this creative group who brought us Murano glass making.and a lesson in glassblowing Will be recommending.#netgalley #viking

Another beautifully written historical novel by Tracy Chevalier. She transports the reader to 1468 on Murano, Italy to the glass making family the Rosso’s. We learn about the craft of glass making through the centuries, and also about the lives of the family who somehow don’t age at the same rate that time is passing.

I have enjoyed Tracy Chevalier's historical fiction books in the past and this one is no exception.
I liked learning about glassblowing in Italy and the history of the island.
The family saga was interesting as well.

I haven't read a Tracy Chevalier novel in years and was intrigued by the concept of The Glassmaker. Set in Murano, Italy, we follow the stories of a family of glassmakers beginning in the late 1400's. I really enjoyed the sense of place - Venice and the surrounding areas are so beautiful and Chevalier's descriptive writing brings that part of the world to life.

I enjoyed the Rosso family connection and I was thoroughly invested in Orsola's story, but the overall book fell a little short for me. Historical fiction fans should give it a try; Tracy Chevalier's writing is entertaining.

Thank you to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for this ARC.

I love Chevalier and although not my favorite of her novels, The Glassmaker is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. The historical context, commerce, and cultural shifts spanning different eras were engaging, but the book's extensive timeline made it difficult to fully grasp the nuances of each specific period, except for the initial years.

Despite this, I found the story enjoyable, with most of the characters well-portrayed against the fascinating backdrop.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing the ARC which allowed me to read and review this book.

The Glassmaker is: a mesmerizing portrait of a woman, a family, and a city as everlasting as their glass.

Synopsis: 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.

My thoughts: Tracy Chevalier writes a fascinating historical fiction novel digging deep into the traditions, family bonds, artistry, and commerce of Murano glassmakers through the ages. This book takes place during the times of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day. It follows one family who age slowly during this time. This is a strange timeline as the same cast of characters are alive for all of it, but it works! It was a very clever touch, and readers are shown how the characters grow, adapt, struggle, triumph, and survive. During this time, they will fall in love, endure heartbreak, grow, marry, become parents, and survive the many changes that Venice will experience through time.

The Glassmaker will engross you, will have you hooked, will have you staying up late for "just a few more pages!" I cannot recommend it enough. Do yourself a favor, read it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Viking for reintroducing me to an old friend, Tracy Chevalier. I loved her years ago and The Glassmaker reminded me why.

Chevalier's newest book describes in detail Murano glassmakers during the Renaissance. Orsola Rosso is limited to making glass beads because she is a woman. However, her extraordinary talent helps her family endure countless disasters including the plague. The story crosses over time from the 1480s to 1915. It is a wonderful story that portrays Venice in its glory and the actual process of making Murano glass but often falls flat while including later periods.

Out of the Renaissance and the islands of Murano have come the world’s premier glass artisans, with Venice as the leading trade center. Each Murano family has their own secret recipes and techniques that are fiercely guarded and strictly confined to the island. Nine-year-old Orsola is the daughter of the Rosso glassmaking family. She is fascinated with the fire, sand, ash, and skill that combine to make the beautiful works of color and beauty. But the workshops and furnaces are strictly men’s domain. Orsola has the rare opportunity to learn the art of making glass beads. The glass is heated and shaped by a lamp and bellows, not the fierce fire of the furnace. This lampwork is disregarded by men and the beads as trivial “mouse shit.” But this women’s work is what puts food on the Rosso table as the production of significant glasswork faulters and wanes.

Chevalier plays with the passage of time across centuries as she tells the story of the Rosso family and Murano glass. Beginning in 1486, during the height of glassmaking, Venice is the world’s hub for exporting Murano’s glass. As the narrative skips to 1574, 1631, 1755, 1797, 1915, 2019, and 2024, we learn how world events and the expansion of glassmaking to other countries impacted the industry, Murano, and Venice. We see the ins and outs, ups and downs of glassmaking – especially beadmaking. It is Orsola, her family, and “those who matter” to her who, across 450 years, only age 60 years. We follow the Rossos through births, deaths, famine, wars, plagues, and economic changes. This is a clever and unique way to immerse the reader in the lives of a family while seeing the trajectory of glassmaking across centuries. Not only does Chevalier give us noteworthy characters and an immersive plot, she manipulates time expertly and believably: a remarkable read.
**Editors' Choice
--Historical Novels Review, August 2024

"The Glassmaker" by Tracy Chevalier is a captivating historical novel set in Murano, Italy. Spanning five centuries, it follows the Rosso family of glassmakers. Chevalier’s lush prose and vivid descriptions of glassmaking artistry, combined with rich character development, create an enchanting, timeless tale.