I wondered for a while if I was not enjoying this due to issues in translation but I think that it was actually more to do with the plot. I did not engage with the characters and nor did the narrative interest me. I picked it up in an effort to learn more about Holland and Dutch industries but rapidly realised that this was the wrong choice. I found a lot of the dialogue extremely anachronistic given the intended time period and it just made it impossible for to suspend disbelief. Sigh. A few real historical fiction 'no nos' here and I couldn't look past them.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

It took me three attempts to get into this book, but when I persisted I became entranced by the story of Catrin and her desire to leave her rural home and seek her fortune in the city. It is set in 17th century Holland, which has been described as the Dutch golden age, when dutch art, trade and science was the best in the world.
Catrin’s journey takes her to the small city of Alkmarr then on to Amsterdam and ultimately Delft. During her adventures she meets the the painters Rembrandt and Vermeer and I think the author researched it well, they where both where she said they would be at the time (as far as I can tell with the help of Wikipedia). She also finds love, loses it and finds it again twice. She suffers loss, pain, injury, blackmail and betrayal. There is also an epidemic of the bubonic plague which is almost a character in itself. Altogether a roller-coaster ride of a young life.

Catrin is a reliable narrator of her tale, but chooses carefully when to reveal certain information. At first I was bothered by the lack of authenticity of the first person narration. She is a country girl from the 1600’s but sounds much more like the voice of a modern woman. Maybe she was ahead of her time but It is something I do struggle with with historical novels as a genre.

I really enjoyed this book, its very easy read and I feel that I have learnt something about the art of making and painting pottery in the 17th century. Not sure quite how useful that will be but never mind.
This is a book that I would probably recommend to anybody who likes historical novels and there is no graphic sex or violence contained within so it would be suitable for everybody.

This historical novel by Dutch author Simone van der Vlugt follows Catrin, a driven and talented young widow who is desperate for a fresh start after the death of her abusive husband. The story begins in 1654, during the Dutch Golden Age; Catrin sets out from her small village in North Holland in search of work and new opportunities—settling first in Amsterdam before moving on to Delft. As she navigates this new chapter, her life is complicated by secrets from her past and romantic possibilities in the present. Ultimately her journey is brightened by her artistic pursuits, which land her a role in the creation and rise of Delft Blue pottery and even allow her to interactwith real-life famous Dutch painters (much to the delight of Rembrandt and Vermeer fans).
Van der Vlugt lets her novel’s plot take several melodramatic turns. At times these sudden, somewhat unlikely shifts or scenes can distract from the believability of the characters. Still, such twists also add suspense to the story and will likely keep most readers curiously turning the page to the end.
What’s more, van der Vlugt artfully handles the true-to-life tragedy of the Black Death by highlighting both the horrific sweep of the pandemic and moments of hope in the midst of the crisis. She even probes the difficult religious conversations often evoked by suffering, such as differing beliefs about the connection between tragedy, human guilt, and God’s will.
Midnight Blue may not be a wholly realistic novel, but it is a highly readable one that satisfyingly captures the excitement, energy, and tension of a culturally vibrant period in Dutch history.

Midnight Blue is a novel set in the Netherlands in the 17th century and written by Dutch author Simone van der Vlugt. Originally published in Dutch, this edition from HarperCollins features an English translation by Jenny Watson.

As the novel opens in 1654, we meet Catrin, a young woman who lives in the village of De Rijp and who has recently been widowed. Hoping to make a new start, Catrin says goodbye to her family and sets out on the long journey to Amsterdam, where she has been offered work. Arriving in the city, she takes up her new position as housekeeper to the merchant Adriaan van Nulandt.

As she settles into her job and gets to know the family, an attraction forms between Catrin and Adriaan’s younger brother, the charismatic and adventurous Matthias. She also watches with envy and fascination as Adriaan’s wife, Brigitta, is encouraged to pursue her passion for painting, something for which Catrin also has a talent. It’s not long, however, before a face Catrin thought she had left behind reappears, threatening to tear apart the new life she has built for herself – and so she decides it’s time to move on again, this time to Delft and the home of another Van Nulandt brother, Evert. Evert owns a pottery workshop and it is here that Catrin finds an opportunity to put her artistic abilities to good use at last…

Although Catrin’s personal story is fictional, the world in which Simone van der Vlugt places her is grounded in historical fact. My knowledge of Dutch history is very limited, picked up mainly from the few other novels I’ve read set in the country, and it’s always good to have the opportunity to learn something new! The period covered by the novel includes such notable events as the Delft Explosion of 1654 and an outbreak of the plague. Life in Catrin’s home village of De Rijp and the cities of Amsterdam and Delft is vividly described, and as Catrin spends so much time travelling from one place to another, we are also given descriptions of the scenery seen from the canals and rivers which link her various destinations.

The time during which the novel is set – known as the Dutch Golden Age – saw art, science, trade and industry flourishing in the Netherlands, including the pottery industry which forms such an important part of the story. You can expect to learn a lot about mixing chemicals, painting designs, glazing pots and firing them in kilns…and you’ll come away from the novel with an admiration for Delft Blue, the blue and white pottery produced at Evert’s workshop. Several historical figures from the art world are incorporated into the story too, although I found it difficult to believe that Catrin would have come into contact with so many famous artists of the period – Rembrandt, Vermeer, Nicolaes Maes and Carel Fabritius all make an appearance and all have words of advice or encouragement for Catrin.

Catrin herself is an interesting character. The novel is written in first person present tense, which is not my favourite for historical fiction, but it does mean that we get to know our narrator quite well. Even so, we don’t know everything about her immediately; Catrin keeps some parts of her past hidden to be revealed later on – and when the past does begin to catch up with her, this introduces a thriller element to the novel which adds another layer of interest. I was occasionally pulled out of the 17th century by the use of a word or phrase which felt too modern, but it’s difficult to say how much of this was due to the translation and how much to the original text.

Midnight Blue is a light and entertaining novel which I would recommend to readers who have enjoyed other books with Dutch settings such as Girl with a Pearl Earring or The Miniaturist.

It’s 1654 and twenty-five year old Catrijn has just lost her husband. His death was sudden and they’d not been married very long. She decides this is her chance to see something of the world and leaves her small village. She takes a job as housekeeper to the successful Van Nulandt merchant family.

Her new life is vibrant and exciting. This is the golden age of Amsterdam: commerce, science and art are flourishing and the ships leaving Amsterdam bring back exotic riches from the Far East. Catrijn supports her mistresses desire to paint and in so doing improves her own natural artistic talents. But then an unwelcome figure from her past threatens her new life and she flees to Delft.

There, her painting talent earns her a chance to try out as a pottery painter. An unheard of position for a woman…

This is a wonderful book. It is full of conflict and drama but balanced perfectly with the normalcy of real life. We see Catrijn’s hopes and fears and although her ambitions and talents are extraordinary, she herself is still very down to earth. In fact all of the characters are well drawn and believable.

Catrijn meets Rembrandt in Amsterdam and lives in Delft at the same time as Vermeer and Fabritious. Simone van de Vlugt brings these artists to life brilliantly without letting them take over the story. The artistic heart of the story is with the birth of Delft Blue, the Dutch pottery that rivalled that of the orient.

I definitely recommend this one, great story, interesting characters and I felt I’d learnt quite a bit by the end of it.

4 Bites.

NB I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review. The BookEaters always write honest reviews.

I thought this book might be a bit hard going to read as it is set in Amsterdam in 1654 and translated into English. I needn't have worried as I found it quite an easy read. I was awful at History I school ,I found it very boring but books like this set around historical events always awaken my interest.
Poor Catrin, married to a brute of a man who beats her for no reason,it is no wonder when he dies she can only feel relief. Catrin has a secret and before anyone finds out she has to leave her home and family. Secrets have a way of catching up on you and Catrin flees further than she intends to and ends up in Amsterdam. Everything is settled for a while but once again Catrin has to move and this time to Delft. This is where Catrin finds her niche in life, painting China and we hear the story of how Delft Blue porcelain began.
I loved the descriptions of old Amsterdam and Delft. The excitement of traveling through the waterways on any kind of craft which was usually carrying goods for trading. The horror of the plague as it spread through the towns and villages and the fear held by everyone.
Catrin experienced hardship along the way but her meeting of each of three brothers and their friends helped her to live,love and find peace with her past.
This was a good read and there was never a dull moment throught the story. I don't think you have to love historical books to enjoy this,it's not too heavy on the history.

“Midnight Blue”, written by Dutch author Simone Van Der Vlugt and translated by Jenny Watson is an interesting book.
It follows a short period in the life of a Dutch woman, Catrin. During this time, she marries Govert, but very soon, she realises her mistake, as Govert is a wife beater. It is with a certain amount of relief that her husband dies quite soon after their marriage, but Catrin feels she must sell her property and leave her home village. On her travels, she works in a several towns and cities, including Amsterdam and Delft.
The year or so in which we come to know Catrin is a tumultuous time for her. She falls in love, discovers a great talent for painting pottery, but also faces uncertainty and threats from her past. The plague is also a fearful enemy. As I read this story, I came to admire Catrin more and more. Some of her choices in life may not have been completely sound or moral, but her ability to rise above adversity is admirable, I think. I found that I cared about what became of her and followed her tale with interest.
Although set in the 17th century, this is a genre-defying novel. Yes, it is historical, but it is also a murder mystery and a love story, which makes it appealing on several levels. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Holland and especially of Delft; for anyone interested in the development of Dutch Porcelain, this is a good read, as the process is described in considerable detail. Using some real historical figures in the story also piqued my interest – Quentin and Angelika van Cleynhoven, Rembrandt, Nicolaes Maes and Johannes Vermeer are all part of this novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Midnight Blue” and wish to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Thanks netgalley for this ARC.

Art, life, love, murder, and blackmail combine in a fresh Amsterdam setting

An interesting story about the creation of Delft Blue pottery but wrapped up in a simplistic romance vehicle. There's little sense of history here (though that might be a function of translation) and Cat could be a farming girl/brilliant artist/widow/lover in any number of historical periods going by the way she thinks and speaks.

I never believe historical novels where the protagonists are brought to meet all the famous people however unlikely: here Rembrandt and Vermeer,

So I wanted something much richer, denser and more complicated: this is easy reading romance with a bit of business/art thrown in - good if you like your history lightweight and accessible.

Recently widowed, Catrin Barentsdochter is a free woman again at the age of 25 and vows that 1654 will finally be her year of change. She’s tired of working the land and amusing herself by painting decorative furniture in her spare time. She wants nothing more than to escape the claustrophobic parochialism of her little village, De Rijp, and make a new life for herself in the nearby town of Alkmaar. However, when an unexpected meeting leads to an offer of work in distant Amsterdam, Catrin realises that the scope of her world might be wider than she ever dreamed.

This new novel, translated from the Dutch by Jenny Watson, is clearly aimed at those who’ve enjoyed previous novels about women trying to make lives for themselves behind the neat facades of Golden-Age Dutch canal houses. It will sit nicely on the shelf beside Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tulip Fever and The Miniaturist. Whether it necessarily adds anything to them, beyond a new appreciation of Delft Blue, is another question. Midnight Blue is a perfectly solid novel, with a satisfying thriller hiding behind its starched linen cap, but I never felt that it really took flight. Its structure is somewhat unsettled, because you’ve no sooner invested yourself in the Amsterdam story than that’s cut off and you find yourself, like Catrin, having to start again in Delft. And there is something oddly detached about the style. How far this accurately reflects the Dutch original, I’m unable to judge, but although Catrin experiences a series of theoretically dramatic and exciting developments, I never truly felt that excitement transmitted through to me.

However, putting that aside, this is a perfectly enjoyable light read and, if you’ve enjoyed the other Dutch historical novels I mentioned above, then this may well be one to add to your list.

The full review will be published on 27 January at the link given below:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/01/27/midnight-blue-simone-van-der-vlugt