The Girl with the Pearl Earring is a fictional account of events in the life of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, in a city of Delft, Holland in 1665.   In his home a teenage girl named Griet comes into the service of the family.    She lives in the painter’s home and is part of the domestic staff.    Her maid’s duties evolve to the point where she cleans the painting studio, then over time to preparing the artist’s painting supplies and even to commenting on the development of the paintings over time.

In a stratified community, the influence of a lower-class girl on the famous painter is considered inappropriate, and it is resented.   Near the end, she poses for the painter and even wears his wife’s jewellery, a transgression serious enough to be dismissed from service.   She marries a butcher and at the end of the novel receives the pearl earrings as a gift from Vermeer after his death.

But the plot is not the essential part of the novel.    We are provided with a glimpse of historical life – the place of artists in the community, the roles and responsibilities of women, the divisions between Protestants and Catholics, class structures between the rich, tradesmen, and unskilled workers, evolving moral and ethical standards,  and the rights of an individual to determine their own path in life.

Best of all, we live the life of Griet, someone we would care to know and remember.

“My hair was long and could not be tamed. When it was uncovered it seemed to belong to another Griet–a Griet who would stand in an alley alone with a man, who was not so calm and quiet and clean. A Griet like the women who dared to bare their heads. That was why I kept my hair completely hidden—so that there would be no trace of that Griet.”

This novel is written with sensitivity and constraint, bringing a light tension to Griet’s predicaments, but never lapsing into episodic storytelling.    It maintains its tone, respectful, but insightful, bringing the reader on a surprising journey.    Highly recommended – 4.7 out of 5.0 stars4.7

An audiobook excerpt: