Come and chat to Sunday Times Number One bestselling author Jessie Burton about THE MINIATURIST, Weds 25 Feb 9-10pm

[TillyMumsnetBookClub]

Chances are you will immediately recognize the sumptuous cover of our February Book of the Month - THE MINIATURIST is one of the fastest selling debuts of the decade, clinching the top spot in the bestseller lists and winning a National Book Award. Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam, it is the story of freshly-married country girl Nella who arrives in her new townhouse to find a cast of strange characters. Johannes, her wealthy merchant husband, takes no interest in her, apart from giving her a miniature version of their opulent home. When Nella starts to fill it with tiny replica furniture, strange packages begin to appear, and the dolls house becomes an odd crystal ball that seems to foretell the fortunes of the house's occupants. As Mumsnetter tripfiction put it, ‘do you like The Girl with the Pearl Earring and Tulip Fever? (loved both myself). In which case I think you would love the Miniaturist’.

You can find out more on our book of the month page, where you can also win the chance to receive one of 50 free copies - go to the book of the month page to fill in your details. We'll post on the thread when all the copies have gone. If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of those, you can always get your copy here

We are delighted that Jessie will be joining us here on Wednesday 25 February, 9-10pm to discuss The Miniaturist, her tips on writing plus much more. Please feel free to discuss the book here throughout the month (avoiding spoilers if possible) and then come and meet Jessie on the night, and ask her a question or simply tell her what you thought of the book. Look forward to seeing you on the 25th.

Hi. Thank you for replying to my earlier post. I have just had another thought (when you mentioned the details of the real Petronella)- would Nella be free to remarry in the future with Johannes gone, and therefore "fulfil" her desire to be a "proper" wife and mother? Just want to check that is theoretically possible for her, or would she be so tainted by her first husband she couldn't marry again?

Wow another book on the way - Spanish Civil War/London art world in the 1960s - AND a possible sequel to the Miniaturist AND a possible TV/film adaptation! What fantastic news

Thanks for answering my questions Jessie, huge congratulations on the well-deserved accolades/awards and the very best of luck for the future.

@whatwoulddexterdo

Hi Jessie, Firstly I would like to say that your writing is beautiful. You really seem to have a way with language, and I would love to have this skill. I was really looking forward to reading your book as it seems like everyone I know has read it or is currently reading it . However, I was really disappointed with the ending. I really wanted to know who the miniaturist was and to me the story feels unfinished. Was this your intention for it to be an enigma, or have I missed something?

Also can I ask how easy it is for you to end your story and say goodbye to the characters you have created?

Congrats on winning the Waterstones award and I will definitely be reading any further books you write.

Hello, and thank you!
I am sorry you feel this way - it certainly seems to divide people. You haven't 'missed' anything at all - it's up to you how you see it - that for me, is the essence of the miniaturist.
An important line for me in the book is when Marin says to Nella 'You saw what you wanted to see.' The miniaturist IS a real woman, buts she's also an idea. She is the beating heart of the book, but she is also a liminal presence. She's a comment on how, in order to survive our lives, we have to tell ourselves stories, see what we need to see - and sometimes, invest other people or deities with strengths and powers we don't think we have. But in the end, Nella has exactly the same qualities as the miniaturist - observation, understanding, self-belief, rebelliousness...

Nella is a miniaturist too. For Cornelia, who's scared of people taking her life as she knows it away, the miniaturist is a negative presence. She's a spy. For Agnes, too, the miniaturist is an avenging angel and she can't cope. But Nella, who already has inside her the capacity to grow and change and survive, the miniaturist proves to be a benign force.

Hope that's not too heavy...!

The characters are still in my head. I never say goodbye.

Thanks for your kind words re the Waterstones.

x

@Teladi

Thanks for answering my question. Just wanted to say that I personally didn't feel shortchanged by the mystery surrounding the miniaturist at all, and if she will remain an enigma that is OK with me (even though I would have loved to know even more about her and hoped there might be more tales of the miniaturist, I can see why you didn't tell us!)

hey and thank you!! It is fascinating who is happy to let it go and who isn't. We're all different. I think Cornelia was happy to see the back of her :)

@frogletsmum

Hi Jessie

Thanks so much for your answers to my questions! Just wanted to say how excited I am that there may be a TV or film adaptation, and also that I love the idea of another book featuring Thea. Best of luck with it!

thank you!!

@SomethingFunny

Hi. Thank you for replying to my earlier post. I have just had another thought (when you mentioned the details of the real Petronella)- would Nella be free to remarry in the future with Johannes gone, and therefore "fulfil" her desire to be a "proper" wife and mother? Just want to check that is theoretically possible for her, or would she be so tainted by her first husband she couldn't marry again?

Oh no, she could definitely marry again...and many men would want to marry her, what with that sugar...

@MovingBack

Wow another book on the way - Spanish Civil War/London art world in the 1960s - AND a possible sequel to the Miniaturist AND a possible TV/film adaptation! What fantastic news

Thanks for answering my questions Jessie, huge congratulations on the well-deserved accolades/awards and the very best of luck for the future.

ah that's my pleasure, and thank you!

I've got another question, about how you plotted it.
How much detail did you have in your head before you sat down to write, and then did you write it in rough order?
Reading it straight, I had some qualms and thought the book might have "jumped the shark" a little in the scene where Jack stabs the dog and Otto stabs him - I couldn't quite see how you could pull it back from there! Then obviously things developed and we needed an atrocity to nudge Jack into such treacherous behaviour - did you know that this is how you'd do that, or did you have a note saying "family does something really horrible to Jack" and then flesh it out once you got to that bit?

Great news about the TV adaptation - Company have done a grand job on Wolf Hall. I can't wait to see how they capture the atmosphere of your book.

And while we're on the subject of Mantel etc, do you have a soft spot yourself for historical fiction? Would you say there were any particular authors or books that you hoped to emulate when you were starting your novel?

(hoping you're not really looking at who's asking these, so you don't notice how much crazy-me is asking)
do you think an attentive reader would have been able to tell that Marin was carrying on with Otto? I mean, I got there when they all started looking funny at the baby, but not earlier - do you feel you dropped hints/intended to, or were we meant to be completely ignorant in the same way Nella was?

Hi Jessie, another question! Reading through all the questions here and your responses, it occurs to me that the character of the Miniaturist and what she represents really divides readers, but you obviously know your own characters and their motivations so well. I just wondered how easy it was to find an agent/editor who 'got' the story and what you wanted to do with it? And did you have other support such as writing groups or buddies on the long road to publication?

@booksandwool

I've got another question, about how you plotted it. How much detail did you have in your head before you sat down to write, and then did you write it in rough order? Reading it straight, I had some qualms and thought the book might have "jumped the shark" a little in the scene where Jack stabs the dog and Otto stabs him - I couldn't quite see how you could pull it back from there! Then obviously things developed and we needed an atrocity to nudge Jack into such treacherous behaviour - did you know that this is how you'd do that, or did you have a note saying "family does something really horrible to Jack" and then flesh it out once you got to that bit?

Plotting is so, so hard. Especially with such a large cast of characters and so many journeys they are all going on. And yes, some things have to 'happen' in order for something else to happen later...
By my side in a notebook I have a list entitled: Things That Have To Happen. It's that technical...! It's like a game of dominoes..you move one thing out of sequence, the whole thing falls down.
I had an overarching idea for it, Nella arriving, the gift of the dolls' house, Johannes's secret - but everything else was very misty. I had to write the book 17 times to get it in the order and pace I wanted.

Thank you! Pleased to hear that about Nella :)

Wow, so many questions! I love the way you speak about your book. You clearly love it and I think that comes across in the writing. In a way I'm not looking forward to seeing the TV adaptation as it won't match up to the images I had in my mind. A beautifully written book! Do you think it's important to portray strong female role models? Or was that a happy coincidence?

@TillyBookClub

Great news about the TV adaptation - Company have done a grand job on Wolf Hall. I can't wait to see how they capture the atmosphere of your book.

And while we're on the subject of Mantel etc, do you have a soft spot yourself for historical fiction? Would you say there were any particular authors or books that you hoped to emulate when you were starting your novel?

thanks! I'm so pleased. I have a soft spot for Hilary Mantel. She's impossible to emulate of course. But what she's done with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies is to revolutionise what we think historical fiction is, and what it can do.

Many thanks to Mumsnet / Pan Macmillan for a copy of this novel. I must admit, I opened the book with real anticipation, but immediately sought to quell any unfair expectation I may have held. It became immediately apparent, however, that the author is a talented writer. The prose is rich and exacting, the writing incredibly imaginative. The themes presented are brought to life with meticulously detailed descriptive language. It's interesting that the entire narrative is written in the present tense. This helps jolt the reader's consciousness to 1687 Amsterdam. A solid debut.

Just finished reading the book so haven't given myself much time to reflect. The first thing I did, though, was to go back to the beginning to read the prologue. I believe the scene depicts the future funeral of Marin Brandt. And, unlike the rest of the book, which is from the viewpoint of Nella Oortman, I'm assuming the prologue is seen from the eyes of Petronella Windelbreke, the miniaturist herself --> the "exhausted girl" is Nella Oortman, the "maid" is Cornelia, the man in the "broad-brimmed hat" Frans Meeman. Once the church is empty, the woman in question approaches the newly-laid granite slab, and produces "the miniature house with 9 rooms and 5 human figures". She then places the house on Marin's grave.

QUESTION FOR JESSIE BURTON:- The miniature house was in Nella Oortman's possession. It was in her coat pocket until the last page of the book, when Nella realises it's gone missing. If indeed my observations above are correct, how did the miniaturist come in possession of the miniature house again? Did she somehow steal it from Nella Oortman's coat pocket?

What first inspired you to write this novel; the first idea you had before it became a fully fledged plan?

What is the last book you read? Do you have to stop reading during the writing process? And if you had to recommend one book to us what would it be?

@booksandwool

(hoping you're not really looking at who's asking these, so you don't notice how much crazy-me is asking) do you think an attentive reader would have been able to tell that Marin was carrying on with Otto? I mean, I got there when they all started looking funny at the baby, but not earlier - do you feel you dropped hints/intended to, or were we meant to be completely ignorant in the same way Nella was?

people pick up different things. Some people had no clue about Johannes, others did...very few people realised about Otto and Marin. I had to remove some early signs because they were too clunky. But yes, ideally, you were supposed to be as in the dark as Nella, but having a little more powerful sight than her, at times.

17 drafts! Respect.

@MrsRedWhite214

Wow, so many questions! I love the way you speak about your book. You clearly love it and I think that comes across in the writing. In a way I'm not looking forward to seeing the TV adaptation as it won't match up to the images I had in my mind. A beautifully written book! Do you think it's important to portray strong female role models? Or was that a happy coincidence?

thank you! I am quite excited to see a TV adaptation!
I do think it's important to portray women in all sorts of lights - not just ingenue or harridan. I wanted women in all their glory and grubbiness. We are only human. But just as most male writers seem to populate their novels with men, it seems it comes naturally to me to put a universally lived experience of life...through a woman's eyes instead.

Jessie Thank you it was a fabulous book and it has made me love reading again :0) I loved the strong female characters in the book. Was the character of Otto (and reaction to him) based on anything you read as a part of your research?

Thanks

Thanks for answering my questions Jessie.
If you have time tonight I would love to know how much input you had in the design of the book cover and whether you were able to have a say in how your book was marketed.

@barricade

Many thanks to Mumsnet / Pan Macmillan for a copy of this novel. I must admit, I opened the book with real anticipation, but immediately sought to quell any unfair expectation I may have held. It became immediately apparent, however, that the author is a talented writer. The prose is rich and exacting, the writing incredibly imaginative. The themes presented are brought to life with meticulously detailed descriptive language. It's interesting that the entire narrative is written in the present tense. This helps jolt the reader's consciousness to 1687 Amsterdam. A solid debut.

Just finished reading the book so haven't given myself much time to reflect. The first thing I did, though, was to go back to the beginning to read the prologue. I believe the scene depicts the future funeral of Marin Brandt. And, unlike the rest of the book, which is from the viewpoint of Nella Oortman, I'm assuming the prologue is seen from the eyes of Petronella Windelbreke, the miniaturist herself --> the "exhausted girl" is Nella Oortman, the "maid" is Cornelia, the man in the "broad-brimmed hat" Frans Meeman. Once the church is empty, the woman in question approaches the newly-laid granite slab, and produces "the miniature house with 9 rooms and 5 human figures". She then places the house on Marin's grave.

QUESTION FOR JESSIE BURTON:- The miniature house was in Nella Oortman's possession. It was in her coat pocket until the last page of the book, when Nella realises it's gone missing. If indeed my observations above are correct, how did the miniaturist come in possession of the miniature house again? Did she somehow steal it from Nella Oortman's coat pocket?

Hi barricade, and yes, you guess correctly about the funeral in the prologue.
With regards to your question - Nella is being watched by the miniaturist when she goes to see Lucas Windelbreke. She drops the tiny house by mistake as she leaves there (let's face it, she was never meant to steal it) - and the miniaturist picks it up once Nella has gone. She then, at the funeral, completes the lesson she wanted to give Nella.

Thanks so much for answering my earlier questions-very helpful in helping me think through an approach to a book that I am currently writing-that the story is the key and the research is there to serve this and not the other way round. Another question if you have time - to what degree is The Miniaturist and the character of Nella a reflection of your own journey into the theme of predetermined fate vs taking control of your own destiny?