Book Review: The Glassmaker by Tracey Chevalier

The Glassmaker Tracey Chevalier

A few months ago I was excited to find a new book by Tracey Chevalier on the library’s list of recently acquired new fiction.  I quickly added my name to the holds queue and was very happy when it became available for me on Christmas Eve as I knew that, for a change, I would have plenty of time to savour this long-awaited historical novel. I wasn’t disappointed. This book has the same hallmarks as the other Chevalier novels I’ve read: well researched with good character development and in a great setting. 

The Glassmaker is set in Murano, a small set of islands just a 10-minute boat (vaporetto) ride from Venice, where glass making has been a tradition for centuries. The story follows the lives of the Rosso family from the 15th century up to the present day.  In an unusual departure from the norm Chevalier has kept the same main characters throughout the book: they age just a few years each century. Throughout the novel we learn about the fascinating history of Venice: the impact the plague, wars and the coming of the railway had there, to the place and to the development of the glass industry. Casanova makes a cameo appearance as does Napoleon’s Josephine.

If you like the idea of being transported to another place and other times, I can highly recommend this novel.  It is a story that will give you the feeling of gliding across the Venetian waterways in a gondola on a moonlit night in times gone by.

Magic.