The year is 1686. The story is about Petronella Oortman, an 18 year old young woman who has, within recent months, married a man of 39, Johannes Brandt, to help her family solve its many money problems. Although she wanted very much to be a dutiful wife, her husband was absent from the marriage much of the time, and there was little physical contact. Nella was a bit immature due to her tender age, but she was brave and self-confident enough to travel alone to her husband’s home. When she arrived, she was greeted by his sister, Marin, who seemed distant and rather cold and calculating.
Johannes was soft spoken, handsome and wealthy, but his lack of affection distresses Nella. She observes that he loves his two dogs to excess and wishes he would display the same affection toward her.
One day, to show his fondness for her, against his sister’s better financial judgment, Johannes presents Nella with a magnificent, extravagant miniature house. It is an exact replica of their home. (The author was inspired to write this story after observing a miniature house in the Rijksmuseum) Nella is disappointed with her gift, believing she is no longer a child and has no need for such a thing, but she soon becomes involved, and almost obsessed, with the furnishings and their possible meaning and intent. Miniature homes are a trend of the times for women. They are not permitted to do many things in society, and this is another mundane way to occupy their time. As time passes, Nella begins to believe that the unasked for miniatures that keep arriving, are warning of things to come, that the Miniaturist she hired to help her furnish the rooms is a prophet of some kind, sending her messages and warnings that she needs very much to decipher and interpret for the well being of the household.
Mr. and Mrs. Meermans, Agnes and Frans, are involved in a business transaction with Johannes, and they play a pivotal role in the tale, but they are never fully realized and remain almost minor characters, along with his nemesis who possesses a less than moral background and character and would do anything for a price. He is a rather disreputable creature whom Johannes “befriended” and employed to watch over his sugar loaves, among other things. Although these characters play a role that turns the tale, there is a feeling that they are just dropped into the dialogue, at particular times, and their important purpose feels almost revealed by accident. I would have liked to see them further developed.
Two other characters were in the employ of the household. They are the maid, Cornelia, and the manservant, Otto. Both fit into the plot with some degree of importance, as well, with Otto playing more of a crucial role. Neither of them has their backgrounds investigated fully, either.
The book is a grand effort at recreating a period of England’s history. The story takes place near the end of the 17th century, at a time when women had few rights and were allowed few responsibilities, when the church played a far too influential role in the lives of the citizens, when the bias and bigotry of the church prevailed, and the greed and envy of the people ruled.
The book examines the danger of keeping secrets and telling lies, of defying the standards of the day and living a clandestine, unacceptable lifestyle according to the acceptable mores of the day. It also examines the compassion, or lack thereof, shown when an individual’s motivation, correctly or incorrectly, is used for the fulfillment of one’s self serving needs. It is a tale of forbidden love, overlaid with mystical and magical inferences which never quite come to fruition, or at least not fully or satisfactorily enough for this reader. The characters remain on the surface, and I wondered if there was to be a sequel to explain the story going forward, since there were many unresolved issues for the surviving characters.
The book would be good for a discussion on the absence or presence of universal civil rights and free choice, on the freedom of religion for all, on the power of the church to inflict punishment and effect public opinion, but taken alone, it would be best suited for a pleasant read on the beach.

A slight story gussied up with some mysterious elements. Liked the historical setting and the initial framework of the story, but it runs off the rails. Good cast of characters, but the story line gets sillier and more implausible as each character's story unfolds. The tone and plot of the book is way too contemporary for the setting and time period. I'm quite prepared to be transported into a mysterious world but there has to be a big payoff which the writer does not achieve. The character revelations were often 180 degrees from how they presented themselves and were completely far fetched for 17th. Amsterdam. I could see one, maybe 2 unexpected characters for the time and place, but the writer goes overboard with surprise after surprise. Also, the book finishes up in the blink of an eye after the climax, too quickly to satisfy the reader's need to leave the characters at a point in their story line that you can understand, whether you like the ending or not . In the end, it felt like a weak movie of the week, hiding it's failings behind the historical setting. This is no Jane Eyre.

Exploring greed, intolerance and the importance of maintaining a veneer of respectability, this story set in the seventeenth century also has underlying issues of class structure, racism and homophobia.
The main character is Petronella (known as ‘Nella’) who marries merchant Johannes and moves to Amsterdam to live with him and his sister. Marin, who is used to being the mistress of the house, is far from friendly towards the new arrival. She and the servants Dutch Cornelia and black (former slave) Otto appear to be constantly watching and criticising the young new wife.
As the book continues Nella’s spirit and resolve strengthen whereas her sister-in-law’s weaken. It emerges late in the story that it was Marin’s insistence that made Johannes marry and this makes it surprising that she does nothing to make the girl feel more welcome or part of her new family. The characters are well described and it easy to picture them. When Otto disappears Cornelia finally becomes more forthcoming and when major complications appear in their lives she becomes indispensible and much more like a friend. Although Nella is naive and unworldly, she appears to cope remarkably well with the severe cold of Amsterdam winters and her complex new life.
Johannes is not the ideal husband he appears to be. At first, his business thrives, but when he becomes infatuated with a young man he loses all interest in work and money. He neglects his commitments to the household members and a whole warehouse of precious sugar that needs to be sold before it is damp and rotten.
Our readers waited in anticipation of discovering the identity of the miniaturist, the source of her personal minutiae of her patrons’ lives and the motivation for her interferences. The references to the talented and reclusive model maker are actually rare. There are many unanswered questions posed in the narrative so it was assumed that these will fuel a follow-up novel.
This was a complex review to write because the responses to it varied so drastically amongst our group members. Most finished and enjoyed the book, despite a slow, labouring start for some and a few saying that the whole thing lacked intrigue and was disappointingly weak. The average score was 7 out of 10.

This is a spell-binding story of a young girl as she is sent to an arranged marriage and what she discovers her new life to be like. She meets people who are not who they appear to be and she finds herself alone. The story is easy to read and captivates your attention on every page. Secretly you want things to turn out happily for Nella and you read in anticipation that they will. Although this is a fictitious story, Nella Oortman's doll house is on display in a museum in Amsterdam and this story makes it come alive.

A true page turner. For me the book started out a little slow, but then WHAM we were hit with twists that left us not wanting to close the book.

Unusual setting in time and place. Members generally gave positive reviews. Some said it was slow/hard to get into at first but last 2/3 went pretty fast. Interesting, complex characters but left some unanswered questions. Very dramatic ending.

Almost everyone finished the book (unusual for us!) and those who didn't finish it ran out of time, rather than inclination.

Recommended.