If you love to rip a heady piece and sink into a rich piece of historical fiction, this month’s Page Burner pick is for you: “The Glassmaker” by Tracy Chevalier.
The somewhat mystical, time-bending narrative of “The Glassmaker” spans across six centuries, from the height of the Renaissance to modern day. Our journey begins in 1486 along Murano’s famed “canal of glass” in Italy. On this small island in the Venetian Lagoon, glassmaking is a craft so prized that master artisans, or maestros, were once forbidden to leave.
It’s here that we meet Orsola Rosso, the eldest daughter in a proud family of glassmakers. She grows up fascinated by how the furnaces glow, but as a girl, she’s expected to stay out of the workshop and contribute to the household. When her father suddenly passes away, the Rossos’ livelihood is thrown into uncertainty. Rosso learns to make glass beads in secret to keep the family business afloat in a world where women are not welcome at the workbench.
What makes “The Glassmaker” so mesmerizing is Chevalier’s unusual passage of time. The story leaps throughout eras of history, yet the core cast of characters remains with us. Time moves differently here in the City of Water: fluid and bending, much like molten glass itself. Across the centuries, Chevalier explores the quiet resilience of women navigating male-dominated crafts, all set against the backdrop of Venice and its evolving artistic landscape.
As you read the novel, be sure to also pay your respects to the modern, badass women in glass featured throughout this issue of the Leaf. Like Rosso, they’re proof that creativity — and a little rebellion — always has a place in our world.
“The Glassmaker”
Written by Tracy Chevalier
@tracychevalierwriter
Published by Penguin Random House
