| I think there’s nothing more fulfilling as a reader than marrying the pleasure of reading a favorite book with the experience of seeing the landscape that fed that writer’s imagination -- the colors, topography, smells and tastes that set her senses alight and then were captured on the page. Two new novels out this fall are so rich with sensual description and exquisite historical detail that it is, forgive the cliché, like stepping back in time. Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, “The Marriage Portrait” is set in 16th century Italy where 15-year-old Lucrezia, the daughter of one of Italy’s wealthiest families, is being married off to a powerful duke of Tuscany. He is gentle and welcoming to Lucrezia at first but the Duke needs an heir and when there is no sign of a pregnancy, a conspiracy blooms against the young wife. O’Farrell, a wonderful writer who had a global bestseller with “Hamnet,” contrasts the gathering shadow of Lucrezia’s fears with her exultation in the lush beauty of her new home. Tuscany blooms with hillside orchards ripe with sun-warmed fruit that is new to the girl, and flowering trees that perfume the air. She delights in the golden land that stretches out before her and we, the reader, can feel the warmth of sunshine on our shoulders. Jessie Burton has returned to 18th century Amsterdam for her new novel, a sequel to the blockbuster, "The Miniaturist" titled "The House of Fortune." As I opened Burton’s new book, I felt a flash of recognition, a kind of memory, for the world she’d created with her first novel. I recalled the silvered skin and briny scent of the canals that run through the city. I remembered the sounds of the markets, the hollowed quality of voices as they echoed through cobbled passages of the city. Burton has added a new element in “The House of Fortune.” A young botanist has come into the Brandt family’s life and he introduces them to the possibilities of tropical plant cultivation. In one scene at a lavish ball, gleaming trays of pineapple that were hothouse-grown on the outskirts of Amsterdam are brought to the guests and my mouth watered as Burton captured the experience of tasting such an exotic taste for the first time. Burton, who has explored every corner of the city, says old Amsterdam wears its cloak of romance and history quite elegantly, contrary to its reputation for modern decadence.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News | 