”Everything he sees speaks tulip to him. Comely women are tulips; their skirts are petals, swinging around the pollen-dusted stigmas of their legs.” Amsterdam in the 1630s was considered one of the richest cities in the world. Trade had been very good for the Dutch. Citizens were becoming very civilized with a growing interest in music and a need for art hanging in their homes. The painters of the city were kept busy with commissions as wealthy people not only wanted fine paintings on their walls, but also wished to immortalize themselves on canvas as well. Tulipmania is in full blossom as speculators buy and sell bulbs for ridiculous amounts of money. Oxen, houses, special favors are exchanged for a few delicate globes.It was a mania, verging on hysteria. Men were wagering fortunes on one bulb’s ascendency. People were making so much money that those of a more conservative nature were starting to feel stupid for not being in on the game. Of course, what goes up, as they say, must come down. Living against this backdrop of wild speculation and feverish conjecture is Cornelis Sandvoort. He is a man of above average means and in some circles would even be considered to be wealthy. He collects art. He invests in ships. His most recent acquisition is the lovely Sophia. She is much too young for him, but her family was impoverished. Cornelis is not only generous to her family, but also kind. He lost his first wife and his two boys. He wants a son so that this modest empire he is building will continue long after he is gone. Though past his prime, the tender flesh of the beautiful Sophia is all the Viagra he needs. ”For three years we have been married and I have not produced a child. This is not through lack of trying. My husband is still a vigorous man in this respect. At night he mounts me; he spreads my legs and I lie there like an upturned beetle pressed down by a shoe.”A vivid description to be sure. The passion is all one sided. During this act Sophia tries to keep her nose turned away so that his dreadful breath will not cause her to gag. She is too young yet to know that a moan here and a wiggle there will shorten the duration of Cornelis’s assault. Cornelis is proud of Sophia and decides that a family portrait is in order. He can afford it after all. As her beauty fades it will still be trapped in the paint laid by the artist’s hands. Did someone mentioned laid? The painter Jan Van Loos has a mop of unruly hair and symmetrical features. Most importantly he is young, and Sophia felt the biological groin tug of desire. There is no need to speculate about whether she will doink the painter. It is more of a question of when. Cornelis is a trusting man. It never crosses his mind that his bride might seek pleasure in the arms of a mere painter. After all, he saved her and her whole family from starving to death. Even if she can’t love him, she should at least be grateful. As the plot spins forward, Deborah Moggach does add some interesting twists. The story certainly carries a moral point. Sophia’s actionS affect more than just herself. Besides the embarrassment for her husband, her decisions fling a wider net than she could even anticipate. Throw a rock in a pond, and watch the ripples slowly undulate from shore to shore. It is hard to anticipate the full extent of our actions, especially when we break promises, start to lie, recruit co-conspirators, and play the tulip lottery in the hopes of scoring big. What could possibly go wrong?Tulips are fascinating. In the 1630s, they didn’t know that the most beautiful specimens are actually the result of a viral disease. They are spectacular mutations that fill our eyes with vibrant colors and fanciful ornate markings. Sophia, as beautiful as the most rare tulip, takes the chance that spring will always be in season and winter will never have the chance to make her lose her petals. Burning Heart Tulip, so apt for our young Sophia.You can see my movie and book reviews on my blog at http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
This book was voluptuous historical fiction without anyone's bodice actually getting ripped off. (There's sex and love in the book -- just no actual bodice-ripping or silly over-the-top romance.)Moggach paints a convincing and resonant portrait of a world poised between religion and secularism, tradition and trade, city and globe. Her appreciation for Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other painters of their ilk infuses her physical descriptions as well as her verbal renderings of visual art. Like the Dutch still lives and portraits from the 17th century (the time period of this book), Moggach's novel delves into the relationship between body, sex, mortality, spirit, and art. The voluptuousness (that word again!) of the flesh only draws attention to the transitory nature of love and life--which makes its pleasures even more keen. And this book is a catalog of those pleasures and intensities of the body; Moggach delves into eating, drinking, screwing, childbearing, nursing. Her diction and imagery are sensual and aestheticized even as her style is spare and lyrical--a combination of fecundity and grace that corresponds with the painting style she is trying to evoke.The plot is engrossing and perfectly paced. You constantly have a sense of impending doom. The snippets from various characters' points of view convey not only the psychology and perspectives of these players but also glimpses of the larger plot to which their actions contribute, even as the authors of these actions have limited control over their consequences. I also really appreciate Moggach's attention to female characters' desire for control over their lives, their circumscribed agency and mobility, and finally the way that patriarchal and religious ideologies shape their view of themselves.An absolutely pleasurable read.
What do You think about Tulip Fever (2001)?
Deborah Moggach really brings this period of time to life with deft strokes and faultless imagery.You can see the Road of Knives, you can hear the water rippling, smell the paint, and delight in the idea of the tulips. Some reviewers find fault in the book because it does indeed push the boundaries of the imagination to the extreme, and yes, maybe the characters are a bit too two-dimensional and it is tiresome after a while to always have the quotations at the beginning of every chapter. It’s very clever that the paperback book has paintings from the time interspersed between the pages, because first and foremost I think the author has done such a clever thing and made a link between art and reading that really works. Overall a very good read, and just about credible, and above all really think does conjure up the atmosphere of the times.Read full review at literary ramblings etc.
—Nicola
This is a compelling historical novel set in 1630s Amsterdam, tapping into the wild speculation in tulip bulbs that swept the country and the school of famous Dutch painters. It's also a love triangle involving a young woman married to a much older man who dotes on her and a young artist hired to paint a portrait of the couple and instantly enamored of his subject. The coveted tulips become the means by which the lovers plan to make enough money to run away together to a Dutch island colony, far from the reach of the cuckolded husband and his network of contacts who might track them down. How well does that turn out? Well, you can guess that the plan will fail, but finding out how, and what happens then, will keep you turning the pages. Moggach also touches on the mistress-servant relationship, especially when the wife and her servant conspire to keep the affair secret and pull off an elaborate deceit. It's quite a tale and currently being filmed. I hope the movie is as good as the book.
—Nancy Groves
My husband is Dutch, I've heard of the tulip-mania that hit Holland, I like historical fiction - all the arrows were pointing to a book with possibility. Hah. Not to be. Think instead of Boy meets Girl, Girl happens to be married to kindly older man, Boy and Girl fall into instant lust, Girl horribly betrays kindly husband, Boy behaves foolishly in every manner possible and on and on until we have a 17th century soap opera in full bloom (haha). Tulips do figure in, but just enough to set the stage for lunacy, deceit and,finally, ruin. Surprisingly, the kindly old man benefits in the end and not from tulips, but from unexpected liberation of heart and spirit. Anyway, this is a frivolous and silly read. Not even good beach material.
—Cathy
