Tracy Chevalier’s The Glassmaker feels like stepping into a kaleidoscope—colorful, intricate, and timeless. Set on Murano, the island of Venetian glassmakers, this novel captures the lives of the Rosso family, particularly the indomitable Orsola Rosso, whose spirit and skill defy societal expectations. The story opens in 1486, where Orsola longs to craft delicate glass goblets, but as a woman, she’s deemed fit only to make “inconsequential” beads. Those very beads save her family repeatedly as the novel skips through centuries of triumph, loss, and survival. From the Renaissance to plagues, Napoleon’s conquests, and even COVID-19, Chevalier vividly portrays Murano’s changing fortunes and the resilience of the Rosso women. The glassmaking details are […]
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The Best Historical Fiction of All Time
I have 613 books on my Goodreads “Read” list, and at least a third of them fall into the historical fiction classification. So I guess you say this is my jam. Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the story takes place in the past. Historical novels capture the details of the time period as accurately as possible for authenticity, including social norms, manners, customs, and traditions. Many novels in this genre tell fictional stories that involve actual historical figures or historical events. To help you land on some reads you may not have considered, I’ve put together a list of the best historical novels of all time. Such […]
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