Midnight Blue

April 23, 2018
Set in 1654, Dutch author van der Vlugt’s first novel to be published in the U.S. paints a fascinating portrait of Holland at the height of its economic and artistic power. After one moment of weakness leads to a pregnancy, independent, resourceful Catrin Barentsdochter ends up married to Govert, a violent, brutish man twice her age. Soon after the baby is stillborn, Govert dies in a drunken rampage. Catrin sells their property and sets out to make her way in the world. She ends up in Delft, where she finds work as a china painter for Evert van Nulandt, the kind owner of a pottery workshop, just as fine Dutch porcelain is being developed. In Delft, she finds friends, success, and love. But Catrin has a horrifying secret, and the one person who knows it threatens to destroy everything. The mystery element is slight, but mid-17th-century Holland is a wonderful place for lovers of historical fiction to visit, populated by great artists, intrepid explorers, and enterprising merchants. Agent: Laura Susijn, Susijn Agency (U.K.).

May 15, 2018
In the mid-seventeenth century, widowed Catrin leaves her small farm for a housekeeper position with the wealthy Van Nulandts in Amsterdam, which throws her in contact with such celebrities as Rembrandt. Catrin's artistic ability is recognized, and a romance sparks with her employer's adventurer brother. Just as she seems set to find happiness, however, submerged secrets begin to surface. Catrin leaves to work for a third Van Nulandt brother, and there she meets Vermeer and becomes the genius behind the designs for Delft Blue pottery, yet she still cannot escape her past. The hustle and bustle of the Dutch Golden Age, with its commercial boom and artistic flowering, offers a vibrant framework for van der Vlugt's (Safe as Houses, 2015) tale of an independent woman attempting to balance past and future, practicality and emotion. Catrin is appealing, her motivations realistic and relatable. Already a European best-seller, the novel proceeds at a brisk clip, and certain elements guarantee that those who loved Girl with a Pearl Earring (2000) will enjoy this, as will fans of well-written women's and historical fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)