Midnight Blue

By: Simone van der Vlugt

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Amsterdam 1654: a dangerous secret threatens to destroy a young widow's new life.

Following the sudden death of her husband, 25-year-old Catrin leaves her small village and takes a job as housekeeper to the successful Van Nulandt merchant family. Amsterdam is a city at the peak of its powers: science and art are flourishing, and Dutch ships bring back exotic riches from the Far East.

When a figure from her past threatens her new life, Catrin flees to Delft. There, her painting talent earns her a chance as a pottery painter. Slowly the workshop begins to develop a new type of pottery to rival the coveted Chinese porcelain - and Delft Blue is born. But when tragedy strikes, Catrin has a hard choice to make.

Rich and engrossing, Midnight Blue is perfect for fans of Tulip Fever and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

©2017 Simone van der Vlugt (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"A clever story about a strong woman." (Leestafel)
"A great historical novel, with thriller aspects and romance." (Biepmiepje)

Hard to Be a Woman in 17th Century Holland

It's 1654, and Catrin, a young widow who lives in a small Dutch farm community, is plagued by rumors that she was somehow involved in her husband's sudden death. When the opportunity to take a housekeeper position in Amsterdam arrives, she jumps at the chance. Catrin enjoys her life in the big city and is especially intrigued by her mistress's painting lessons, even though her mistress hasn't much talent; she longs to try her hand at painting herself. But her past catches up with her, and Catrin feels compelled to move again, this time to the smaller city of Delft where she finds as a pottery painter, relying on her talent in in depicting scenes in midnight blue. Will she be able to escape her past once again, or will her secrets come to light?

On the whole, this was an interesting story that depicts the hardships and limitations faced by women in the seventeenth century and the strength of those who, like Catrin, took them on. Details of life in the art world and the rise of the Delft pottery industry are also intriguing, and Catrin befriends a number of artists, including young Vermeer. The plague features prominantly--as does, inevitably romance (wait--make that plural). But Midnight Blue is more than the usual historical romance. There are a number of twists and turns as the plot develops, and Catrin is a fairly complex character, if somewhat defined by the times in which she lives. Simone van der Vlugt is a Dutch writer, but a few of her books have been translated into English; however, since they are all crime novels or thrillers, I will not be looking for them.

The reader was very good, except she made too many of the male characters sound like they had marbles in their mouths.

Historical fiction with modern sensibilities

The story was interesting and with a nice flow. The characters were endowed with modern attitudes and these were intermittently distracting.

Cozy Historical Fiction

Imogen Church did an excellent job as always, however I did feel like her voice was the only thing keeping me engaged in some parts. Some of the plot was a bit circular, in the sense that other characters or external circumstances were always helping the protagonist out of sticky situations. The historical context was woven into the story well in most cases, a few name drops felt forced in others.

But overall, it's worth the listen! A good lazy Sunday or slow walk sorta book

One of those books you wish will never end!

I loved this book so much, I am actually considering purchasing a physical copy to keep in my collection. The story is so well-written and I absolutely love all the historical references to porcelain. We visited the Royal factory in Delft and we loved it! And then of course, I love Imogen's amazing voice, so this was a definite winner!

Excellent perfermance!

The performance was wonderful. I will be looking for other books performed by Imogen Church.

Could've been much better

Was hoping to learn about Delft Blue - learned some... Not much history or information was provided. The storyline was very weak too. I love historical novels, and this isn't something I will recommend to the other historical novel fans.

21st century concepts in 17th century surroundings

Nothing much to learn here about the art of pottery painting, life in either rural or urban Netherlands of the time, or human relationships generally. The setting could have been any modern place in a 1st or 2nd world country and could have been a lot more believable. Gave up at the half.

Suspense and passion to the very last word

A beautiful book. Full of suspense and passion right to the very last word. The historical events bring it to live and tell an even bigger story. Really recommend it