Rembrandt's Mirror

A ravishing tale that kept me enthralled from beginning to end. A vision of what it means to live, to love and to be mortal - its warmth, intensity and intimacy stays with me still.

Beautifully written - intense, lyrical, well-paced, the voice finely judged. The most impressive thing is how the novel plays out from inside Hendrickje’s head, her responses to Rembrandt, and being part of a household in which she, as an innocent, is observing a sexual relationship and coming to understand it and her own sexuality. This is very powerful, compelling writing.

[A] moving affirmation of the importance of love in the face of the mortality that Rembrandt reflects in his art.

The writing is laced with painterly description and art theory, giving the impression that we are looking at his world through an artist’s eyes. We are swept along in a rich, assured narrative that sees both maid and master hold up a mirror to each other, for the most brutally honest of self-portraits [...] A compelling story.

This commendable debut does for Rembrandt what Girl With a Pearl Earring did for Vermeer. Seen through the eyes of Rembrandt's maid and paramour, it charts the last 20 years of his life. Devereux has done her research, capturing the oppressive Calvinism of 17th century Amsterdam and drawing on some of the great master's most iconic paintings. Defying convention, poverty and plague, he emerges as uncompromising in pursuit of his art.