Chevalier, Tracy: Girl with a Pearl Earring

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When her father is blinded in an accident and no longer able to support his family, 16-year-old Griet is hired as a maid by the painter Vermeer and his jealous, egocentric, and frequently pregnant wife. Griet's responsibilities in the house are legion, and her tasks rendered more difficult by the unkindness of several of her new home's inhabitants. When Vermeer adopts her as an assistant in his studio--and subsequently determines to paint her--interpersonal relations below stairs are only worsened.

Tracy Chevalier has written a believable and moving account--or imagining--of the creation of Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring," the painting which graces the cover of the paperback. The genius of the book lies in Chevalier's investing the act of painting Griet with a dark significance one would not imagine it to possess. There is in Griet's modeling for Vermeer the potential for tragedy, and in the painter's final brushstrokes a form of abuse. Communicating this significance to readers--and imagining this history of the painting in the first place--is quite an accomplishment.