This historical romance that takes place in Holland during the time of the great painters there. Francesca Visser, daughter of Hendrick Visser, a friend of the painter Rembrandt, yearns to become a master artist on her own, and her dreams come true when she is finally apprenticed to the artist Vermeer. Her father, in order to settle his gambling debts, has secretly betrothed her to wealthy, sinister Ludolf VanDeventer, but she is really in love with tulip grower Pieter Van Doorne. Add to this the love lives and fortunes (or lack of them) of her sisters Aleta and Sybilla, and this begins to sound like "just any old pot boiler romance." What saves it is that the author really knows her history as well as the art, and makes it all come alive for the reader. Although parts of the plot are convenient and even predictable, I found that this novel of almost 600 pages held my interest to the end. One of the library reviews says this is for those who like "more meat than heat" in their historical romance.

I finished it.
Let me just say that I enjoyed every page, every beautifully assembled and fitted moment of this unique novel.
So easy to read, full of love, warmth, "The Golden Tulip" masterfully leads through art, refined and in sufficient quantity not to bore the reader, and also to convey a really beautiful and interesting part of art history.
Art, love, intrigue, malice ... and all that is perfectly intertwined, with gentle descriptions to warm your heart and you can not give it up until you finish it.
Very warm and dynamic work, honestly, I did not expect so much, although it was very commendable.
It delighted me in every aspect.
GREAT ...
The best lesson is that life is very short, accidents happen, much more often than happiness, but it is up to us to do our best to create our most beautiful image on the canvas called life ... and never give up. From whatever....

Seemed a good book to read en route to Amsterdam - seeing as it is set in that city.
Add to that the three sisters who feature in the book ,the daughters of a Dutch artist, and painters themselves. The eldest falls in love with a tulip maker, the second with a penniless artist. When they are not painting and doing other Dutch things, the girls walk by the canals and go visit Rembrandt and his family !

Clearly it had all the right ingredients. Plus we got it for 99 cents in an on the road side sale ....
"Lets buy , read and junk" said S . So we did. of course we didn't junk it. And here it is back in Mumbai on our already overloaded book shelves !

PS- And now it's become a family favorite . A and A love it too !

A really good read. A bit long.

This amazing novel has many different story threads woven together beautifully. At the heart is the story of Francesca and her family. Francesca is the daughter of a decent artist in Amsterdam. Taking after her father, she appears to be headed toward great things in the art world. An apprenticeship is acquired for her with the relatively unknown (at the time) Johannes Vermeer in Delft. Things all seem to be looking up – Francesca has an apprenticeship, her family appears to be doing well (her father has a wealthy patron), and she finds herself falling in love with Pieter (a tulip grower and landscape designer). Just when things appear to go well, all starts to fall apart. The patron of her father has become obsessed with Francesca and is determined to marry her – no matter what the cost! How do these problems affect Francesca’s art? How will her family fare? What will happen to the blossoming love between Francesca and Pieter?

My favorite part about this novel was the way the characters were written. I truly felt for the characters. I would be excited when good things happened and very upset when horrible things happened. Each character felt so real – they all had their flaws and personalities and didn’t feel typical. One of my favorite characters was a minor character – Catherina Vermeer, Johannes Vermeer’s wife. She was so good to Francesca and I just loved her personality.

It is very obvious that a lot of research went into this book. Tulipmania was explained in relative depth – this was when the price of a single tulip bulb climbed to as high as a year’s salary, everyone wanted them, and then the market crashed and people were left penniless. There were also great descriptions of the cities of Amsterdam and Delft. Vermeer’s paintings were discussed – what the meaning are behind some of the works and symbols, stories about the sittings as well as physical descriptions.

I really loved this book – it had so many little stories happening with this family and was very intriguing. I cannot wait to get to read The Venetian Mask which is on my shelf right now.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Good historical fiction.

Very addicting and well written…

The Golden Tulip will appeal to the heart of all those who struggle to reach their dreams.
The story, set in periods of Dutch history, weaves innocence and deception into a captivating tale.

You are carried back in time to notable confrontations with stunning realism. Artistic creativity of the true masters, bright and bold fields of tulips and the dark side of unethical behavior surface in unexpected places. Each chapter addresses the challenges of one character or another and you are often left wondering when they will reappear. If you try to predict the next move, you best put on your detective cloak. The author skillfully uses twists and turns surprising even the best of readers.

The characters, though a bit confusing at first, grow vivid and real with each turning page. Some are intensely and intimately described and yet others are mysterious shadows. There is a wonderful variety of naivety, common sense, shocking reality and evil in its purest form. Action fills almost every page and a roller coaster of emotional challenges soon beset the reader.

The story has many side plots which enhance the book. You will find a wide web of intrigue at its finest, romance with shocking consequences, and shameful dishonesty with scandalous results. The overall writing style flows easily. The settings and actions come alive as the author reaches not only your senses but your heart as well.

The Golden Tulip is a wonderful story for those who love to dream. It may surprise you what the human heart can endure… and still survive.

Great setting, interesting characters, apparently well researched - but hampered by clumsy over-writing. Every other sentence could have been cut, and the overall effect would have been much better, especially the descriptions of character motivation, which were guilty of telling in addition to showing. But once the plot took off, I was able to overlook that and I enjoyed the story. It's a little cheesy - happy endings all around! - but I wasn't expecting much else, so it made for an easy read in that sense.

So another one read in my quest to read about the part of Europe I'll be visiting in the fall. I felt that this one continued my education of the history of Holland, at least as portrayed in historical fiction. I'll have a better idea of some of the stories behind the places, and the people, when I get there.

It took me a little while to get into this book, as the author definitely takes her time and uses a lot of detail- NOT a quick read. But the detail is what makes the book so great: you really get to know the characters and you get a real feel for the way people lived at the time.

Excellent historical novel about Amsterdam. Although the principle Artist family is fictitious , Jan Vermeer, plays a prominent role. The intrigue of the romances of the 3 daughters was a delight. I especially appreciated the culture, the architecture, and the War with France and Prince William of Orange. The discussions of painting of the Dutch Royal Age taught me so much.

This book was way too long and moved way too slowly. I hated reading Ludolph’s point of view. It was gross. I wanted more of the second sisters story. I hated the weird epilogue at the end. We spent forever reading about every detail of their lives just for some sort of summed up chapter on the past several years.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The main character, Francesca, was a true heroine, with interests and intelligence and love. I had problems with some of the narrative though. For example, at the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to her aunt, who leaves to marry quite suddenly...so I am left to wonder why we were introduced to this character at all. It also took me a while to get engrossed in the novel, but once I did, I became thoroughly involved with the characters. I did notice, however, that when a character became in love, their love was always the purest kind of love, which seemed unrealistic. I also thought the epilogue was rather rushed. So all in all, I would say 3 1/2 stars because I became truly involved in the world of art and the world of this family.