The Golden Tulip

September 2, 1991
This period piece set in 17th-century Holland, though unabashedly romantic and somewhat predictable, is far from ordinary. Young painter Francesca Visser's absorbing story, displayed against a carefully documented background of Dutch artistic achievement, is mixed with turbulent politics and enriched by memorable portraits of respectable--and dissolute--Dutch burghers. Francesca's father, a debt-ridden and intemperate Amsterdam painter, faces 30 years in prison for an enormous gambling loss. To insure a loan from Ludolf van Deventer, an unscrupulous shipowner, he signs a contract authorizing the marriage of Ludolf and Francesca. Unaware of this binding agreement, the gifted and independent girl moves to Delft for a six-year apprenticeship with Jan Vermeer and falls in love with Pieter van Doorne, a tulip grower and staunch Dutch patriot. Her subsequent difficulties increase as Ludolf proves far more dangerous than first realized. The suspense rarely slackens, for Francesca's spirited younger sisters, Aletta and Sybylla, enter into highly entertaining and surprising romances of their own. Laker's ( Circle of Pearls ) tightly woven novel, swift-moving and filled with lusty characters, is weakened only by a convoluted, lengthy cloak-and-dagger finale.

August 6, 2007
Love, tulips, painting, Dutch patriotism and the dynamics of personal and political power inform Laker's sprawling saga, set in Holland during the time of Rembrandt and Vermeer (both of whom serve as secondary characters). Francesca is the eldest daughter of the painter Hendrik Visser and a talented artist in her own right. So is middle sister, Aletta, while the youngest, Sybella, is far more interested in marrying well. Hendrik is successful, but his drinking and gambling keep the family in penury. Once the girls' mother dies, Francesca has new responsibilities, which she must soon balance with an apprenticeship to a little-known Vermeer. Tulip grower Pieter van Doorne makes a delivery at the house one day while Francesca prepares to pose as flower goddess Flora for her father. Pieter is instantly smitten, but the man who commissioned the Flora painting, wealthy ship owner Ludolf van Deventer, has designs on Flora, as well as on the country's political future. Laker (To Dance with Kings
) excels at broad-strokes portraiture, moving from 17th-century intrigue to intimate glimpses of daily life. The absorbing plot unfolds slowly and conveys real passion for both life and work.