Petronella "Nella" Oortman has become the wife of Johannes Brandt, a wealthy businessman who resides in Amsterdam. When Nella arrives at her husband's house, she's greeted by Johannes's chilly sister Marin, his stoic servant Otto, and the spirited maid Cornelia.
Nella quickly learns that life in her new home is far different than that of her lively childhood country house. Marin is unfriendly and bossy, and Johannes is often away on business. Even when he is home, he acts like Nella isn't there. As if to make up for his inattentions, he gifts her a small scale replica of his house. Seeing it as an insult at first, Nella nevertheless makes the best of a bad situation and enlists the services of a miniaturist to create tiny duplicates of various items to populate the tiny house.
Nella gets more than she bargained for when the miniaturist sends items she not only didn't ask for, but ones that prove the elusive and mysterious miniaturist knows more about her new family than Nella herself does. As the weeks tick by, the secrets hidden within the Brandt household slowly come to light, some of which could end in tragedy.
The Miniaturist is a 2014 historical novel by Jessie Burton. A sequel titled The House of Fortune was published in 2022. Fortune checks back in on the Brandt household eighteen years after the end of the first novel.
In 2017, a two part live action adaptation of Miniaturist aired on BBC One. It was edited into three parts for its American broadcast.
This duology provides examples of:
- Arranged Marriage: Nella's marriage to Johannes was arranged by her mother.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Marin is Nella's sister-in-law but she acts more like a domineering mother-in-law.
- Time Skip: There's an eighteen year gap between the end of Miniaturist and the beginning of its sequel, Fortune.
- We Used to Be Friends: Johannes and Frans used to be friends, but after Johannes's interference with Frans' potential marriage to Marin, the friendship between them soured. By the time Nella enters the picture, Frans is more willing to destroy Johannes than become his business partner.
