Beyond Blue and White: The Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic

by Genevieve Wheeler Brown

1 pages, MP3 CD

Published March 10, 2026

Reviews

[Lacy Phillips]

What a wonderful read for Women's History Month. I learned a lot, not only about the history of women in ceramic arts, but about general Dutch history, and prominent collectors of Delftware from elsewhere in the world.

The text has a common failing of some nonfiction that was adapted from academic works where some information was repeated in chapter intros. Not sure if this book was adapted from a dissertation or other body of research, but it didn't feel too dry and "academic". I felt like the real strength of this book was the author's obvious passion for the subject and how strong the sense of place was in the stories. Through the descriptions of the collections and workshops, I could imagine the settings very vividly though I did find myself a few times looking up photos online of types of ceramics and locations mentioned in the text to see if what I'd imagined matched reality.

I thought the narrator did a very good job with pronunciation of Dutch place names and terms.

[Catherine Brown]

The entire book was phenomenal, it was interesting and captivating and told facts through story’s. I was able to envision the story’s perfectly which made the reading an experience in a different world. I truly recommend this if your looking to learn about the netherlands and everything delft.