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Córka Rembrandta
Wzruszająca opowieść o nieślubnej córce jednego z najsławniejszych holenderskich malarzy, która po śmierci matki i ślubie brata, musi sama opiekować się coraz bardziej szalonym artystą. Losy Cornelii nieodłącznie splatają się z losami Rembrandta oraz z życiem siedemnastowiecznego Amsterdamu. To barwna panorama codzienności w pełnym pośpiechu oraz społecznych podziałów mieście, które nie znam miłosierdzia dla tych, którzy nie żyją zgodnie z ustalonymi zasadami.
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2007
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3443 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
January 31, 2014
This book is an example of why I am a hypocrite. Really, and here's why. I write reviews and I constantly tell people how important they are, but then I read a book like this, disagree with many of the other reviews and shake my head at people. In other words, I disregard everything I read and come to my own conclusion. Now about the book:
I fell in love with this book just as assuredly as I fell in love with the last book I read by Lynn Cullen (Mrs. Poe.) I believe this book was marketed as a young adult read, but I felt it had much more depth than one usually finds in that category, so if the YA books tend to turn your head away, please give this one a second look anyway.
Cornelia is a beautiful, strong and capable character. She has the wit and intellect to handle such a strong role as being Rembrandt's daughter. Lynn Cullen has a way of letting the reader inside the minds of her characters so that they can experience their emotions and see through their eyes. She makes you feel like you are part of the ongoing story rather than just a bystander. I felt that way with this story.
I love when you read something and you just know that it must have been important to the author at the time that they wrote it. This book has some absolutely beautiful passages that support a strong story that gets stronger as the book progresses. I enjoyed watching the characters mature and grow throughout the telling.
The struggle of Cornelia loving her father even through shame, humiliation and ridicule from others was incredibly well written. I felt sympathy toward her and her situation and by the end of the book, I only wanted what was best for her.
The secondary characters in this story are also well penned and help to shed light on Cornelia's character and determination. I loved the setting and the historical research the author did was clearly more than adequate. This book is beautiful, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in the historical period.
I fell in love with this book just as assuredly as I fell in love with the last book I read by Lynn Cullen (Mrs. Poe.) I believe this book was marketed as a young adult read, but I felt it had much more depth than one usually finds in that category, so if the YA books tend to turn your head away, please give this one a second look anyway.
Cornelia is a beautiful, strong and capable character. She has the wit and intellect to handle such a strong role as being Rembrandt's daughter. Lynn Cullen has a way of letting the reader inside the minds of her characters so that they can experience their emotions and see through their eyes. She makes you feel like you are part of the ongoing story rather than just a bystander. I felt that way with this story.
I love when you read something and you just know that it must have been important to the author at the time that they wrote it. This book has some absolutely beautiful passages that support a strong story that gets stronger as the book progresses. I enjoyed watching the characters mature and grow throughout the telling.
The struggle of Cornelia loving her father even through shame, humiliation and ridicule from others was incredibly well written. I felt sympathy toward her and her situation and by the end of the book, I only wanted what was best for her.
The secondary characters in this story are also well penned and help to shed light on Cornelia's character and determination. I loved the setting and the historical research the author did was clearly more than adequate. This book is beautiful, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in the historical period.
April 2, 2018
The story is told through the eyes and heart of Rembrandt’s daughter, Cornelia. Very little is known about her. The woven story is a pure imagination of the author.
There are two plots set apart by a few years. In the first one, Cornelia is a seven year old girl with her mom still living. In the second, she is coming of age when girls start thinking about marriage, her mom is gone, and her half-brother is getting married. In both stories, the famous painter is already struggling, passed his prime fame, because he chose the work he sees through God, showing light in his painting, using thick texture, which is being seen as out of style by rich customers.
With simple prose, the author makes the girl’s feelings real, her pain of her father never marrying her mother, her father never acknowledging her or painting her, or teaching her to paint. Her pain of her father never taking interest in her and at the same time forbidding her the love she yearns for a young in-training painter from a privileged family. But soon enough she learns why.
The voice of Cornelia sounds very credible. The story is absorbing. It is a quick and easy read.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
There are two plots set apart by a few years. In the first one, Cornelia is a seven year old girl with her mom still living. In the second, she is coming of age when girls start thinking about marriage, her mom is gone, and her half-brother is getting married. In both stories, the famous painter is already struggling, passed his prime fame, because he chose the work he sees through God, showing light in his painting, using thick texture, which is being seen as out of style by rich customers.
With simple prose, the author makes the girl’s feelings real, her pain of her father never marrying her mother, her father never acknowledging her or painting her, or teaching her to paint. Her pain of her father never taking interest in her and at the same time forbidding her the love she yearns for a young in-training painter from a privileged family. But soon enough she learns why.
The voice of Cornelia sounds very credible. The story is absorbing. It is a quick and easy read.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
March 13, 2008
A lyrical and fascinating book, based on the real family of Rembrandt. The author has richly incorporated some of Rembrandt's greatest works into the story, and it's a beautiful book.
January 3, 2020
Imagine growing up the illegitimate daughter of one of the most famous artists in history. Not when his work is selling and he’s living in a fine house, but during his later years when he’s poor and no longer in favor. That’s what the author imagines in the compelling YA novel “I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter.” While the story is based on Rembrandt’s real daughter, Cornelia, author Lynn Cullen does not tie her novel to all of the historical facts or assumptions.
Cornelia’s story is told in the first person, both as a teenager dealing with feelings of rejection and her growing romantic feelings for a handsome rich boy, and through flashbacks to her childhood. The reader is transported to 17th century Amsterdam with its dirty canals, rats and an outbreak of the plague that takes the life of Cornelia’s mother.
Besides being a well-told coming-of-age novel, the author’s use of some of Rembrandt’s paintings as a plot device is a creative way to help bring the story to life. Strong writing, evocative descriptions and memorable characters make this a book I will remember.
Cornelia’s story is told in the first person, both as a teenager dealing with feelings of rejection and her growing romantic feelings for a handsome rich boy, and through flashbacks to her childhood. The reader is transported to 17th century Amsterdam with its dirty canals, rats and an outbreak of the plague that takes the life of Cornelia’s mother.
Besides being a well-told coming-of-age novel, the author’s use of some of Rembrandt’s paintings as a plot device is a creative way to help bring the story to life. Strong writing, evocative descriptions and memorable characters make this a book I will remember.
January 19, 2009
This was a good historical fiction book, but I found it somewhat boring. It took a long time for the story to evolve and sometimes it was not very interesting. It was the story about a girl named Cornelia who's mother died during the plague. Her father was a once-well-known painter who has since gone soemwhat crazy. Cornelia's life seems to be spinning out of control but she finds love where she leasts expects it to make ends meet.
I would not necessarily recommend this book to everyone because it was not very interesting, but it was a good read for anyone interested in historical society.
I would not necessarily recommend this book to everyone because it was not very interesting, but it was a good read for anyone interested in historical society.
May 30, 2009
Cornelia has always been defined by her father, Rembrandt, the once-celebrated now notorious painter. Most call her the crazy artist's bastard child.
But when a man of esteem, Carel, takes an interest in her, she begins to think maybe she can escape her impoverished home, just like her brother, Titus did with the beautiful, bitchy Magdalena(can you tell I hate her? A lot?)
When the her father's apprentice, serious Neel, begins to notice her, she brushes him off- why would she want to be further associated with the unstable Rembrandt, who has never acknowledged her as his own?
I LOVE the format of this. It starts 1670 when Rembrandt's dead, then goes three years earlier in chapters. Every chapter or so is labeled by a painting of Rembrandt's and the story behind it from Cornelia's POV, like a flashback earlier.Beautiful imagery.
But when a man of esteem, Carel, takes an interest in her, she begins to think maybe she can escape her impoverished home, just like her brother, Titus did with the beautiful, bitchy Magdalena(can you tell I hate her? A lot?)
When the her father's apprentice, serious Neel, begins to notice her, she brushes him off- why would she want to be further associated with the unstable Rembrandt, who has never acknowledged her as his own?
I LOVE the format of this. It starts 1670 when Rembrandt's dead, then goes three years earlier in chapters. Every chapter or so is labeled by a painting of Rembrandt's and the story behind it from Cornelia's POV, like a flashback earlier.Beautiful imagery.
June 20, 2010
cornelia is a failed painters daughter . cornelia is embarrassed by her father because to her and other he seems insane because of his relationship with God . Only neel remains at her fathers side when eveything turns for the worst . cornelia has an encounter with a boy named carel . they both take a liking for each other but when things get rough carel turns his back on her unlike neel. Cornelia has a brother named titus who has a different mother who used to be rich but when rembrandts gets ill and gets looked down on titus mother leaves . all of cornelia's life she has been jealous of titus and her fathers relationship titus is charming to his father and cornelia as if she is nothing . cornelia has an eye for painting and loves painting . when cornelia was little a man would always pass by her house she never knew who she was until the end . only til the end of the story she really k nows she is truely rambrandts daughter and neel and her is destined to be together .
i thought this was an excellente book inspite of all the horrible ratings it got i loved the book and i am glad i didn't put the book to the side because of other people.
i thought this was an excellente book inspite of all the horrible ratings it got i loved the book and i am glad i didn't put the book to the side because of other people.
November 26, 2018
This novel has the main character deal with conflicts like family, self identity, poverty, the plague, and love triangle. It takes in the 1600's so if you like historical fiction it's a great choice it's also a well paced story. It doesn't feel rushed and the ending doesn't leave you wanting more, it leaves you feeling content. I recommend this book to anyone that likes these type of things plus you learn a little more about art.
February 11, 2009
I'm torn on this book. I really liked the writing and the imagery and the characters. But the plot? It was just way too predictable. True, it is historical fiction but the main storyline was imagined by the author and not based on fact as far as I could tell from the Author's Note. The back cover practically gives away that Cornelia is torn between two boys and you can tell she will pick the serious moral one over the very pretty, rich one. Isn't that what always happens? So the first plot strand was ruined from the start. And the second, I guessed at 100 pages before it was revealed. If only one of them had not been so cliched it would have been a much better book. There was too much foreshadowing. Ideas are drilled in about people's character that makes it obvious what will eventually occur. It felt like a first writer's attempt.
I did really like Cornelia as a character. She is very strong and able to deal with a lot of her problems.
It annoyed me that the book cover spoke about Rembrandt as being maybe crazy. Yes, he is an artist and a bit eccentric but he is not insane. He did make mistakes and is flawed but really no worse than any of the other characters. He ignores Cornelia but I sensed that he understood a lot about her and the people she was associating with. And he does love Cornelia.
If I could go back in time I would tell myself to stop 50 pages before the end and that all my ideas were right but having them revealed was not necessary.
I did really like Cornelia as a character. She is very strong and able to deal with a lot of her problems.
It annoyed me that the book cover spoke about Rembrandt as being maybe crazy. Yes, he is an artist and a bit eccentric but he is not insane. He did make mistakes and is flawed but really no worse than any of the other characters. He ignores Cornelia but I sensed that he understood a lot about her and the people she was associating with. And he does love Cornelia.
If I could go back in time I would tell myself to stop 50 pages before the end and that all my ideas were right but having them revealed was not necessary.
August 23, 2012
Cornelia is the bastard daughter of a reputed madman, the famous Rembrandt—a once wealthy painter brought low. When her brother marries into wealth—and she captures the smile of a young man named Carel—she begins to dream that maybe life will improve.
A dream quickly squelched by her father’s careless attitude toward tradition, his failure to bow to the demands of Amsterdam society, and his complete disdain . . . for her. A disdain Cornelia cannot understand.
But then the boy, Carel, returns to her doorstep. And as her father’s anger grows, secrets begin to unravel. Because—like paintings—secrets have a way of surviving. Even in an era when death is as constant as the ringing of plague bells at Westerkerk church.
An excellent piece of YA historical fiction! Far more than just an imagined tale about a great painter, I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter is an earnest exploration of family, the power of love, and the meaning of true art.
A dream quickly squelched by her father’s careless attitude toward tradition, his failure to bow to the demands of Amsterdam society, and his complete disdain . . . for her. A disdain Cornelia cannot understand.
But then the boy, Carel, returns to her doorstep. And as her father’s anger grows, secrets begin to unravel. Because—like paintings—secrets have a way of surviving. Even in an era when death is as constant as the ringing of plague bells at Westerkerk church.
An excellent piece of YA historical fiction! Far more than just an imagined tale about a great painter, I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter is an earnest exploration of family, the power of love, and the meaning of true art.
December 3, 2008
I loved I Am Rembrandt's Daughter! I started reading it this morning and finished this evening. What I most enjoyed about the book was the author's vivid descriptions. Although I have never been to Amsterdam I felt like I knew it because of how she portrayed the city.
I also liked reading the parts when they talked about what it takes to make paintings, about how important the light is and about brush strokes and the other things. Because I am not a painter and did not know much about painting it was neat to read and learn about those things.
This book reminds me of the novel Girl With a Pearl Earring. (Which is another book I enjoyed!) It reminds me of that book because both books were about famous Dutch artists and their way of living.
I definitely recommend this to anyone needing a good book to read!
I also liked reading the parts when they talked about what it takes to make paintings, about how important the light is and about brush strokes and the other things. Because I am not a painter and did not know much about painting it was neat to read and learn about those things.
This book reminds me of the novel Girl With a Pearl Earring. (Which is another book I enjoyed!) It reminds me of that book because both books were about famous Dutch artists and their way of living.
I definitely recommend this to anyone needing a good book to read!
March 28, 2013
After visiting Rembrandt House this week, in the museum shop I noticed this book and downloaded the Kindle version. A very good read. Although fictional, and very little is known about Rembrandt's illegitimate daughter, the story is about her and her life with Rembrandt. Many of Rembrandt's later works are mentioned and it was fun to look them up and in some ways see the story come to life.
July 29, 2009
The writing was very good and the author talked about actual Rembrandt pictures. she did a lot of research on Rembrandt's life and art. But I had a very hard time believing the "surprise revelation" she put in her book.
July 2, 2008
I really liked this very simple and sweet book about love and family.
April 14, 2013
A marvelous story.
July 9, 2015
2.5
I loved reading about Rembrandt and his family, but the love triangle was so incredibly exasperating and the made up parts were too frustrating for me to really enjoy.
I loved reading about Rembrandt and his family, but the love triangle was so incredibly exasperating and the made up parts were too frustrating for me to really enjoy.
May 7, 2015
This was a great read!
September 24, 2014
I love the book. I even like cornelia's way of thinking and the way she cares for ppl.
November 2, 2018
I thought this book was quite enjoyable. It was super intriguing, and the history in it was fascinating. I simply found that it lacked that spark that makes a book great.
Although I wanted to know what happened, and for the most part it was interesting, at times I found I was a bit bored.
PLOT
The plot in this was really interesting. It was, as the title suggests, about Rembrandt's daughter, and she's been left to take care of her father all on her own.
They're broke, and Rembrandt, once a great painter, is now scorned by society. There's quite a bit going on, and there's some interesting plot twists, that never even crossed my mind.
Mostly though, this book was about the romance. Romances... aren't usually my thing. Not to mention there was A LOVE TRIANGLE! Love triangles... also not my thing.
However, the love triangle was actually quite well done.
SETTING
This was set in the Netherlands, in the... seventeen hundreds? Maybe? Something like that anyways.
It isn't a place I've read much about, so it was super interesting. I'm glad I read it just for the history alone. It was just fascinating!
The setting felt really real as well. It had obviously been well researched, and it just felt so vivid.
Basically, I was impressed.
CHARACTERS
The characters were... I don't know. I liked them well enough, but none of them felt particularly well developed. I already addressed her love interests in the spoiler tag, and there really isn't anything else I feel I can say without spoilers, so I'm just going to completely not address them here. Other than that though...
-Cornelia... she was... I don't know. I had moments where I really liked her, but she wasn't very well developed, and felt like cardboard a lot of the time.
-Rembrandt was probably the best developed character. He actually had a really rich character, and although he wasn't very nice, I liked reading about him, because... he NEVER felt like cardboard.
-Titus was sort of half developed... he was a fairly small character, and he was okay-ly (Tis is definitely a word... Don't question me on this...) developed for the amount he was in it, but I would have loved if he was a bit more developed.
There was couple other characters I could address, but I think the risk of spoilers is just too big, and they don't seem important enough to bother with spoiler tags, so...
OVER ALL
I enjoyed this book well enough, the history was really interesting, and I think it was definitely worth reading. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone, but I think it's worth a read if it's your sort of thing.
Although I wanted to know what happened, and for the most part it was interesting, at times I found I was a bit bored.
PLOT
The plot in this was really interesting. It was, as the title suggests, about Rembrandt's daughter, and she's been left to take care of her father all on her own.
They're broke, and Rembrandt, once a great painter, is now scorned by society. There's quite a bit going on, and there's some interesting plot twists, that never even crossed my mind.
Mostly though, this book was about the romance. Romances... aren't usually my thing. Not to mention there was A LOVE TRIANGLE! Love triangles... also not my thing.
However, the love triangle was actually quite well done.
SETTING
This was set in the Netherlands, in the... seventeen hundreds? Maybe? Something like that anyways.
It isn't a place I've read much about, so it was super interesting. I'm glad I read it just for the history alone. It was just fascinating!
The setting felt really real as well. It had obviously been well researched, and it just felt so vivid.
Basically, I was impressed.
CHARACTERS
The characters were... I don't know. I liked them well enough, but none of them felt particularly well developed. I already addressed her love interests in the spoiler tag, and there really isn't anything else I feel I can say without spoilers, so I'm just going to completely not address them here. Other than that though...
-Cornelia... she was... I don't know. I had moments where I really liked her, but she wasn't very well developed, and felt like cardboard a lot of the time.
-Rembrandt was probably the best developed character. He actually had a really rich character, and although he wasn't very nice, I liked reading about him, because... he NEVER felt like cardboard.
-Titus was sort of half developed... he was a fairly small character, and he was okay-ly (Tis is definitely a word... Don't question me on this...) developed for the amount he was in it, but I would have loved if he was a bit more developed.
There was couple other characters I could address, but I think the risk of spoilers is just too big, and they don't seem important enough to bother with spoiler tags, so...
OVER ALL
I enjoyed this book well enough, the history was really interesting, and I think it was definitely worth reading. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone, but I think it's worth a read if it's your sort of thing.
August 6, 2019
“I am Rembrandt’s Daughter” is in my mind the least desirable and misleading kind of historical fiction. It takes huge liberties in the complete absence of factual evidence for the sake of a good fictional story.
The problem is that a reader unaware of what is known fact, oftentimes presumes such imaginative plot lines to be factual. The best historical fiction attempts to recreate the lives and times of its characters based on real evidence. It does not make things up according to wild speculations by the author about gaps in the known information.
Therefore,I will in my mind the opposite of a spoiler— in attempting to set the record straight, so any reader will not get the wrong idea about Rembrandt and his family.
I feel the author has done a good job in portraying the atmosphere of his times—the sights and sounds and look and language and sense of place. All the more problematic that the reader is supposed to believe the mist egregiously outrageous plot invention that Rembrandt’s daughter was not his biological own, but the the result of an affair her mother had.
No such evidence exists. Furthermore, evidence exists than rather than having been neglected and being somewhat estranged emotionally from Rembrandt, he in fact made a business arrangement with her and his son to be owners of all his worldly goods and the paintings in order to avoid creditors.
The book is right to portray him as a somewhat disgraced and out of favor painter, but whether he drank to excess and was subject making embarrassing public scenes is more
authoritarial speculation, as is the idea of taking his daughter for granted. That flies in the face of the above evidence of trust he had in her.
A good writer if historical fiction can find a way to make the researched facts bring the actual persons depicted come true to life, not be turned into fictional characters divorced from them. This novelist gives a naive or uninformed reader a distorted picture of the past. It is a betrayal of what historical fiction aspires to do.
Not recommended at all.
The problem is that a reader unaware of what is known fact, oftentimes presumes such imaginative plot lines to be factual. The best historical fiction attempts to recreate the lives and times of its characters based on real evidence. It does not make things up according to wild speculations by the author about gaps in the known information.
Therefore,I will in my mind the opposite of a spoiler— in attempting to set the record straight, so any reader will not get the wrong idea about Rembrandt and his family.
I feel the author has done a good job in portraying the atmosphere of his times—the sights and sounds and look and language and sense of place. All the more problematic that the reader is supposed to believe the mist egregiously outrageous plot invention that Rembrandt’s daughter was not his biological own, but the the result of an affair her mother had.
No such evidence exists. Furthermore, evidence exists than rather than having been neglected and being somewhat estranged emotionally from Rembrandt, he in fact made a business arrangement with her and his son to be owners of all his worldly goods and the paintings in order to avoid creditors.
The book is right to portray him as a somewhat disgraced and out of favor painter, but whether he drank to excess and was subject making embarrassing public scenes is more
authoritarial speculation, as is the idea of taking his daughter for granted. That flies in the face of the above evidence of trust he had in her.
A good writer if historical fiction can find a way to make the researched facts bring the actual persons depicted come true to life, not be turned into fictional characters divorced from them. This novelist gives a naive or uninformed reader a distorted picture of the past. It is a betrayal of what historical fiction aspires to do.
Not recommended at all.
November 22, 2020
I really like Lynn Cullen's writing. I also read "Mrs. Poe" and was totally immersed in that story. The best way for me to describe her writing is totally transporting to another time and place, and she succeeds again with this book.
This is a coming of age novel - in medieval Amsterdam. It is set in the period when Rembrandt's popularity as painter has waned considerably; he is aging and broke, being cared for by Cornelia, his illegitimate teenage daughter by his former maid, who died of plague several years prior. The story follows Cornelia's feelings and experiences as a teenager, who is typical in many ways. She is ashamed of her eccentric father and of their poverty. However, she also has many worries that typical teenagers don't, such as how to pay for their next meal.
Rembrandt's painting has changed and become coarser as he has aged, with paint providing texture to his paintings through visible brush strokes. The current vogue for paintings favors invisible brush strokes and a smooth finish, so he has trouble selling what would later become some of his most famous paintings (hard to believe now). The story provides a fictional context for these paintings, which is clever. Reading this story made me want to learn more about Rembrandt's life.
Lynn Cullen does her research, and she did a great job of capturing the details of daily life in Amsterdam at that time. I sometimes like to watch movies to accompany certain stories, so I watched this documentary, "The Painting Life of Rembrandt van Rijn," which gave a general overview of his life and featured some great shots of the areas of Amsterdam in which Rembrandt would have conducted his daily life:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detai...
I also watched, "Tulip Fever," based on a novel:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491203/...
Set in The Netherlands in the early 1600s (when Rembrandt was at his prime), it has many great scenes of daily life at that time and in that place. The costumes and settings were inspired!
This is a coming of age novel - in medieval Amsterdam. It is set in the period when Rembrandt's popularity as painter has waned considerably; he is aging and broke, being cared for by Cornelia, his illegitimate teenage daughter by his former maid, who died of plague several years prior. The story follows Cornelia's feelings and experiences as a teenager, who is typical in many ways. She is ashamed of her eccentric father and of their poverty. However, she also has many worries that typical teenagers don't, such as how to pay for their next meal.
Rembrandt's painting has changed and become coarser as he has aged, with paint providing texture to his paintings through visible brush strokes. The current vogue for paintings favors invisible brush strokes and a smooth finish, so he has trouble selling what would later become some of his most famous paintings (hard to believe now). The story provides a fictional context for these paintings, which is clever. Reading this story made me want to learn more about Rembrandt's life.
Lynn Cullen does her research, and she did a great job of capturing the details of daily life in Amsterdam at that time. I sometimes like to watch movies to accompany certain stories, so I watched this documentary, "The Painting Life of Rembrandt van Rijn," which gave a general overview of his life and featured some great shots of the areas of Amsterdam in which Rembrandt would have conducted his daily life:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detai...
I also watched, "Tulip Fever," based on a novel:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491203/...
Set in The Netherlands in the early 1600s (when Rembrandt was at his prime), it has many great scenes of daily life at that time and in that place. The costumes and settings were inspired!
January 4, 2023
I still really enjoyed this. I read it before, even if Goodreads doesn't know that, but I am working to re-read and see what does or doesn't belong taking up space in my bookshelves.
I like that in many ways you find out so much about Cornelia and who she is, and her relationship with this painter, and you feel for her, and feel her pain, and then you come out of it with so much love for both her and her gruff jerk of a father, but at the same time, the story is so open ended.
I appreciate that the author was working to be historically purposeful and to add connections and give this woman a life and voice of her own and that once she disappears from history and history books there's not much that you can say or do to know anything about her life, but I didn't really see it as a love triangle type story, either, unlike how the dustjacket presents it.
She's relatively unworried about any of it, the characters and romance in so many ways don't feel like the point.
It seems like a daughter trying to find her father and understand why and who and how, and for them to come to each other in a positive way in spite of tragedy and the general circumstances of living with things like the black plague around.
I like that in many ways you find out so much about Cornelia and who she is, and her relationship with this painter, and you feel for her, and feel her pain, and then you come out of it with so much love for both her and her gruff jerk of a father, but at the same time, the story is so open ended.
I appreciate that the author was working to be historically purposeful and to add connections and give this woman a life and voice of her own and that once she disappears from history and history books there's not much that you can say or do to know anything about her life, but I didn't really see it as a love triangle type story, either, unlike how the dustjacket presents it.
She's relatively unworried about any of it, the characters and romance in so many ways don't feel like the point.
It seems like a daughter trying to find her father and understand why and who and how, and for them to come to each other in a positive way in spite of tragedy and the general circumstances of living with things like the black plague around.
July 15, 2021
Lovingly and imaginatively crafted, I AM REMBRANT’S DAUGHTER is a delightful, deceptively simple historical novel. The story takes place during the DUTCH GOLDEN ERA, one of my favorite historical periods.
The pacing is slow and deliberate. In first person journalistic narrative, the renowned Painter’s daughter compellingly expresses feelings, concerns and desires universal to an adolescent girl.
I very much enjoyed viewing the paintings depicted in the novel while reading. As a lover of art, it enriched my reading experience.
As little is known about the daughter of Rembrandt, Cullen does an excellent job of creating a storyline around the known facts.
I recommend this novel to lovers of Art and history.
The pacing is slow and deliberate. In first person journalistic narrative, the renowned Painter’s daughter compellingly expresses feelings, concerns and desires universal to an adolescent girl.
I very much enjoyed viewing the paintings depicted in the novel while reading. As a lover of art, it enriched my reading experience.
As little is known about the daughter of Rembrandt, Cullen does an excellent job of creating a storyline around the known facts.
I recommend this novel to lovers of Art and history.
January 25, 2022
i am rembrandt’s daughter by lynn cullen follows 13-year-old cornelia through several months in her life. she is, as you probably suspected, the daughter of dutch painter rembrandt harmenszoon van rijn. cornelia is basically a servant to her father, and spends all day waiting hand and foot on him. she wishes to experience other things, and she finally sees her chance when she meets carel, the apprentice of another painter.
i thought this book was going to have significantly more romance than it actually did, so i was disappointed when i realized the book was mainly centered on how rembrandt was an absentminded father who relied wholly on cornelia to support him. if i had anticipated there wasn’t going to be as much romance, maybe i would have had another opinion.
all things aside, i am rembrandt’s daughter is a solid book. kind of boring at times, but be expecting more relationship between cornelia and her father than cornelia and her love interest.
i thought this book was going to have significantly more romance than it actually did, so i was disappointed when i realized the book was mainly centered on how rembrandt was an absentminded father who relied wholly on cornelia to support him. if i had anticipated there wasn’t going to be as much romance, maybe i would have had another opinion.
all things aside, i am rembrandt’s daughter is a solid book. kind of boring at times, but be expecting more relationship between cornelia and her father than cornelia and her love interest.
August 28, 2019
This was a terrible book. Would not recommend to anybody ever, especially not as a clean read. You know it's a bad book when, among other things, the main character ends up falling in love (and kissing) her cousin that she didn't know she had. Granted, it was the 16? 17? century, but the way that the book was written made it hard to believe in the time period. There were some other things that really bugged me about this book like nude posing, bad language, etc. In conclusion, I would rate this book 0 if I could.
November 17, 2019
I liked it! It was just what I needed in a simple, easy to read, historical fiction. All things Rembrandt have been fascinating to me as I have recently been looking into the art heist in Boston where his famous Seascape is still missing. This book was a fun insight to his personality but more importantly his family, which not much is known about. None of the emotional stuff felt too cheesy. It flowed very nicely, even with the time changes from present to past. Any historical fiction buff would enjoy this (in my opinion). :)
March 19, 2019
Since we are visiting Amsterdam this month, I wanted to read something about Rembrandt. While this wasn't the best writing I have read, it was an interesting and plausible story based on the life of one of Rembrandt's actual children - the daughter he had out of wedlock after his wife died from the plague. It was fascinating to read about the process of his painting, and sad to learn that he had become penniless towards the end of his life.
July 3, 2019
This book is beautifully written. Lynn Cullen writes amazingly rich stories. This is historical fiction, drawn from people and events. Cornelia was a real person, and though there is little we know about her story, we get a glimpse of what she may have been like, what Rembrandt was very likely like, and life in Amsterdam in the 17th century, during years when the plague took a tremendous toll.
July 10, 2019
This book is beautifully written. Lynn Cullen writes amazingly rich stories. This is historical fiction, drawn from people and events. Cornelia was a real person, and though there is little we know about her story, we get a glimpse of what she may have been like, what Rembrandt was very likely like, and life in Amsterdam in the 17th century, during years when the plague took a tremendous toll.
July 5, 2024
Not the typical YA, (myself, not a young adult), really enjoyed it. I love learning about famous historical men through the women in their lives. Sweet story told from the point of view of Rembrandt's bastard, teenage daughter. I hope Ms Cullen branches out into adult fiction as she has a pleasant and easy to read style of writing.
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