Petronella Oortman is eighteen when she marries the successful merchant Johannes Brandt and moves to his family home in Amsterdam in October 1686. Her vision of a happily living in a rich househouse soon disappears when Nella is introduced to her new environment and realises that her prescence is not welcome. She rarely sees her husband who is always involved in his business interests and her husband's sister, Marin, ensures that Nella knows her place in the house. The saving grace is the occasional support from the two servants, Cornelia and Otto.
Then Johannes presents Nella with a wedding present - a large cabinet with nine rooms representing their house. Nella sets out to furnish the rooms of the house with the help of the Miniturist who creates the required minature items. But when strange events begin to occur in her life Nella begins to wonder whether the Miniaturist has powers to warn her of future events or whether the Miniaturist is controlling the events that occur in the house.
Petronella Oortman did live in seventeenth century Amsterdam and did have a large doll's house which she decorated. The doll's house is now in the Rijks Museum. However the rest of the story is fiction based on life in Amsterdam during the second part of the century. Amsterdam was a city of trade and merchants, especially those involved with the VOC - Dutch East India Company. The power of the church was also paramount and this affected the lives of the population, especially those who chose to live a different lifestyle.
A three part television series based on this novel was released in 2017.
More about the doll house of Petronella Oortman:
Hidden women of history - Petronella Oortman and her giant dollhouse - The Conversation.com
Petronella Oortman - Wikipedia
The true story behind the cabinet doll house in the Miniatruist - Town & Country
