The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

 

Have you visited Venice? If so, you are probably aware of the glassblowing industry on the nearby island of Murano. You may have seen shops selling the art glass as well as the kitchy souvenirs that are made on the island at the present time.

Perhaps you purchased a little glass animal statue or a glass-bead necklace made in Murano. Art beads were invented by a woman in the glass-making trade in Murano (and this real person appears among the fictitious characters in The Glass Maker). Maybe you visited a demo of the ancient craft of glass-making or encountered art glass in museums or antique shops. 

Even if you have never been to Venice, you surely have some idea of the famous canals and the small boats and gondolas used to get around there. Or you may have an idea of the historic buildings and bridges. Perhaps you know about the long history of the city and its former military and commercial domination of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Tracy Chevalier’s current best-seller, The Glassmaker, explores the history of Venice by inventing a family of glass workers who lived and worked in Murano from the fifteenth century until now. In each century, the members of the family age only about a decade, and thus these miraculous individuals seamlessly experience the vast changes of history and the constant decline of the Venetian Republic. Tracy Chevalier somehow manages to make this a convincing story, despite its utter improbability!

The story’s central character, Orsola Rosso, is the main focus of the novel, beginning with her girlhood in a household that’s also a glassblowing shop. The head of the Rosso family and master artisan is first her father and after his death, her brother. The women and younger men were subordinate to them. 

Over time, Orsola teaches herself to make beautiful beads, using the glass rods that were essential in glassblowing. Her craft does not involve blowing glass, but using a flame to melt a small blob of glass and bits of colorful other glass and sometimes gold, to make a cleverly decorated bead: a technique now known as lampwork. Her identity as a skilled worker and her determination to contribute to her family’s livelihood, not simply to do women’s work (which seems to be mainly doing laundry) is a key part of the novel. As the history of Venice constantly changes the way the family needs to live, we learn both the personal stories and the march of history.

The Rosso family must deal with many challenges, including friction and rivalry between the family members, changes in demand for their craft work as the centuries pass, and quite a few hard times. During the plague years of the sixteenth century, they are quarantined with the house sealed off and sick members taken away. History more or less repeats itself in the twenty-first century, when the Covid epidemic is handled in very much the same way, and the characters in the book actively remember their experiences from centuries before. In fact, the way they remember and compare their experiences through the ages is a very fascinating aspect of the novel. It seems utterly impossible but the author makes it work!

Many characters outside the family also play a role in the story, including the dealers, rivals, and customers for the glasswares they produce, and for the shop that they eventually found to sell their wares. Tracy Chevalier has created a very interesting way to present this large amount of historic research and make it relatable. 

The author acknowledges this painting as her inspiration for the character of a gondolier of African origin. He was enslaved by the agent who bought the family’s products, and played an interesting role in the novel throughout the centuries that are covered. The image shown is a detail from a large painting.

I have only read a few of the novels of Tracy Chevalier, specifically, Remarkable Creatures, The Last Runaway, and The Glass Maker. I may read more of them eventually, as I have enjoyed them and learned from them. In 2003 when living in Santa Barbara, I attended a pre-release showing of the film “Girl With a Pearl Earring” based on her most successful book, and it was a very memorable experience to hear a lecture from the film maker along with the preliminary version.

A close look at a decorated glass bead 

from Murano made by “lampwork.” 

— source: Venetian Bead Shop

Review © 2025 mae sander