'Spellbinding.... Chevalier at her fabulous best. A rich, vivid and gently enchanting novel' ELIF SHAFAK FROM THE GLOBALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here - like the glass the island's maestros spend their lives learning to control. Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime. Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss. Her creations will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna - but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her? Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city