Tulip fever is an interesting examination of the little known time when vast fortunes were both made and lost in the tulip flower bulb industry. Written by deborah moggach, i felt the book had all the makings of a crime fiction shakespeare in love funny, witty, and ironic, but with a great james m. Moggach, deborah, tulip fever, the dial press, december 18, 2007. Gripped in tulip fever, the amsterdam of 1636 uses bulbs as a. A tale of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception and retribution set in a refined society ablaze with tulip fever. While comparisons are often made between the tulip crash of 1637 and the stock markets plunge in 1929, reading a fictional account of the craze was quite informative.
In order to cover the expenses they have incurred in hiring a doctor willing to lie and cover up their deception, as well as money they will need to set up a new lives for them selves, jan and sophia get involved in the tulip trade. There are a few unlikely coincidences and ironic plot twists in this novel, which i wont go into for fear of spoiling the plot. Deborah moggach is the author of nineteen successful novels including the bestselling tulip fever. Tulips, flowers, and petals play a far greater role in the story than as simply a trading commodity. But as the portrait grows, so does the passion between sophia and the. Summaries an artist falls for a young married woman while hes commissioned to paint her portrait during the tulip mania of seventeenth century amsterdam. A cracking, crackling social comedy, with some brilliant observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist the times from the bestselling author of the best exotic marigold hotel and tulip fever, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns. Three lives are changed forever when sophia begins an affair with an attractive, young painter despite her better judgement. Some months later, in 1998, i was asked to give a talk about adapting books into films.
The carer by deborah moggach meet your next favorite book. The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide. This simple drama does scatter in historical events and social behaviors of the time. It stars an ensemble cast featuring alicia vikander, dane dehaan, jack oconnell, holliday grainger, tom hollander, matthew morrison, kevin mckidd, douglas hodge, joanna scanlan, zach galifianakis, judi dench, and.
It takes place in the netherlands in the 17th century when the inflated speculation in tulip bulbs is in full bloom. Mar 14, 2000 tulip fever by deborah moggach, 9780099288855, available at book depository with free delivery. The novels title suggests the historical phenomenon that may aid the illicit pair. Author deborah moggach will join us for a livestream interview on hillingdon libraries facebook page to give you behindthescenes secrets from the writing of her latest novel, the carer which is currently available as. Turn the paintings round and enjoy their beauty, for they shall outlast us all, writes cornelis in his final note. But tulip fever reveals itself to be so nutty because it explicitly believes its not crazy, rambling through its odd events and obsessions without an ounce of 17th. From the bestselling author of the best exotic marigold hotel and tulip fever, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns james is getting on a bit and needs fulltime help. The flowers can make or break futures in an afternoon, and its on this chaotic fluctuation that jan and sophia depend to make their fortune. It stars an ensemble cast featuring alicia vikander, dane dehaan, jack oconnell, holliday grainger, tom hollander, matthew morrison, kevin mckidd, douglas. I felt the book had all the makings of a crime fiction shakespeare in lovefunny, witty, and ironic, but with a great james m. Shortly thereafter, sophia is caught up in pretending to be dead so that she can be with her lover. Seven booktofilm adaptations you must see this year. So phoebe and robert, his middleaged offspring, employ mandy, who seems willing to.
A modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, supersummary offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. This was well written but the plot didnt hold up though the book started so well. About the author deborah moggach is the author of many successful novels including tulip fever and the best exotic marigold hotel, which was made into a topgrossing film starring judi dench, bill nighy and maggie smith. Something to hide by deborah moggach penguin books australia. Jul 09, 2019 a cracking, crackling social comedy, with some brilliant observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist the times from the bestselling author of the best exotic marigold hotel and tulip fever, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns. But the books excels in terms of plot and settingevery little nuance of 17thcentury amsterdam is described in deep detail. Review of the black tulip by alexandre dumas good books. In seventeenth century amsterdam, an orphaned girl sophia is forcibly married to a rich and powerful merchant cornelis sandvoort an unhappy arrangement that saves her from poverty. Tulip fever manages to bloom among the weeds the mesa.
When sophia unwisely falls for the debtladen artist, everything seems nicely set up for some intense domestic doubledealing, but director chadwick drowns the narrative in a torrent of subplots. Tulip fever has been recently adapted into a film, which i saw recently. Harvey weinstein on the challenge of growing tulip fever. In 1630s amsterdam, tulipomania has seized the populace. In researching it, i discovered the tulip mania that had gripped the dutch. I didnt know the history behind tulip mania in the netherlands. Tulip fever by deborah moggach book club discussion. Id love to know how many times the script was rewritten, how many times harvey weinstein slashed the budget, and how many tulip fever is a jangled mess of a film that serves as a classic case of too many creative cooks in the kitchen. A simulated pregnancy and the citys tulipmania are essential elements in the scheme, as are sophias. Nov 03, 2016 tulip fever is a story infused with metaphor and imagery laced through a time in dutch history when the tulip was more valuable than gold.
An artist falls for a young married woman while hes commissioned to paint her portrait during the tulip mania of seventeenth century amsterdam. Worst of all, the way the scenes plays out, one has the impression that amsterdam was the most peoplecongested place on earth, and literally in a party mode all the time. Sea fevers scary twist shows that sometimes, even in the face of. But while i loved the unique setting and enjoyed all the factoids i learned, in the end i was disappointted to find that tulip fever was. Considered a flop weekend at the box office due to an expected.
The plot moves quickly, things are hinted at and passed over but relevant later. This is the setting for tulip fever by deborah moggach, when rembrandt and vermeer painted some of the mostrecognised art of our time. Tulip fever is a 1999 novel by british author deborah moggach, set in. The characters were generally well developed and you got the feel for tulip fever but the plot became unbelievable and plain daft. However there are many surprising twists and turns in this novel, with a very clever final denouement that cant be anticipated. From the bestselling author of the best exotic marigold hotel and tulip fever, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns.
Many plot twists followed this, as they do with such things, but finally sixteen. There are numerous, ridiculous twists that tulip fever delivers with a completely straight face, and its all dressed up with a moody not your usual period film look. Jul 11, 2019 a cracking, crackling social comedy, with some brilliant observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist the times. Her screenplays include the film of pride and prejudice, which was nominated for a bafta. Dec 05, 2019 the carer is a book that helps us understand what it is to be a parent or a child, whatever our age, and deborah moggach teachers us to understand ourselves just as much as her characters. Tulip fever is a jangled mess of a film that serves as a classic case of too many creative cooks in the kitchen. The encounters between a lonely young wife sophia who is reluctantly betrothed to wealthy much older man cornelis are believable and. Tulip fever by deborah moggach penguin books australia. A wonderful read speculating on tulips was a twist. It shows through the story of how our insatiable needs can lead to horrible consequences. Despite sophias efforts to avoid falling in love with jan, the two begin an affair. Then, if youre like me, youll gasp as the consequences reverberate into the various characters fates, positions, wealth, and lives. There are lies, secrets, betrayals, and plot twists that keep the reader totally immersed.
Sophias wealthy husband, cornelis, commissions a young painter, jan, to paint a portrait of him and his wife. Tulip fever tells the tale of sophia, a young woman in 17th century amsterdam, married to a much older man. A sensual tale of art, lust, and deceptionnow a major motion picture in 1630s amsterdam, tulipomania has seized the populace. Timeless tulips is the third novel i have immersed myself in by gifted author, ellis nelson. Gripped in tulip fever, the amsterdam of 1636 uses bulbs as a trading commodity, their value based on rareness of color and singularity of bloom. The plot twists in unexpected ways and is filled with shadowy circumstances. Apr 10, 2001 a tale of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception and retribution set in a refined society ablaze with tulip fever. To give an indication of its drama, steven spielberg has already bought the movie. Many plot twists followed this, as they do with such things, but fi. The sins of lust, greed, and vanity combine with a destructive force in the novel tulip fever by deborah moggach.
It tells the true story of how people bet on the futures of tulip bulbs. Tulip fever is a story infused with metaphor and imagery laced through a time in dutch history when the tulip was more valuable than gold. Jul 01, 2016 tulip fever, the film of deborah moggachs 1999 novel, is released this spring some time later i was asked to take part in a discussion at a film festival. This is a passage from the book that describes what i love about dutch paintings of the 17th century. Rather like postbellum paper railroads in america, speculation on tulip futures was intense, frenzied, full of graft and greed, and, ultimately, largely built of nothing but grandiose dreams and. Sophia and jan develop an intense attraction, which leads to a torrid affair.
Adding a twist to the story, sophia and her lover decide to run away together, using sophias faked death in childbirth as their cover. Sophias husband cornelis, an ageing merchant, is among those grown rich from this exotic new flower. She is the prize he desires, the woman he hopes will bring him the joy that not even his considerable fortune can buy. May 19, 2007 d eborah moggach is perhaps best known for her novel tulip fever 1999, about a romance between an artist and his sitter in 17thcentury holland. Its a wellwritten novel, but the story is simply told at the same time. There are numerous, ridiculous twists that tulip fever delivers with a completely straight face, and its all dressed up with a moody not your.
Novels that shock the reader with unexpected plot twists and surprise endings. A cracking, crackling social comedy, with some brilliant observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist the times. Tulip fever amsterdam in the 17 th century was a time when commerce was king and the sale of tulip bulbs made some people very rich and others bankrupt. A story of love, deceit, changelings, and mistaken identity worthy of a restoration dramatist. Like the scales of a precious tulip bulb, sophias life story is peeled away by the. With this one display of vanity begins the twisting plot of a moral fable that dooms. Sep 20, 2017 based on the novel by deborah moggach, set during the tulip craze in 17th century amsterdam, tulip fever, directed by justin chadwick, was not only romantic, but engaging and surprisingly suspenseful with plot twists to keep a seemingly predictable storyline interesting and exciting. Her screenplays include the film of pride and prejudice, which was. Id love to know how many times the script was rewritten, how many times harvey weinstein slashed the budget, and how many times the film was recut in postproduction. Although moggach, a wellknown tv writer and prolific novelist in her native britain, has published here before, this book, a bestseller at home last year, is the one that is likely to be her breakout. Apr 28, 2010 the black tulip by alexandre dumas also by this author. The way the tulip fever which actually did happen in real life is worked into the plot makes no sense at all. An prosperous elderly merchant rescues a beautiful young woman from an orphanage and gives her a wonderful life as his wife.
Aug 31, 2017 written by deborah moggach, i felt the book had all the makings of a crime fiction shakespeare in love funny, witty, and ironic, but with a great james m. In seventeenth century amsterdam, an orphaned girl sophia is forcibly married to a rich and powerful merchant cornelis. But for wealthy merchant cornelis sandvoort, it is his young and beautiful wife, sophia, who stirs his soul. Everywhere men are seduced by the fantastic exotic flower. To celebrate, he commissions a talented young artist to paint him with his young bride. It was a true noir that just happened to take place in 1634 amsterdam with a great hook. The plot is sound but the prose are selfindulgent and a bit add.
Tulip fever is a 2017 historical romantic drama film directed by justin chadwick and written by deborah moggach and tom stoppard, adapted from moggachs 1999 novel of the same name. From the bestselling author of the best exotic marigold hotel, tulip fever is now rejacketed along with the rest of deborah moggachs books in gorgeous. The count of monte cristo published by penguin books limited on 20030424 genres. In amsterdam during the 1630s, fortunes were made and lost speculating on tulips. Deborah moggach is the author of many successful novels including tulip fever and the best exotic marigold hotel, which was made into a topgrossing film starring judi dench, bill nighy and maggie smith. Thanks for exploring this supersummary plot summary of tulip fever by deborah moggach. It offers curious viewers a very horny, titanicesque forbidden romance, a subplot involving someone pretending to be pregnant for nine months, and then juxtaposes that with indepth sequences about the tulip trade in 1600s amsterdam. It is a book about how far one is apt to go in pursuit of love veiled as redemption. Hillingdon libraries deborah moggach, author of the. Its a great read and easy to see why it will make for an intriguing movie.
Tulip fever is the story of how sophia and jan plot to outwit cornelis and run off together. Apr 18, 2000 gripped in tulip fever, the amsterdam of 1636 uses bulbs as a trading commodity, their value based on rareness of color and singularity of bloom. The deft switching of viewpoints and each chapter is a single voice, sophia, cornelis, jan the painter, maria their servant and willem marias lover allows for a new take on each situation. The book, however, is not particularly about the events of tulip fever. The event was at the empire leicester square the very cinema where, some years before, my thenboyfriend, the cartoonist mel calman, had suffered a heart attack and died as we were.
Hillingdon libraries deborah moggach, author of the carer. As with her other books, this story is exciting, suspenseful, and definitely unique. Id love to know how many times the script was rewritten, how many times harvey weinstein slashed the budget, and how many times the film was recut. Jasmyne rose tzitziras polkinghorne i just got to this part in the book. Surprisingly enjoyable book with quite a few twists. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. In the novel tulip fever by deborah moggach, sophia sandvoort and an artist named jan van loos meet when the artist is hired to paint a portrait of sophia and her elderly husband, cornelis. Tulip fever manages to bloom among the weeds the mesa press. Everything is riding on this and i can see it all going terriblmore i just got to this part in the book. Seventeenthcentury amsterdam is a city in the grip of tulip mania, basking in the wealth it has generated. Once maria gives birth, then maria will be able to be with the baby, but of course i see about twelve holes in this plan right here. Tulip fever by deborah moggach 9781784700805 booktopia. Tulip fever takes place in the 17th century, not long after shakespeares time, and it is structured very much like a shakespearean play.
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