'As historical fiction, Girl with a Pearl Earring convinces, but as a study of human nature, honed by hindsight, it dazzles. Chevalier brings an impressive combination of passion, outrage and perception to a novel which is beautiful and brutal' The Irish Times

'Chevalier is a master of the telling detail, the evocative image... Through such detail, Chevalier draws the reader into the world of the painting, into the mood of the masterpiece she explores: moving, mysterious, at times almost unbearably poignant. Sometimes it seems so strong the reader can almost sense it, feel it breathing all around. This is a novel which deserves, and I am sure will win, a prize - or two' The Times

'... a wonderful novel, mysterious, steeped in atmosphere... deeply revealing about the process of painting... a truly magical experience' The Guardian

Tracy Chevalier has wonderfully evoked the Delft of the mid-seventeenth century Netherlands... The novel is as subtly haunting as the best of Eric Rohmer's films' Time Out

'Beautifully written, mysterious and almost unbearably poignant - a magical experience' Deborah Moggach