Clara and Mr. Tiffany
Against the unforgettable backdrop of New York near the turn of the twentieth century, from the Gilded Age world of formal balls and opera to the immigrant poverty of the Lower East Side, bestselling author Susan Vreeland again breathes life into a work of art in this extraordinary novel, which...
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Against the unforgettable backdrop of New York near the turn of the twentieth century, from the Gilded Age world of formal balls and opera to the immigrant poverty of the Lower East Side, bestselling author Susan Vreeland again breathes life into a work of art in this extraordinary novel, which brings a woman once lost in the shadows into vivid color. It’s 1893, and at the Chicago World’s Fair, Louis Comfort Tiffany makes his debut with a luminous exhibition of innovative stained-glass windows, which he hopes will honor his family business and earn him a place on the international artistic stage. But behind the scenes in his New York studio is the freethinking Clara Driscoll, head of his women’s division. Publicly unrecognized by Tiffany, Clara conceives of and designs nearly all of the iconic leaded-glass lamps for which he is long remembered. Clara struggles with her desire for artistic recognition and the seemingly insurmountable challenges that she faces as a professional woman, which ultimately force her to protest against the company she has worked so hard to cultivate. She also yearns for love and companionship, and is devoted in different ways to five men, including Tiffany, who enforces to a strict policy: he does not hire married women, and any who do marry while under his employ must resign immediately. Eventually, like many women, Clara must decide what makes her happiest—the professional world of her hands or the personal world of her heart.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9781400068166 (1400068169)
Publish date: January 11th 2011
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Pages no: 432
Edition language: English
I was going to give this novel four stars, but after some thinking I felt I might've been a little too generous with my four stars, hence skewing my whole rating system. I ended up revising the ratings for a lot of books on my Goodreads shelf, and giving this one three stars instead. Clara's hero-wo...
DNF'd after 214 pages. Characters are too bland and the prose too dull to further pursue reading.
I have to start this off by stating that I am a huge Susan Vreeland fan. I love the way she incorporates historical fact, artists, their works and the flavour of the time into a completely readable and most importantly, enjoyable book. This book is no different. Clara Driscoll was an avid letter ...
I really enjoyed this one, filled as it was with plenty of historical details of Gilded Era New York City. At the center of it all was one of the unknown artists of the time, Clara Driscoll, who worked for Louis Comfort Tiffany in his studios. The narrative flows well, and we get to see Clara's life...
Susan Vreeland's latest novel, "Clara and Mr. Tiffany," provides a look at women's lot during the earliest days of the industrial revolution and in the arts. Clara Driscoll and the other "Tiffany girls" were designers and creators of the famous lamps that came from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Worksho...