I Am Rembrandt's Daughter - Softcover

Cullen, Lynn

3.66

2,378 ratings by Goodreads

9781599902944: I Am Rembrandt's Daughter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 159990294X ISBN 13: 9781599902944

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2008

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With her mother dead of the plague and her brother newly married, Cornelia van Rijn finds herself without a friend or confidante―except her difficult father. Out of favor with Amsterdam's elite, the once revered Rembrandt van Rijn is now teetering on the brink of madness. Cornelia alone must care for him, though she is haunted by secrets and scandal of her own. Her only happiness comes in a growing romance with Carel, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate, whose passion for art stirs her. And then there is Neel, her father's last remaining pupil, a darkly brooding young man whose steadfast devotion to Rembrandt both baffles and touches her.

Based on real characters and filled with family dramas and a love triangle that would make Jane Austen proud, I Am Rembrandt's Daughter is a powerful account of a young woman's struggle to come of age within the shadow of one of the world's most brilliant and complicated artists.

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About the Author:

LYNN CULLEN is the author of several novels and picture books, including Moi and Marie Antoinette. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

www.lynncullen.com

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* After her mother dies and her beloved brother moves away, 14-year-old Cornelia is left alone with her father, Rembrandt van Rijn, who works in poverty after wealthy patrons denounce him. Growing up "in the shadow of Vader's instability," Cornelia craves convention; she reads books such as Maidenly Virtues to learn proper comportment for young women. Then she develops a warm friendship with handsome Carel, heir to a shipping fortune, and she imagines a future of wealth, decorum, and the outspoken love she rarely feels at home. Many authors have imagined the lives of famous artists from a child's viewpoint. Cullen's novel is noteworthy for its emotional depth and sensitive development of characters. Readers will learn about Rembrandt and his art--his radical painting style, his belief that God directed his brush. Around these facts, Cullen creates a powerful family drama, fleshing out father and daughter into whole, heartbreaking individuals whose inner lives are glimpsed with acute sensitivity. Flashback chapters, which heavily foreshadow a shocking family secret, feel somewhat disjointed, and the ties to artwork seem forced. Readers will overlook any bumps in the narrative and sink into this absorbing, romantic story of a teen who upends her worldview and, in doing so, grows into herself. An author's note, character list, and notes about paintings mentioned in the text are appended. Gillian Engberg
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