The Chrysalis was a fun book to read! My initial interest in the book stemmed from reading the synopsis and seeing the tagline on the cover, DON'T GO IN THE .
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Certainly the biographical details of the incomparable Johannes Vermeer were of particular interest given his Catholicism, though it impacted him very differently than it impacted my fictional Miereveld. The decision to set this story line in seventeenth-century Holland derived mainly from my reverence for the artwork of that time period: What about the painting itself, The Chrysalis? I wish the painting existed! I needed a painting with multifaceted symbolism—of a personal nature and a religious one as well—to drive the plot and move the painting through history in a particular way.
I looked and looked, but while some paintings had relevant elements or symbols, no existing painting told each of the stories I hoped to share. So I had to create The Chrysalis. Are you a painter yourself? No, I have never done any painting myself. What kind of surprises did you encounter in your research into the trade in artwork stolen by the Nazis?
Is the fictional situation of Hilda Baum an unusual one? The Nazi machine targeted the art collections of many families, leaving survivors to track down and recover the looted artwork on their own with limited means and resources.
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Just like Hilda Baum. In your research, did you get the sense that the art world today is doing a better job in policing itself and avoiding the kind of trafficking in stolen art that occurred during and after World War II?
In the years since I started writing The Chrysalis , the issue of plundered artwork during wartime has become headline news, particularly when looted art turned up in the collections of world-class museums. Subsequently, the art world— museums, auction houses, and art-focused organizations, among other institutions—has begun to put protective measures in place to police itself and to better engage in the restitution process regarding questionable artwork already in their collections.
Talk about adding insult to injury: I was shocked to learn that U. How did that come about? And has there been any attempt to change what certainly seems like a grossly unfair law?
The Chrysalis by Heather Terrell | leondumoulin.nl
Families of Holocaust victims filing civil suits deal with some of the issues faced by Hilda Baum, largely because the pertinent case law did not anticipate the horrors of the Holocaust. As with the art world, however, some courts and legislatures are making efforts to rectify the inequities in the law. That said, I did streamline the issues, fictionalize the legal precedent, and heighten the difference between the relevant American and European law both for dramatic tension and to make the legal questions more interesting and accessible.
First-time novelists often write about themselves and their own lives.
Like Mara Coyne, you are an attorney, and like her, you worked for a high-powered New York firm. How much of an alter ego is Mara? I certainly drew on my experiences as a lawyer to create—hopefully—a realistic world for Mara Coyne to inhabit. At least initially, Mara is faced with a conflict between her moral compass and the letter of the law.
Have you faced that kind of conflict in your legal career? How do you deal with it? Fortunately, I have never faced the kind of moral conflict Mara does. In fact, the idea for The Chrysalis originated from a query about just such an ethical quandary. After a particularly grueling workweek, a close friend and associate asked me: The author takes great pains to portray Mara as intelligent yet her handling of the cross-examination of Hilda Baum is inept at best. She wants to become a partner in her law firm but she risks it all to have an inappropriate sexual liaison?
And Mara is not the only problem. It is unfortunate that the author was unable to write an interesting book given the possibilities of the topic of Nazi confiscated art. Please check out my reader's blog http: Miereveld creates a captivating masterpiece, The Chrysalis—a stunning portrait of the Virgin Mary, full of Catholic symbols, that outrages his Protestant patron and signals the death of his career. Mara Coyne is one high-profile case 2.
Jan 02, Fiona rated it it was ok. The premise was interesting, three ideas that hooked me into the subject; art; history; and the theft of art by the Nazis. I began the book with much anticipation. Unfortunately the writing was a bit over blown at times, but the thing that really put me off; and finally made me leave the book at the last moment Last chapter!! I had found her morally slightly questionable at first I kept reading in hopes that she would see the light and redeem herself; but alas her near redemption was rather a whiny self indulgent excuse fest.
Perhaps she did redeem herself in the last chapter, but by then, I was willing to chuck her and the book into the nearest lake. Jan 16, Joe Slavinsky rated it really liked it. Ms Terrell's first, this is a very good read. The young lawyer, striving to make partner, draws an art auction house as a client.
The client is being sued by the elderly daughter of a Holocaust victim, whose art collection was taken by the Nazi's. The young lawyer does her best for her client, but discovers something is not quite Kosher about the auction house's claim. Added to that, she's been seduced by the auction house manager, who's a former college art classmate, that she was attracted to Ms Terrell's first, this is a very good read. Added to that, she's been seduced by the auction house manager, who's a former college art classmate, that she was attracted to back then.
I look forward to her next book, "The Map Thief", which again has her tracking down art, in what I'm sure will be a most suspenseful way. Aug 11, Sue Smith rated it liked it Shelves: This book was ok - not one that I would recommend to scads of others though. It was interesting but not enough to get swept off my feet.
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It was intriguing but not enough to really peak my interest and never put the book down. But it was not a bad read otherwise. I generally like a story with a fine art slant. I do get a little tired of the lawyer thing that's wrapped into the story along with it. It's been over used. Mar 06, Janet rated it liked it Shelves: Heather is a local author from my hometown.
I met her very briefly at a Mystery Lover's Tea and she seemed very nice. I am always willing and anxious to check out local authors. Heather's debut novel did not disappoint. I find it highly entertaining and the subject matter art thief is something I've been interested in for awhile.
Oct 05, Leith McMurray rated it it was amazing. This author has struck gold with her idea for this book and has followed it up swiftly with another "The Map Thief" which cross-references with Gavin Menzies book about the Chinese being the first to discover the "rest" of the world. Mar 28, Donna Halloran rated it it was ok. I thought this sounded good. I thought it started out great. But then it just kinda fizzled for me. I enjoyed it without a doubt, but I am not sure that 1 I am excited to read something else she has written or 2 I would recommend this to someone else. Good story though, and I enjoyed the writing.
May 11, Rebecca rated it really liked it. A fast-paced lawyer novel about a painting, the family that owned it, the lawyer who is trying to protect it, and the Dutch painter in the 's who painted it. The separate plots are so tightly woven together that it would be impossible to tell one story without the others. Nov 10, Karen rated it really liked it.
Thought this book was very good. It takes you back and forth from the Netherlands in the 17th century to modern day United States researching the provenance of a Dutch painting. Apr 22, Cynthia rated it really liked it. Terrell combine them all in this well-written first novel. Apr 21, Tammy rated it really liked it Shelves: A mystery of a painting that you follow through time. There isn't any time travel, just history and mystery of a painting that is going up for auction.
A quick read and very interesting. Jul 24, Marcia Ditter rated it it was amazing. Mara is a lawyer assigned to a case about art stolen by the Nazis. The book bounces back and forth from the 's when the painting originated, the 's when the painting was stolen by the Nazis, and the present time.
During the present time, there is a law suit about whom the painting belongs to. There is mystery, romance and deceit. This story had some surprising twists and brought the characters to life. Excellent writing and vivid descriptions of people and places. Sep 13, Karen Koenig rated it it was amazing. Interesting mix of past and present. Nice moral plight of lead figure. Mar 21, Melissa Charitos rated it really liked it. While most are set against a mid-twentieth-century English middle-class background, The Chrysalids is set in a future society which is described in some detail.
Unlike most of his novels, it is also a coming-of-age story. Francis McComas , reviewing the American release for The New York Times , declared that the "outstanding success" of the novel lay in Wyndham's "creation of humanly understandable characters that are, after all, something more and less than human" and concluded that the novel "will be well noted and long remembered".
The critic and science fiction author Damon Knight wrote [9] that Wyndham "failed to realize how good a thing he had.
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The sixth toe was immensely believable, and sufficient; but Wyndham has dragged in a telepathic mutation on top of it; has made David himself one of the nine child telepaths, and hauled the whole plot away from his carefully built background, into just one more damned chase with a rousing cliche at the end of it The novel also got some positive reviews. The Ottawa Citizen judged the novel as "brilliant" and "a top-notch piece of sci-fi that should be enjoyed for generations yet to come".
Earley praised it as "a compelling story and Mr. Wyndham's best novel to date.
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Galaxy reviewer Groff Conklin praised the novel as "so skillfully done that the fact that it's not a shiny new idea makes absolutely no difference". Schuyler Miller reported that Wyndham "has made the Mutant theme believable in a way that Odd John , Slan and the stories of the Baldies never quite were". There is critical disagreement regarding whether the intervention of the Sealand culture at the end of the novel should be considered a deus ex machina.
Critics have disagreed with Wyndham's implication that two differently evolved species must necessarily fight to the death. Wyndham justifies this in a lengthy speech from the Sealand woman near the end of the novel, but her reasoning seems at odds with the implicit plea for tolerance in the earlier part of the novel. BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour presented an unabridged reading by Geoffrey Wheeler of the novel in ten minute episodes, broadcast daily between 17 and 28 August The song " Crown of Creation " by Jefferson Airplane was inspired by the novel.
Its title and lyrics are drawn from the text and plot with permission from Wyndham. The book's original phrase is "they cannot tolerate our rise ". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For term in biology, see Chrysalis. John Wyndham's The Chrysalids". Archived from the original on August 19, Retrieved 19 September Archived from the original on May 4,