It’s 1705, 18 years after the end of The Miniaturist. Nella Brandt is worried about her niece Thea’s future. Although her husband Johannes’s death left them fairly well off, his black servant Otto has not been trusted by Amsterdam businessmen to keep the business running. Instead, Otto has been working for an import company in a low-paying job. They are broke, and the only future Nella can see for Thea is to marry. However, there is the issue of her illegitimate parentage as the daughter of Maris, Johannes’s sister, and Otto, the servant, which the family has kept secret.
Thea has other ideas. She is young and romantic and devoted to the theater, where she has befriended Rebecca, a principal actress. But she hasn’t been spending as much time with Rebecca lately, because she is in love with Walter Riebeeck, a set painter. She disdains Aunt Nella and her attempts at an appearance of respectability, in full teen rebellion.
Nella gets Thea an invitation to a society party in hopes that she’ll meet a young man, and she does meet Jacob van Loos, a young lawyer. At the party, though, Nella believes she senses the miniaturist, whom she has not heard of in 18 years. And Thea receives a miniature of Walter.
Although I didn’t find The House of Fortune quite as fascinating as The Miniaturist, it is still a worthy successor. However, there is so much arguing in the first part of the novel that it put me off, and Nella isn’t sympathetic until later in the novel. Plus, I found Thea to be a spoiled little brat at first and her romantic tragedy all too foreseeable. However, Burton still managed to make the book compelling.
What? Me Read? 
I never did get around to reading The Miniaturist but you’ve reminded me that I meant to! Must add it to my list. Teens can be annoying characters, but then teens can also be annoying people… haha, I’m sure they’d say the same about grumpy old women like me! 😉
I really liked The Miniaturist. This one is okay but not as good.
I liked The Miniaturist, although I found it a little bit confusing. I absolutely loved her The Muse. Will definitely try this one as well.
That’s interesting. I liked The Miniaturist much more than The Muse.
Yes, I’ve heard mixed reviews of this sequel… not sure I want to read it. Maybe…
It was pretty good . . . eventually.
I still need to read The Miniaturist. I think I definitely need to start there.
Thanks for sharing your review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
Yes, this one probably won’t make as much sense without reading it first.