by Jessie Burton (Pan Macmillan)
Petronella Oortmanis an 18-year-old country girl married to a wealthy Amsterdam merchant trader, Johannes Brandt. When she arrives at her new home things are not as she imagined they would be.
He is away on business and his sister Marin is there to let her in. She soon learns that she will not be the one running the house, Marin will carry on as usual.
With a husband who is always busy, and his wife with nothing to do, Nella starts to ask questions and explore the house.
It’s a look into life in Amsterdam in 1687, when women were meant to stay at home and not take an interest in their husbands’ business affairs – or anything else, for that matter.