Rating: 
Summary: Doomed lovers oddly boring
Review: I just couldn't feel very sympathetic to the doomed lovers in this book. It was clear that they WERE doomed all the way through, but I didn't really care about them. I thought that Sophia was callow and superficial, leaving her adoring husband for a guy that didn't seem to have any attractive qualities. Cornelis's only sin seemed to be that he was older than her. I just wasn't very interested in these characters or their dilemma
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Summary: Facile mannerist collection of characters
Review: I have loved 17th century Dutch and Flemish painting for more than three decades, and I appreciated the research Ms. Moggach has done for her book. I just didn't think she had the obligation of demonstrating this research in such a "mannerist" way, with quotations at the begining of each chapter from the most common books available at that time. The intention: to show in each chapter the illustration of a proverb, parallelling the books of proverbs she amply studied. But books of proverbs have no good continuity and this is indeed what this novel lacks. Each small chapter was intentionally composed as genre scenes like the thousands of paintings depicting the era. The attempt to approximate the text as if we were looking at a painting makes the scene distant from the reader, which in effect is the opposite of what genre painting aspired to do. The "torrid affair" mentioned by most other readers is neither too torrid nor gratuitous. What appeared to me superfluous and not well explored was the futures market of the tulip world and why it was happening. Since she chose this title, greater attention should have been placed on this historical phenomenon. Overall a weak novel with some interest mostly toward the end.
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Summary: Lust, greed, envy, jealousy etc. etc.
Review: all come to play in this tale of Holland in the 1600's. Of the five main characters there is not one who does not have all of these failings. Cornelis, old and seeking an heir, is married to Sophia, young and seeking nothing in her hundrun existence, until that is, Cornelis commissions a portrait by Jan Van der Loos. Passions rise as the painter and mistress of the house lock eyes across the canvass. Thus begin the trysts and deceptions.
Meanwhile, the maid, robust and jolly Maria, and the equally passionate Willem are getting cozy in the back room of the kitchen and subsequently planning their marriage and family life with their imagined children.In the background tulip fever rages and fortunes are made and lost in the blink of an eye. How these five lives become entangled in an almost unbelieveable series of events is interesting, but not compelling. The situations seemed too ludicrous to me but I enjoyed nonetheless as a light read and I do commend the writer for her style and her wonderful descriptions of the town and life style of the times...the story line is what I found wanting. If you read this first and then GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, I am sure you will enjoy both.
Rating: 
Summary: A Rich Feast of Words
Review: I loved this book to the hilt. After reading Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Tulip Fever was the icing on the cake of historical fiction and art as the theme. The Players: Cornelius: The wealthy old merchant in Amsterdam.
Sophia: His young wife wanting more than wealt and riches.
Jan: The young painter hired by Cornelius to paint the couple and immortalize them.
Maria: The maid of the family with secrets' of her own. The one who knows all and sees all.
Willem: Maria's Lover
Jacob: Jan's apprentice
Gerrit: Jan's manservant
Tulip: The center stage of the entire story. As sinful as ever. So these are the characters and the story takes place in 17th century Amsterdam, where tulips are a madness, where love is sometimes adulterous, where there is a yearning for a child, where there is betrayal, crimes of passion, blackmail, gamble, dreams, and no conscience. This book kept me awake as I flipped the pages that revealed the genius of Ms. Moggach. With every chapter and every character introduced, Ms Moggach provides the readers with a tapestry so magnificient and amazing - that sometimes the locale just fades into background. The tulips hog the limelight for most part of the tale with the players and the description is beautiful. Before you know it, you wish that this story would not end. A must read for all those who like literary page turners!
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Summary: (3.5)The perfect ingredients for an unusual tale of passion
Review: Romance, betrayal, greed, deception: this novel has everything going for it, as well as a fast-paced narrative. 1630's Amsterdam is a city teeming with pride, culture and accomplishment. The citizens are lawful and moral. Craft guilds are prospering, and well-to-do families display paintings on the walls of their homes that typify the richness of the times. Artists are everywhere, honing their craft, masters and students; many are today considered great Masters, whose paintings hang today in the most prestigious museums. It is in this environment that a smoldering romance is born between an artist, Jan van Loos, and a youthful married woman. Cornelis Sandvoort has contracted with Jan van Loos to paint a portrait, Sandvoort posing with his young wife, Sophie. This elderly husband is a man who both treasures and covets his wife's beauty and youth, never suspecting that Sophie will fall in love with the handsome artist. This young woman married the older Cornelis to better her family fortunes and live in the luxury her husband offers. Sophie has not meant to betray her husband, but finds herself unable to govern her heart. In desperation, Sophie conceives an ingenious plan so precise that it must be perfectly timed to be successful. Jan and Sophie embrace this plan without hesitation, so besotted are they. Perfect timing is crucial to the lovers. In their favor, a phenomenon is raging throughout the land, known as Tulip Fever. A wise investment in tulip production can net a man more than he could make in a lifetime. The fever of speculation runs rampant, even among serious men, let alone a risk-taker like Jan van Loos. Jan and Sophie see this opportunity for a quick fortune as the final piece in their salvation and proceed to implement their secret plan. The author skillfully builds the pace, chapter by chapter, until the final cataclysmic series of events when fortunes are made and lost, and lives are changed forever.
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Summary: Nifty Historical Small Gem- Travel to 1630's Holland...
Review: ...On a Time Machine. You've got a rogue of a lover with an old master art talent,a naive and sentimental young housewife married to an old bore of a husband (shades of ANNA KARENINA),some vivid desciptions of Dutch life way back when,the floods,wars, day to day affairs, religious friction,and generally crisp on the mark prose, that would make any aspiring author green with envy. Plus a roller coaster ride in the tulip craze of the time (update "dot-com" craze.) How can you beat it? Not easy! If you're a gardener,and especially a tulip buff,this is even better. It's obvious Ms. Moggach has done her homework,and has a sense humor too.!
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Summary: Poor Cornelis!!
Review: "Tulip Fever" is a book that begs to be reviewed about using phrases like "torrid affair" and "grand deception." Told from the different viewpoints of the characters, the reader quickly realizes everyone is doomed. This is a wholly predictable read -- even the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter are telling. Also, it has a "Wings Of A Dove" feel to it -- you cannot believe at what lengths these characters will go to in order to get what they want. Ultimately, this is a story that is in the same vein as Tracy Chevalier's "Girl With A Pearl Earring" and Susan Vreeland's "Girl In Hyacinth Blue," the difference being "Tulip Fever" is a much lighter read (I hesitate to label it a "Romance," but...). The descriptions about life in Amsterdam during this time period are interesting and the "tulip fever" that infected so many of its citizens is a clever backdrop -- it mirrors the frenzy of Sophia and Jan's actions brilliantly. This is a great book for those who enjoy historical fiction or are looking for a quick, easy read about a doomed love affair.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but gross
Review: Tulip Fever is a really good book. It would be a great book if there weren't discriptions of what they did in bed together. I read historical fiction to get an idea about what life was like back then, and the parts in bed back then are the same as now.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Read
Review: This is a wonderful book. The author takes you to 17th century Holland and builds a story around some interesting characters, including drunks, artists, merchants and prostitutes, before finally peeling off the layers, one-by-one, like an onion to the final conclusion.
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Summary: Two tough cookies loved this book
Review: I purchased this book and made the mistake of lending it to one of the voracious readers in my Book Club -- The Mindreaders. We read "Girl With A Pearl Earring" and I thought this one was a good complement. Needless to say, the book has now been passed on to another Book Club member who changed her screen name to "Tulip Fever" in honor of the book because she loved it sooooo much. She paced her reading to just 4-5 pages a day because she didn't want to finish it. Since she hasn't given it back yet, I'm buying her her own copy for her birthday so that I can have my book back and share the wonderful reading experience it gave her and my other friend. Buy it and pass it on to someone you want to share it with.
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