Wonderfully Evocative and Compelling: Read Our Review of The Naturalist of Amsterdam by Melissa Ashley

I literally clapped my hands when I saw this book. The Naturalist of Amsterdam is historical fiction at its best, transporting you perfectly into the past – in this case, the jungles of South America and the bustling artists’ studios of Amsterdam in the 18th century.

In the Golden Age of 1700s Amsterdam, Maria Sibylla Merian is one of the brightest female naturalists. Her daughter, Dorothea Graff has spent her life in service to her mother: from collecting insects to colouring illustrations for Maria’s world-famous publications.

A young woman with her own ambitions, Dorothea nevertheless joins her mother on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to Suriname to record the plants and insect life for a book which will become Maria’s masterpiece: The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname. All the family’s savings are ploughed into the dangerous journey, but greatness is never achieved without sacrifice.

At the turn of the 18th century, Amsterdam was at the centre of an intellectual revolution, with artists and scientists racing to record the wonders of the natural world. From Europe to the wilds of the South American jungle, Melissa Ashley charts this incredible period of discovery with finely researched detail.

Ashley now has an impressive portfolio of mesmerising historicals: her debut novel The Birdman’s Wife was a bestseller, and she followed that with the equally impressive The Bee and the Orange Tree. With her latest, The Naturalist of Amsterdam, she’s once again giving voice to long-ignored women in history – both the artists and those who made their work possible.

You’d be forgiven for thinking this is purely historical but within the 18th-century story is an intimate portrayal of human foibles and a mother-daughter relationship that defies time. Ashley expertly retells the fictionalised life story of this brilliant female artist and her overlooked assistant, with a healthy dose of mother-daughter tension. Perhaps human nature hasn’t changed all that much since the 1700s? Dorothea longs for a life that is truly her own, but she constantly finds herself drawn back into her mother’s world – and shadow. Will Dorothea have the courage to reach for her own future, at the risk of everything her mother has built?

For lovers of historical fiction, The Naturalist of Amsterdam has it all. And for those who simply love to get lost in the bones of a good book, this is one to add to your TBR list.

Buy a copy of The Naturalist of Amsterdam here.