The Making of Masterpiece Theater's The Miniaturist and Petronella Oortman’s Dolls' House in Amsterdam's Rijksmusum
Dolls’ House of Petronella Oortman, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Wikipedia. Wood, oak, cedar wood, palisander, walnut, tortoiseshell, tin, glass, marble, copper, stone, silk and velvet
Mystery and foreboding are the mood of The Miniaturist, a sumptuous three-part period thriller premiering on Masterpiece on Sunday, September 9. But beauty and light are, too, and it’s in this spirit that we elucidate six surprising behind-the-scenes must-knows of the series that The Guardian (UK) calls “mesmerizing.”
1. The Book
Author Jessie Burton, an Oxford graduate, and actress, was working as a personal assistant when inspiration for her first novel, The Miniaturist, struck. And she wasn’t even finished writing it when 11 publishers competed in a bidding war to snatch The Miniaturist up!. Almost immediately upon its publication, the gripping historical novel became an international publishing sensation, topping bestseller lists and eventually selling over one million copies in 37 countries.
2. The Inspiration
Burton’s inspiration for The Miniaturist was a dollhouse that the author saw on display in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum* when she was on vacation in 2009. Made in 1689 for the real Petronella Oortman, the dollhouse was a detailed, elaborate, and precise replica of the Dutch woman’s own home. Fascinated by the exquisite furnishings for a doll’s house cost as much as the home in which it was displayed, Burton couldn’t help but wonder “Why?” That answer and her research led to The Miniaturist.
3. As Seen In…
Actress Anya Taylor-Joy helms her first Masterpiece lead as Petronella (Nella) Oortman, the young penniless aristocrat who arrives in Amsterdam ready to assume the role of wife to her wealthy (and strangely absent) new husband. But it’s actually not Taylor-Joy’s first time on a Masterpiece Theater; before her astonishing breakout performance in The Witch (2015) and her leading role in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split (2017), she appeared in the Endeavour Season 2 episode, Nocturne!
4. A Masterpiece Theater Favorite Returns
The Miniaturist‘s mysterious Marin, a severe and fiercely intelligent foil to her brother Johannes, is played by actress Romola Garai. Masterpiece fans may remember Garai from her portrayal of Millie Appleyard, nurse to an ailing Winston Churchill, in Churchill’s Secret (2016). And who could forget Garai as the marvelously oblivious matchmaker Emma Woodhouse Jane Austen’s Emma (2010), also on Masterpiece?
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