‘Nancy Bilyeau’s passion for history infuses her books’ – Alison Weir‘Definitely a winner!’ – Kate QuinnIn eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot … English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice.
When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelain, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the colour blue…
The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage.
With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the colour blue?
‘The Blue is a fast-paced and highly engaging historical thriller packed with period detail and peopled with characters that the reader really grows to care about.’ – NB Magazine
‘Bilyeau’s research is impeccable, taking what might have been a dreary industrial novel and making it into a living, breathing drama. Kudos and highly recommended!’ – Historical Novel Society, and Editor’s Choice
‘…transports the reader into the heart of the 18th century porcelain trade—where the price of beauty was death.’ – E.M. Powell, author of the Stanton & Barling medieval mystery series.
‘Bilyeau is an impressive talent who brings to life a heart-stopping story of adventure, art and espionage during the Seven Years War.’ – Stephanie Dray, bestselling author of My Dear Hamilton
‘Historical fans will be well satisfied.’ – Publishers Weekly
‘With rich writing, surprising twists, and a riveting sense of ‘you are there,’ The Blue is spine-tingling entertainment.’ – Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassins
Nancy Bilyeau has worked on the staffs of InStyle, DuJour, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Good Housekeeping. She is currently a regular contributor to Town & Country, Purist, and The Strand. Her screenplays have placed in several prominent industry competitions. Two scripts reached the semi-finalist round of the Nicholl Fellowships of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
more
It was a fairly good book. I thought the premise about finding a certain revolutionary blue was intriguing. The characters were so-so.
The plot contained a number of twists. The main character felt torn between various choices in a realistic way. However, I found overall the book to be much ado about nothing by the time I got to the end.
I loved this book. As an artist I was fascinate with the color and porcelain development. The mystery and romance was great fun if a little contrived. The historical info was close enough. I highly recommend it.
I just spent the last three days absolutely wrecked this book. But I only gave it 3/5 stars.
There were problems with the heroine that I couldn’t get past. (I hate when any major players are stupid. It is OK for an innkeeper or stable boy, but a main character must be at least as smart as the reader. (Yes, Outlander, I went there!))
Even though easy to predict, the story was good until the end. Why? Because I fell in love with the villain. Obsessed! By the bad guy. Oops. I want him to win. I want to ride off to Venice with him. I rewrote the end of the book just so.
There were two compelling scenes in the book that Would Not Leave my mind. I reread them several times. I wonder if the author knows that these two scenes were her best, or that her villain was the captivating one. I’m sure she thinks her ending was clever. Oh brain, move on!
Absolutely fascinating! I couldn’t read it fast enough because it was so entertaining. All those great reviews are right about this book. Fun and informative are two words that apply to my experience.
This is a story based on facts, which makes the story itself unpredictable. I had begun to read THE BLUE even before I learned that Kate Quinn recommended it.
The time is during the reign of King Louis XV of France, when England and France are fighting each other all over the globe. Beyond that, they are competing to be the best in other areas, including porcelain. And the search for the color blue for porcelain is competitive, too!
This book is written in the first person, which makes it even more exciting! The reader never knows exactly what is going to happen until it happens. That the main character is a woman and a painter with limited opportunities because she is a woman adds one more element to pull the reader into experiencing the story, rather than just reading it.
Did not finish.
good story around history of and competition in bone china industry
Strong historical fiction.1700s manners and dress interesting.
I’ll not think of the color blue quite the same since reading this book. The pace is slow at times and the relationships and situations stretch beyond reason but the story moves through precursor historical moments of economy and industry demonstrating the rapid changes that occurred in that age.
The color blue was once so expensive that only the wealthiest men and women could afford it. A man risked his health to get to a source of blue mineral that could be used in the most delicate porcelain, a woman risked prison and worst to steal the color, and a woman risked her status and lover to promote the creation of this color, so beautiful it had to be destroyed.
I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but felt like it got bogged down in typical romantic plot lines. The main character became extremely annoying after awhile. I was expecting a decent historical novel and hoped to learn more about the pottery industry of that time period, but this fell way short. It should be placed in the romantic fiction section. Just because the setting is a couple of centuries ago doesn’t make it historical fiction. (Emphasis on the history!)
I Loved this book. Interesting characters and lots of history of porcelain. I’ll probably read it again in a couple of months.
As a historical novel it was extremely informative about an obscure but important issue during a war. Found the first person narration a little slow however.
Well written and engaging.
I have read and enjoyed all of Nancy Bilyeau’s books to date and I was thrilled to receive a copy of her newest novel, The Blue. The book was absolutely gorgeous to have in hand and I could not wait to dive into the story.
I was reminded immediately of my love for Bilyeau’s heroines. Genevieve was a pleasure to get to know as she attempted to follow her dreams in what was a man’s world.
By the end of Chapter 2, I was completed hooked on the story. There were so many twists and turns to Genevieve’s life and I was especially intrigued once she arrived in Derby. My pulse was racing by the end of Chapter 11.
The mysteries and secrets continued to spiral deeper and deeper. Events in the story had me looking over my own shoulder from chapter to chapter, half expecting to see a man observing me from the shadows.
The realizations that Genevieve came to were startling and left me on edge as I observed how deeply she was in with her secrets and the task she was given. I wanted her to be able to pull away from it and find happiness, but I admit to feelings of hopelessness as I continued to read her predicament.
Chapter 23 completely floored me and from that point on I couldn’t read fast enough to satisfy my burning need to know what was going to happen next. Bilyeau was brilliant in the way that she laid out this story. It just kept getting more and more intense as it went, and I was hooked.
This was definitely a story that had piqued my interest from the start and it pulled me in so deeply that I practically had anxiety as I went through events with Genevieve. I love a book that can create such a powerful emotional response in me, and The Blue did that and more.
As things were winding down at the end, it almost felt a little anticlimactic and yet I was pleased with how things turned out for Thomas and Genevieve.
I cannot wait to read more from Bilyeau. She always does a tremendous job of blending history, fiction, and suspense.
A historical novel with a murder embedded. Great fun. I devoured it!
Strong female lead.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel of suspense set in the rivalrous art and porcelain worlds of 18th century Europe. The protagonist, Genevieve Planché, is a young artist who resorts to extreme measures in her quest to follow her dream. Her journey follows an unpredictable path of intrigue, danger, crime, and romance. The characters we meet along the way have their personal agendas, whether political, commercial, scientific, artistic, or romantic.
“We see blue everywhere in the natural world, in the sky and the sea and the lakes…but what do we really see? It’s ephemeral. A reflection of something else.” So explains the chemist who feverishly works to capture the most desirable shade of blue and successfully apply it to the decoration of porcelain. In the midst of the Seven Years’ War, England and France are in a race to develop this elusive formula for their lucrative porcelain industries.
The Blue is meticulously researched, bursting with colorful details that draw you into the story, from the wild boar hairs in Genevieve’s paint brushes to the dangers of mining cobalt ore deep in the mountains of Saxony. If you like historical fiction, crime and suspense, romance, plot twists, interesting characters, or just a great story, you will find much in this novel to enjoy.
I had never heard of this chapter of history: the obsession with making the perfect porcelain, and especially with finding how to produce the color blue. At first, the main character was sympathetic, but by the end, she was still getting double crossed so much it was becoming tedious. However, the story moved quickly with plot twists and unpredictable characters. A good read.
3.5 Stars! This is a fun romp of a read about a historical topic I never before considered: porcelain and the development of the color blue. Built into a story of an 18th-century corporate spy ring is what sold me!
The entire cast of characters was lively and well written. Not a single one was straight-cut, which provided for multiple layers of tension, humor, and intrigue. Although Genevieve’s motivations and goals were absolutely clear, the rest kept me guessing about their true intentions. Genevieve is likable and realistically flawed with a spicy sense of humor and the ability to get herself into sticky situations. Nothing was ever certain about Sir Gabriel, who was in turn villain and patron to Genevieve, with what I believed to be an honest interest in her future as long as it served his purposes. Thomas was even quick to admit that he was not as gallant as his investors made him out to be, and Evelyn was wonderfully unpredictable as well.
The world-building is done really well, and I was immersed in 18th-century London and Derbyshire. Which is why, when events take a Hollywood-esque turn in the last quarter of the book, all the new relationships and details that had to be established in France disrupted the flow for me, and made me impatient for a resolution. Sometimes, the details of certain historical aspects were slipped in through didactic passages that, though built into dialogue, slowed down the story’s tempo for me. So, though the story felt very well researched, those occasional longer explanations tended to take me out of the central story.
Overall, the novel is highly entertaining with a well-constructed plot. Bilyeau has brought intriguing historical aspects to light within a fast-paced adventure and, to top that off, with a very fun cast of characters!