A tour de force of history and imagination, The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art world’s great masterpieces—a set of bewitching medieval tapestries that hangs today in the Cluny Museum in Paris. They appear to portray the seduction of a unicorn, but the story behind their making is unknown—until now.Paris, 1490. A shrewd French nobleman … French nobleman commissions six lavish tapestries celebrating his rising status at Court. He hires the charismatic, arrogant, sublimely talented Nicolas des Innocents to design them. Nicolas creates havoc among the women in the house—mother and daughter, servant, and lady-in-waiting—before taking his designs north to the Brussels workshop where the tapestries are to be woven. There, master weaver Georges de la Chapelle risks everything he has to finish the tapestries—his finest, most intricate work—on time for his exacting French client. The results change all their lives—lives that have been captured in the tapestries, for those who know where to look.
In The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier weaves fact and fiction into a beautiful, timeless, and intriguing literary tapestry—an extraordinary story exquisitely told.
more
Tracy Chevalier has done it again! Interesting characters, interesting plot. Loved the book.
A wonderful book by a fantastic author.
I enjoy her books very much.
This book brings to life the beautiful tapestries of the Cluny Museum in Paris.
I usually really like Tracy Chevalier’s books but this one seemed flat and not as well written as the others. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to knowing something about the beautiful Belgian tapestries I have seen.
Since I have seen the tapestries, reading even a fictionalized version of how they came to be was interesting. Characters were not as well drawn as her Girl With the Pearl Earing. Living in the Middle Ages was hard.
Not as good as her previous books and the theme is becoming familiar.
Love the author. Original style with back history. Often witty and irreverent, the characters are interesting and realist! Highly recommend this book!
A nice book if you have had a chance to see the tapestry and wondered about its symbolism and provenance. Author makes the process of its creation a revelation of a “lost” art.
This novel, set in the Middle Ages, tells the story of how the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestry was created. The plot was a bit thin, but on the whole, an enjoyable read for fans of historical fiction.
interesting tale woven among the tapestries
Informational about a curious international icon
Interesting and well written.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book about one of my favorite pieces of art: The Unicorn Tapestries. I was fascinated with them as a child and spent hours looking at their intricate design. Great story with well-drawn characters.
Just 6 months ago i visited the Cluny Medieval Museum in Paris France and saw these exquisite tapasteries! What a fun read created as a “maybe” around these long ago pieces!
This is a factionalized journey of a real historical artifact… one of the famous medieval Bruges tapestries.
Interesting novel with historical background. Entertaining and an easy read!
Enjoyed the historical aspects of this novel and this author always weaves a tantalizing story around historical facts and persons. The story is so interesting that I would like to see the tapestries.
It was OK. Just hard for me to keep up. The different localities, moving back and forth, made it hard to see the point.
great historical information