Clara and Mr. Tiffany

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland was recommended to me, I believe, by my librarian aunt. She always has good suggestions as she is surrounded by books all day long. Oh, what a life! It is a piece of historical fiction set in the late 1800's-early 1900's in New York City. Mr. Tiffany is not the famed Tiffany of Tiffany and Co., but his son, Louis Comfort Tiffany, of the famed Tiffany windows, lamps, etc.

Clara Driscoll and a number of women work in the stained glass department for Mr. Tiffany, designing, painting, selecting and cutting glass, and creating beautiful works of art for display and sale. In a time when well-paying jobs for women were scarce, Clara has carved out a creative niche for herself and those under her tutelage. She loves the work she does and only wishes to be recognized for her efforts and the efforts of the women around her but Mr. Tiffany tends to take all the credit at exhibitions and with clients. Clara's husband is deceased which is what allows her to work for Tiffany, no married women allowed here. She lives in a boarding house with a rather interesting set of tenants.

In addition to not receiving creative recognition, Clara also finds herself at the cennter of a womens' rights battle with the male glass departments. They believe the women are stealing their jobs and none too pleased about it. Not wanting to take steps backward for women everywhere, Clara holds on as tight as she can to the artistic independence her stained glass department has attained over time. She also falls in and out of love but I won't ruin that part for you.

This was a lovely read. Even if you think you're not interested in the topic or don't find yourself a womens' libber, you will still enjoy this book. The characters were painted wonderfully, the story intriguing. It moved along at a good page-turning pace. About halfway through I found myself looking up pictures of these works of art so I could see them for myself. This really helped while reading as Vreeland described them well but it was nice to put the words together with a visual. Pick this one up if you're so inclined. Two good books in a row, I may be on a hot streak!