“Tulip Fever” is set in 1632 when Holland is at the height of its prowess in terms of the merchants returning from far-flung lands the capital is thriving and tulip mania is in full fettle.

Film trailer HERE.Freshly returned from a whirlwind overnight trip to Amsterdam, and couldn’t prevent myself from dusting down a book I read several hundred years ago to see whether it had not only stood the test of time, but had perhaps even improved with age. So which am I recommending? Well, the answer is both - Tulip Fever the book and Tulip Fever the film. But I have to wonder at the 17th century fashionista who came up with these.

It is visually stunning and the costumes are amazing. The film has Dame Judi Dench as a somewhat disreputable nun and the screenplay was written by Tom Stoppard. I have to admit I really enjoyed the film and thought it was actually a very good adaptation of the book. Tulip Fever has been recently adapted into a film, which I saw recently. Then, if you’re like me, you’ll gasp as the consequences reverberate into the various characters fates, positions, wealth, and lives. There are lies, secrets, betrayals, and plot twists that keep the reader totally immersed. Moggach intertwines the story and her characters with the 17th century Amsterdam tulip mania and it’s eventual crash (can we say dot.com folks?). Their relationship is carried on with the complicity of the household maid, Maria who has her own secrets. Not only does the portrait sitting bring some excitement into their dull household routine, it brings a secret love affair for Sophia and Jan. He hires Jan van Loos, an up and coming young artist. Their marriage has not produced a child, so Cornelis decides to immortalize themselves by having their portrait painted. She agreed to the marriage only because he funded her poor family’s immigration to America. Sophia is the young wife of Cornelis Sandvoort, a prosperous older merchant. It is the time of the tulip craze and the Dutch were enjoying great wealth.

S et in 1636 Amsterdam, Tulip Fever is a novel of passion and deception. What I wasn’t expecting was that I would be treated to a rollicking great story… complete with a sprinkling of sex and a bit of a mystery. I also wanted to read about the golden age of the Dutch masters. I wanted to learn about the tulip frenzy of the 1630’s, when bulb prices soared beyond anyone’s imagined riches. I read Tulip Fever years ago en route to a holiday in the Netherlands.

Tulip fever novel