Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
When we heard that Tulip Fever, Deborah Moggach’s charming historical novel was going to be made into a movie, we did a little dance. And maybe even squealed out loud. Sure, it was embarrassing, but the book is just that good.
Set during “tulipomania” in Amsterdam in the 1630s, it tells the story of Sophia Sandvoort, a beautiful young woman married to an older man. But when her husband commissions their portrait, Sophia ends up having an affair with the handsome painter, complicating all of their lives.
Needless to say, we’ve been excited for Tulip Fever, starring Alicia Vikander and Dane DeHaan, all year long. Then we saw the trailer and we may have done another little dance.
Romantic and moody and filled with all of those historical details that we adore — we were all ready to see this movie on the February 24 release date. And then The Weinstein Company announced that they’re delaying the release. Again. (Noooo!) Tulip Fever was originally meant to come out July 2016, only to be pushed to February. Now, TWC has announced the film will come out August 2017. We’re not sure why there’s another delay, but we’re still pretty jazzed to see it regardless. Because let’s face it, we’ve rarely met a historical movie that we didn’t love, especially if there’s forbidden romance involved.
Speaking of which, since we now must wait even longer for the release, here are four new historical novels that we wish would get a movie adaptation of their own (and hopefully one that comes out as planned).
The Ashes of London, Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins, March 28, 2017)
Set in London in 1666, Taylor’s novel is a historical thriller against the backdrop of The Great Fire that destroyed the iconic city. James Marwood is the son of a traitor, as well as a government clerk who reluctantly serves. When he stumbles upon a murder case, he’s forced to track the killer as the city burns. It’s not long before he realizes that the murders may be connected to his father’s past — and more deadly than he could have imagined. His fate is also caught up with Cat Lovett, a young heiress who’s determined to fight for the future she wants. Together, the two of them will have to forge ahead, regardless of the danger and fire burning around them.
The Heretic’s Creed, Fiona Buckley (Severn House Digital, December 20, 2016)
Part of Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard series, this mystery is set in Elizabethan England in 1577. Once again, Ursula is tasked by Sir William Cecil to undertake another mission for the Crown. This time, she’s sent to Stonemoor House, a convent in Yorkshire to purchase a book that’s considered heretical by most. It’s winter, and the moors are wild and dangerous — a feeling that’s heightened since the last two people Cecil sent to the convent mysteriously disappeared. Stuck at Stonemoore House with the intelligent Abbot Philippa Gould and her superstitious sister, Bella, Ursula must fight to complete her mission, and make it back home in one piece.
Unquiet Spirits: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, Bonnie MacBird (Collins Crime Club, March 23, 2017)
MacBird delivers another exciting Sherlock Holmes adventure with Unquiet Spirits. Set in London, 1889, Holmes and Watson must travel to the South of France on business from Holmes’ brother Mycroft. There, they face rivals, explosions and discover something that connects them with a previous client and a ghost story set in a haunted castle in the Scottish highlands. Soon they’re headed north, determined to discover the truth. Holmes is too rational to believe in ghosts, but the eerie whiskey estate just might change his mind. It will take all of his logical thinking to prove a ghost story false, and to unravel the tangled web of this interlocking mystery.
The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, Alyssa Palombo (St. Martin’s Griffin, April 25, 2017)
In Italy, in the 1400s, the beautiful Simonetta Cattaneo easily agrees to marry Marco Vespucci, a handsome and well-connected young man. Her engagement offers her admittance into the inner circles of Florence, and soon she’s dancing and conversing with the famous Medici family and all of Italy’s elite. The poets and politicians are enthralled by her beauty, but it’s a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, who catches her eye. While she poses for him, the two become closer and closer, developing a relationship that could put her marriage and her place in society at risk. Inspired by Botticelli’s iconic painting, The Birth of Venus, Palombo’s tale will sweep you away to the sights, sounds and romance of the Medici’s in Florence.
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