I am Rembrandt's Daughter

It is a matter of fact that Rembrandt had an illegitimate daughter, Cornelia, by his maidservant Hendrickje and Lynn Cullen has taken this and written Cornelia’s story.

Cornelia feels unloved by her father, and as he sinks further into poverty when his new style of painting is rejected by the rich who are his patrons, she struggles to hold his household together. Cornelia falls in love, sees her brother Titus die of the Plague, and discovers that her father was not Rembrandt after all, this last being an idea of Cullen’s which is not entirely necessary to the plot. It is not clear either what proof there was that Rembrandt did not show love to his daughter. This is always the risk when using a real historical character in a work of fiction.

Cullen has chosen to tell the story partly in flashbacks, using Rembrandt’s paintings and their date for this device, but it is confusing to the reader as they are not sequential and it takes a while to work this out. The main story is well written given the occasional Americanism, e.g. ‘snuck’ and Cornelia is an appealing heroine. The flashbacks do give depth to the story and the city of Amsterdam at this time is vividly described. Rembrandt’s genius and the unwillingness of his patrons to understand his style change are gradually revealed to the reader. It would have been nice to use one of his paintings as a cover as many readers will not have seen or be able to access the originals. Having said that the existing cover is very attractive. There is however a list of his notable paintings and the internet will give the curious reader a chance to see them.

Cornelia’s brief romance and gradual realization that there are more lasting qualities to love nearer to home make this a satisfying story with considerable depth.