I enjoyed reading about Judith Leyster, a Dutch painter whom I knew nothing about, and the art guilds of the Netherlands. It's very clear that the author has done her research, the time period was brought to life in rich detail. I was an art history major and have always loved historical fiction about art and artists, I would recommend this book to fans of Girl with a Pearl Earring or The Birth of Venus.

A light of her own is a story of 2 female painters in a time where being one was unheard of. Reading about the struggles of pioneering women such as them was intriguing. I enjoyed the storyline of Judith, a talented artist, who has trouble making a living a career where the art guilds dictate who are the fashionable and most sought after artists, but refuse to acknowledge female artists. She even tries to open her own teaching studio, which is a large source of income for most artists. However, it is difficult for her to find students, as they only want to study under famous, well-connected artists, regardless of their actual talent level.

It took me a long time to finish the book, because I had to slog through the parts on Maria. Her character was incredibly difficult to relate to, as she was so incredibly self-loathing and depressed. Even though she was a talented artist, she is obsessed with trying to absolve her supposed sins. She leaves her life, her work, and her friend back home to travel on a pilgrimage to clear her conscience. I feel like this book would have been much more palatable and interesting without this character.

As a former art history student, I was immediately intrigued by the story of this artist, Judith Leyster bringing brought to the page. Judith is someone known within the art community for her work and her abilities. I was so pleased to see someone else was recognizing her importance.

Judith Leyster is an artist's apprentice in a man's world in 17th century Netherlands. Her friend Maria is her master's daughter and has the talent as a painter, but feels this is not her calling in the world. The two women are both looking to find a way to be recognized in their own right, but seem to be working against the ever moving tide of the Netherlands and it's chaotic economic cutthroat market.

I found the characters of both Judith and Maria so well developed. I thought when I got into the story that I would only be drawn into Judith's story and how she was so fighting to be seen and known. It would make sense. I actually found Maria's story so much more heartbreaking. To have the talent of a painter and feel that she had no right from past wrongs to share it and nurture it? It is truly one of the fallacies of the Catholic church. The art world will never know what Maria de Gebber could have been if that part of her story was true. (I didn't read the author's note). But beyond that, just her story of trying to find redemption for her sins by helping others to be healed and how it almost cost her her life. It just was so sad. But it shows how much Callaghan built up Maria's character and let you feel her struggle.

I think the failing came in not feeling that same connection with Judith. She was so sure of herself as an artist, that her only real complaint was I don't have enough money for anything. So you always felt like you weren't really getting enough of her true inner turmoil. It ended up making a disconnect. Funnily, this happened in the second half of the book. I felt in the first half, we did have a connection as a reader. But once she got her own workshop, we lost Judith.

I think one of the best plot foils was the guild and the oil crisis. That had me going for a while. I was sitting, reading, making this mental list of where are they hiding it? The fact that it was being hidden at the leper house was just genius. I loved that. Because who would go searching there? I think the fact that we don't see more of a resolution for that plot beyond the fire though was a little empty? You have such a buildup for it and then it was oh, it's all burned up. And that's all. I guess knowing that everyone would have fight going forward and be on more equal footing was resolution enough?

Overall, this was an interesting story. I liked that it brought Judith to light. Thank you!

I enjoyed this tale of a female Dutch artist in the 16000's being brave in the face of misogyny and ridicule. The author has done her research, and the past comes alive. You will be rooting for Judith as she struggles to live her life the way she wants and to use her god-given talents to paint!

Historical fiction focused on Dutch painter Judith Leyster in the 1600s. Very descriptive and interested in Judith’s inner life. Can be a bit dry and overly detailed at parts.

I love reading about women in history who have been ignored or forgotten, and Carrie Callaghan’s A LIGHT OF HER OWN fits the bill very well! This is the fascinating story of Dutch painter Judith Leyster, who was the only woman to attain master status and operate her own workshop in Haarlem, Holland in the early 17th century. Callaghan has done meticulous research on the art world of the era and the little that is known about Leyster herself.

Judith’s struggle to establish herself as an artist in her own right in the male-dominated art world is compelling and believable. She is single-minded in her ambition, which sometimes makes her seem harsh or unfeeling, but women who break new ground for their sex have always been perceived this way, so that too is believable. The way Judith steels herself before business transactions by erasing any trace of softness from her expression and trying to look and sound authoritative, is especially poignant.

Callaghan’s writing style is clear and clean, and she brings the sounds, sights, and smells of 17th-century Holland to life. Later in the book there is also a little mystery and romance, which enrich the story.

This is an important novel about a woman who deserves to be better known!

The well-researched story of two women: Judith Leyster, a Dutch painter who faces the struggles, pitfalls and adversities of trying to enter a field severely dominated by men and her friend, Maria de Grebber who has her own issues of identity and self-confidence. The pace of the book was smooth, engaging, and nicely written. We do need more books like this; unearthing the women that time forgot, or covered over. These women were real, historical figures. This is a wonderful story of goals, ambition, and what it took then (and even know) to make those visions a reality.

A fantastic story about a woman working with her own ambition and being brave enough to stand behind it.

-- DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. --

Judith is ambitious and selfish. She wants a career as a master painter in early modern Haarlem, searching for acceptance as the painter's guild's first female member. Her friend Maria is a Catholic in a Protestant country, searching for her place in the world. The two young women's stories are intertwined in this historical tale of personal growth, their direct stories are connected with a local conspiracy within the painter's guild, which leads to harrowing tragedy, but is also a catalyst for both women's development.
Sadly, the book failed to grip me, and did not stand out. The writing is nothing to write home about, and astonishingly non-visual for a book about painters - a more evocative style would have helped the atmosphere a lot.

Interesting subject but didn't grab me. Too much exposition and not enough pace or characterisation, I think. DNF

2.5 stars

In 1633, a young woman came before the Guild of St Luke in Haarlem, asking to be admitted as a master painter. She was Judith Leyster, a painter of domestic scenes and merry companies, and her acceptance into the Guild made her the first woman to be given such an honour. Carrie Callaghan uses the limited documentary evidence for Leyster’s life and career as the basis for this novel, which follows the ambitious young artist from her days as an apprentice in her master’s attic to her struggles to establish herself in an unwelcoming, male-dominated field. Joining other books set in the Dutch Golden Age, such as Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tulip Fever, The Miniaturist and Midnight Blue, it offers a glimpse of Dutch art in its most celebrated period – although I felt that this novel (unlike Leyster herself) didn’t live up to its own ambitions.

Judith Leyster knows from the beginning that she will have to fight for recognition. She has watched her fellow apprentices in Frans de Grebber’s workshop go on to greater things while, at the age of twenty-three, she still finds herself doing the least prestigious tasks. But she perseveres. Her training has given her the chance to blossom as an artist, creating warm scenes of merriment or music-making, some of which she dares to sell in an illegal auction. That’s the trouble in Haarlem: only Guild members are allowed to sell their works and the Guild dominates everything. It’s through Judith’s auction that she comes into contact with the French bravo Lachine, who gives her an extraordinary commission. This work will bring her the much-needed funds to acquire her own studio space, but it also draws her into an uneasy business relationship with Lachine: a man with whom it isn’t wise to become too involved.

While Judith faces up to the misogyny among her fellow artists – even after being accepted as a Guild Master – her friend Maria endures her own struggle to find a place and purpose in the world. Maria is Frans de Grebber’s daughter and, as such, a mildly talented painter; but also, as such, a closeted Catholic in a world where only the Reformed faith can be openly practised. Tormented by the stress of hiding her faith, and convinced that she has sinned by leading on the scholar Samuel Ampzing, Maria has to find some way to atone. When she hears that the Guild’s relic of St Luke is ready to be brought home, from safekeeping with an itinerant priest, she eagerly volunteers to go off in search of it – only to find herself drawn into a much more direct form of self-sacrifice.

The title, of course, can be interpreted in lots of different ways: Judith’s gift for creating warm or candlelit ambience in her paintings; her fierce ambition, driving her on in the hope of a glorious future that only she dares to imagine; or Maria’s spiritual intensity, which offers a guiding beacon in an otherwise troubled life. The book is certainly a tale of how young women try to find ways to express and fulfil themselves in a world that has limited acceptable roles for them to fill. And it might have been more satisfying if Callaghan had dug deeper into her two main characters and given them a bit more heft. As it was, neither of them felt complex and rounded enough to convince me. Maria in particular seems to flit from one thing to another in a way that I simply didn’t believe. Would a young woman of good family really be allowed to go off alone to Leiden, without a maid or servant to accompany her? And her disappearance with the healer Sara didn’t fit with everything else I knew about quiet, careful, earnest Maria.

I also found it odd, not to mention irritating, that Judith is blamed towards the end – implicitly by the author as well as other characters – for putting her own future and ambition ahead of an interest in her friends and family. Why shouldn’t she? Her parents have abandoned her, leaving behind nothing except a tarnished family reputation that Judith is trying to restore. She has tried to talk to Maria about the half-burned painting that Maria hides under her bed, but Maria clams up like an emo teenager. Whatever isolation Maria faces is her own doing, not Judith’s. And Judith’s felonious brother Abraham is a feckless waste of space who only threatens to make his sister’s life even more difficult. But apparently, as a woman, Judith is supposed to be compassionate and patient nonetheless. It’s strange that, in a book that superficially celebrates female talent, we find ourselves told that ambition is less suitable in a woman than a caring and nurturing nature – a message that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in 17th-century Haarlem itself. Are we supposed to be rooting for Judith or judging her?

Now, I’m not a specialist in this period and, as very little is known about Judith, I’m not the person to judge what is art-historically correct and what isn’t. Callaghan writes a welcome afterword, explaining the key areas where she diverted from historical fact, but she doesn’t, for example, tell us whether the convoluted (and unconvincing) linseed oil conspiracy is based on fact or her own invention. It does, however, raise an interesting question: in times when art is booming and young artists are eagerly coming out of the woodwork, how do you keep control of production? If you have an audience eager to buy pictures as a new sign of social status, how do you prevent the field from becoming glutted, and make sure that the established artists have enough ongoing demand to survive? Perhaps it isn’t a bad idea to restrict availability of a key ingredient, to limit the amount of painting that can be done… but I couldn’t help feeling that this was done in a rather pantomime-villain, cloak-swirling, moustache-twirling way, with lots of meetings in dark corners while wearing wide-brimmed hats. A big thumbs up, though, for cameos by a number of lesser-known artists – Pieter Molijn (a fellow Londoner!) is a personal favourite, as a drawings bod – and top marks for resisting the urge to have a walk-on role for Rembrandt, even though he’s mentioned in passing. A mention of Jacques de Gheyn, a favourite artist, also cheered me up enormously. Callaghan has obviously done her artistic research, but unfortunately most of Haarlem’s great artists don’t really develop beyond being disapproving bearded antagonists of Judith’s.

Ultimately, therefore, something of a curate’s egg, which never really gelled. It might have been more satisfying if we’d cut out (the fictional) Maria’s erratic journeys and focused more deeply on Judith’s struggles. Yes, we do get this, but not enough. Somehow Judith never quite jumps off the page; and, as I’ve said, I felt a little uncomfortable with the undermining of her ambition and her journey towards the end. Her character development seems to be forgotten about in the complexities of the linseed oil conspiracy, and secret meetings of skulking male artists. Judith deserves better. She was a remarkable woman and a vivacious, talented artist (see her magnificent Self Portrait below). If you’re keen to learn more about her art and the few facts we do know, take a look at this catalogue for an exhibition held in 1993.

For the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2019/03/21/a-light-of-her-own-carrie-callaghan/

A Light of Her Own is a rich and lush re-imagining of the life of Judith Leyster, a talented painter in Holland in the 1600s, as well as her friend Maria. It’s so interesting to learn about overlooked historical figures and their times.
Judith is an interesting character, full of passion and determination, a woman trying to make it in her profession in a man’s world. At times, this determination to succeed takes her too far, but we get to watch her evolve as a character.
Maria also is living in contradiction to the norms of her society — a devout Catholic in a country that has made her faith illegal.
Overall, I enjoyed this book well enough, but I did not find it compelling. I loved reading about the history of the time but did not get drawn into the story.
Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

A LIGHT OF HER OWN is the story about two women. Judith is a painter, and the very first woman to be admitted to the prestigious Haarlem artist's guild. Her best friend Maria is the daughter of Frans de Grebber, who Judith learned painting from. Maria is also Catholic, living in a land where the faith is banned.

A favorite book (and movie) of mine is GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING. So, guess I was intrigued when I learned about this book. About women painting in a time I thought there were just male painters. I just had to read the book. And, what an interesting story. Yes, this is a fictional story, but Judith Leyster really was admitted to the prestigious Haarlem artist's guild and it's not that far-fetched that she knew Maria. I greatly enjoyed reading about Maria and Judith in this a world with great religious antagonisms, not to mention a world where women painters was an anomaly. Another thing that I quite enjoyed was that the scheme initiated by Haarlem's powerful men that will affect both Maria and Judith's lives.

I quite enjoyed this book and this is definitely a book to read if you are interested in art or just want a well-written historical fiction.

A Light of Her Own is a well researched novel based on the life of Judith Leyster, the first female inducted into the Dutch Masters Guild in 1633. Her strength and determination to succeed as an apprentice were very inspiring. The path she followed varied so widely from her friend, Maria, which was thought provoking. So glad that Carrie Callaghan contrasted their parallel lives. Many of Judith’s interactions with others (Masters and those striving to be Masters) seemed to be at odds with my knowledge of the time frame in which they lived. Her family served as an additional stumbling block in Judith’s path. Abraham’s theft of her pomander and his subsequent arrest and escape added tension to the novel, as did solving the mystery of the vanishing linseed oil. As a reader, I continued to compare the lives lived in the 1600’s with that of today. I truly enjoyed reading the passages describing making the paints, and those describing the paintings.
A good read with a conflicted ending - Judith is happily married but rarely painting. Thank you to Carrie Callaghan, Amberjack Publishing, and NetGalley for affording me an ARC of this historical read.

Judith Leyster (1609-1660) was the first female painter admitted to the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. After their deaths, these women, by virtue of their sex, had their works attributed to males and were essentially lost to the world of art history. A Light of Her Own, the debut novel of Carrie Callaghan, is a vivid fictional account of Judith’s life and brings her out of the shadows.

The book in told in dual timelines, switching between Judith, an apprentice in Franz de Grebber’s atelier, who shares a room with de Grebber’s daughter, Maria, another female painter. Judith has the ambition to open her own studio, but Maria is stifled by her Catholic faith and her obsession with her sins. Their friendship and the stresses their divergent drives occupies a large portion of the book. Judith's ambition was a welcome contrast to Maria’s religious idée fixe, though her point of view did reveal the the lasting effects of the Reformation in which Catholicism was banned and Calvanism becoming the state religion.

One of the best things about A Light of Her Own is the painterly detail Callaghan paints with her prose. Everything Judith sees is described in terms of color, the quality of the light, the way her model’s eyes crinkle with his smile. If you have seen the paintings of Rembrandt or Hals, Callaghan’s precision allows the reader to visualize not only Judith’s paintings but every day life in Haarlem. Moving the plot along was a mystery of involving linseed oil, a key ingredient in the paints each artist manufactured himself. Supplies had dried up, and the price risen to the point that only the most profitable painters could afford it. I particularly liked that Judith stood up to the leaders of the Guild and revealed the truth.

Overall a fascinating story of women painters during the Dutch Golden Age of painting. It’s art history light—enough fiction to bring Judith to light without weighing the reader down with too many art historical facts.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I recently visited a retrospective of Rembrandt’s etchings, and was therefore excited to learn more about this era of art in Holland. For an added bonus, I was also intrigued by the prospect of being introduced to little known female artist Judith Leyster, a unique female figure of her time. Although it was very obvious that author Carrie Callaghan put an impressive amount of period research into the novel, which was well evidenced by the very astute descriptions of location, dress, and art technique, the plot just seemed to plod along. In fact, I found several scenes needlessly dark and depressing with no sort of connected learned character arch.

I really tried hard to like this book. The premise seemed very interesting because they are based on real people. However, I just could not get into the story. The pacing was slow, and there was not much of a plot. The characters had no real emotion to me, and I could not with them. I still do recommend this for fans of art lovers and the Baroque era.

A Light of Her Own by Carrie Callaghan

Publication date: November 13th, 2018. Publisher: Amberjack Publishing.

A Light of Her Own is a historical fiction novel that tells the story a 17th Century painter named Judith Leyster who becomes the first female admitted to the Haarlam Artist’s Guild. She apprenticed with Franz de Grebber, starting at the age of thirteen, but has not been able to sell her work until she reached master status. The book describes the hardships of being a female artist during the Dutch Golden Age. The other major character in the book is Maria, Franz de Grebber’s daughter, who is also training to become an artist, though she has less ambition than Judith. Maria is a Catholic and has to hide this fact in a country where Protestantism in the dominant religion and Catholicism is banned.

It is the descriptions in this book that make it worth the read. Paintings are described exquisitely and it is clear that the author immersed herself in the history of the Dutch Masters before writing this book. This book will appeal to anyone who has had to fight and overcome the odds to achieve their dreams.

I highly recommend this book to readers who are interested in art and women’s history. The comparisons between this debut novel and Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earing are well deserved.

Grade: B

Thank you to Net Galley and Amberjack Publishing for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I interviewed the author for my historical fiction readers' advisory blog, Reading the Past:

http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2018/12/interview-with-carrie-callaghan-author.html

Haarlem, Holland 1633, Judith Leyster is an apprentice painter to Frans de Grebber. Judith is one of the only female painters along with Frans' daughter, Maria. Judith will do anything to be admitted to the Guild so she can sell her work. However, no female has ever been admitted. Maria is working on a secret painting, although art is not her passion, religion and atoning for her own perceived sins comes first. Judith is set on clawing her way to the top, and having independence. Maria finds herself when she sets off on her own and discovers the art of healing and helping others. The two women will need to find one another again as the men of the city decide to plot against the young, up and coming painters.

A Light of Her Own explores the lives of two little known female painters of the Dutch Golden Age. I love learning about new and important female historical figures, Judith Leyster and Maria de Grebber were real painters. History would obscure Judith's work and sell it under a man's name. In the book, I enjoyed that the plot focused on the strained friendship of the two women and their faults. The writing through Judith's eyes engaged me, the way Judith saw color, light and other features in the world around her transformed scenes that would typically be dull or boring into something magical. Judith's ambition was also refreshing. Though what she did was sometimes illegal or immoral, it was nothing that other male painters at the time weren't doing as well. Maria's point of view shed light on the religious tones of the time in Holland as well as the social system. The mystery of the disappearing linseed oil did help move the plot along, but was a little weak for me. However, I did enjoy how Judith brought the truth out in the end. Overall, an engaging story that helps bring to light the lives of female Dutch Golden Age painters.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.