Shelley Noble

Told in the perspective of three women, this story takes readers on an adventure through the creation of Tiffany glassworks.
Emilie Pascal escapes from her home in Paris when gendarmes knock on the door. They were looking for her father, Dominique Andre Pascal, an art forger but Emilie knows that she can be punished for his crime. With her portfolio in her hands, she takes a ship to New York and finds employment with Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. Soon enough her artistic talent is noticed by Mr. Tiffany and Emilie is assigned to work on the most important window glass art, The Four Seasons. Beside her, a talented Grace Griffith is working as a copyist and after work she secretly acts as a political cartoonist under the pseudonym of G.L. Griffith. Her identity couldn't be revealed as woman journalists were not approved. Both Emilie and Grace became friends joined by other girls working for Mr. Tiffany and living in the boardinghouse with a lovely and caring landlady Mrs. Bertolucci. Under the supervision of the talented manager of the women's division, Clara Driscoll, the Tiffany girls create a unique art of stained glass. At the same time Clara works diligently on her new design of dragonfly lamp.

I wanted to hold this book in my hands all the time and dive into the Tiffany’s world where I could bend over the glass, cut it, or choose the right piece together with the Tiffany girls. I like to read about history of art and this historical event of Tiffany glassworks was greatly researched and skillfully presented to readers. Mr. Tiffany, Clara Driscoll, and Agnes Northrop are real people who started the creation of Tiffany glassworks. The other characters are fictional but expertly drawn and unforgettable. The author skillfully implemented suspense, mystery and romance around women who desired to work and pursue their passion in a world full of men. Beautifully written a must-read book that I recommend to my friends, especially historical fiction fans.… (lisätietoja)

Shelley Noble's 23rd novel, The Tiffany Girls, is a historical fiction account about an unknown group of female artists behind Tiffany’s legendary glassworks. It is the first book of hers that I have read and I loved it.

The publisher's summary:

It’s 1899, and Manhattan is abuzz. Louis Comfort Tiffany, famous for his stained-glass windows, is planning a unique installation at the Paris World’s Fair, the largest in history. At their fifth-floor studio on Fourth Avenue, the artists of the Women’s Division of the Tiffany Glass Company are already working longer shifts to finish the pieces that Tiffany hopes will prove that he is the world’s finest artist in glass. Known as the “Tiffany Girls,” these women are responsible for much of the design and construction of Tiffany’s extraordinary glassworks, but none receive credit.

Emilie Pascal, daughter of an art forger, has been shunned in Paris art circles after the unmasking of her abusive father. Wanting nothing more than a chance to start a new life, she forges a letter of recommendation in hopes of fulfilling her destiny as an artist in the one place where she will finally be free to live her own life.

Grace Griffith is the best copyist in the studio, spending her days cutting glass into floral borders for Tiffany’s religious stained-glass windows. But none of her coworkers know her secret: she is living a double life as a political cartoonist under the pseudonym of G.L. Griffith—hiding her identity as a woman.

As manager of the women’s division, Clara Driscoll is responsible for keeping everything on schedule and within budget. But in the lead-up to the most important exhibition of her career, not only are her girls becoming increasingly difficult to wrangle, she finds herself obsessed with a new design: a dragonfly lamp that she has no idea will one day become Tiffany’s signature piece.

Brought together by chance, driven by their desire to be artists in one of the only ways acceptable for women in their time, these “Tiffany Girls” will break the glass ceiling of their era and for working women to come.

This story was told well. I must admit that part of the reason I loved it so much was because I am an artist. The Tiffany Girls were artists as well. I enjoyed reading about how they selected different colors of glass for the sections of the windows that they worked on. We read about Tiffany’s Four Seasons glass windows as well as his Magnolia window. The ladies who were new employees started out as cutters which surprised me. Cutting glass shapes is not easy let alone when you have to follow a drawing of what shapes and colors go where. Some of the advanced artists performed design work for Mr. Tiffany and I have to wonder whether Tiffany created his designs or hired others to dream them up. The Acknowledgments don't tell us this information. Another intriguing part of the story is that Mr. Tiffany housed and paid his female artists the same amount he paid his male employees. Again, the Acknowledgments don't tell us if this is true either.

The characters were drawn well. Grace surprised me the most. I couldn't understand why she wanted to work with Tiffany when she really wanted to pursue journalism. There was a disconnect for me here as art is so different from brainy work. Emilie was the character I couldn't help but root for. Her dream was to work for Tiffany. She planned her life so that this could be accomplished. Emilie had to save to afford the passenger ship from Paris to New York. When Emilie arrived in New York she immediately went to Tiffany’s studio to ask for a job. Of course, she got the job but I thought she was rather plucky to follow her dream so closely with no backup plan.

This book is a must read.… (lisätietoja)

Skylar Mackenzie created Imagine That, a children’s toy, book, and creativity store for locals and tourists in Sunny Point, Rhode Island. When a vacant adjoining storefront created the opportunity, she opened Imagine That Too providing even more space for her docents, artists, and volunteers to provide discovery sessions for "Creativity Without Borders" and expanded offerings for all ages. The imagination that created escape in her childhood now brings others joy, and she’s at home with family, work, and community. A half-sister who never apologized for the most vicious lie arrives with a man who brings reminders and the allure of a first love that would be their forever love. Suddenly Skye’s relationships, business, and reputation are at risk.

I loved Skye’s business and another creative business in town owned by male entrepreneurs and artisans. As the story unfolded, it was intriguing to wonder what decision Skye would make by the novel's end. I was captivated by the beach town setting and the characters.

I couldn’t be at the beach when I read it, but perhaps you can!

A Reading Group Guide is available at the end of the novel.… (lisätietoja)