A book by Tracy Chevalier is always good value. She tells a good yarn, and while her subject matter is well-researched, she wears her learning lightly. This book got off on the wrong foot however. The tale of the over-sexed miniature painter, Nicholas des Innnocents, and his first foray into tapestry design struck a false note with me from the earliest pages. I simply didn't believe that the 14 year old daughter of nobleman Jean le Viste would all but give herself, on the slightest of acquaintance, and under the table at that, to this artist.

Things improved. I was interested in the weavers of Bruges who have to interpret Nicholas' design. The difficulties they encountered and the personalities involved got me interested. I wanted to know how the story would play out. It was a pity that at the end of the book, there was more scarcely credible under-the-table action.

The tapestries exists to this day. The story that Chevalier weaves is in no sense an account of its history. But it's an involving story, with just a few incredible plot details that somewhat spoilt the book for me. ( )

"The unicorn's horn is a magical thing...with special powers. They say that if a unicorn dips his horn into a poisoned will the water will become pure again. He can make other things pure again."

While the description of the artistic process of creating tapestries was interesting, the bawdy backstory was a bit distracting. If you enjoy books about art or about live in the middle ages, this may be a book to add to your tbr.
( )

Fast read, kept my interest but not at all what I expected. I felt like i was reading an edited version of a good book that had been watered down and sexed up. I've heard great things about her other books so someday I'd like to give her a second try but this one wasn't anything special. ( )

La dama y el unicornio
Tracy Chevalier
Publicado: 2003 | 207 páginas
Novela Histórico

Los tapices de La dama y el unicornio han fascinado a expertos y aficionados durante siglos. En cada uno de ellos, una elegante mujer y el mítico animal se encuentran en un islote de hierba rodeado de flores. Pero poco más se sabe sobre ellos… El seductor Nicolas des Innocents ha recibido el encargo del noble parisino Jean Le Viste de diseñar unos tapices para su gran salón. Mientras Nicolas mide las paredes, conoce a la hermosa hija del noble y nace entre los dos una pasión imposible para la época. Tracy Chevalier lleva a los lectores al momento de la creación de esta obra de arte, dando vida a los hombres que la diseñaron y crearon, y a las mujeres que influyeron en ellos. La historia y la ficción se entrelazan en un tapiz literario de ambiciones, deseos y hechizo artístico que rivaliza en belleza con la obra que lo inspiró.

Tracy Chevalier's tale of artistic creation and late-medieval amours, The Lady and the Unicorn is a subtle study in social power and the conflicts between love and duty. Nicolas des Innocents has been commissioned by the Parisian nobleman Jean Le Viste to design a series of large tapestries for his great hall (in real life, the famous Lady and the Unicorn cycle, now in Paris's Musee National du Moyen-Age Thermes de Cluny). While Nicolas is measuring the walls, he meets a beautiful girl who turns out to be Jean Le Viste's daughter. Their passion is impossible for their world--so forbidden, given their class differences, that its only avenue of expression turns out to be those magnificent tapestries. The historical evidence on which this story is based is slight enough to allow the full play of Chevalier's imagination in this cleverly woven tale. ( )