Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Amy      

historical fiction

I read Clara and Mr. Tiffany for my book club and really enjoyed it! I learned so much about NYC around the turn of the century (did you know the subway opened for business in 1904?), about life for female workers in that era (who were not allowed to join labor unions), about glass window- and lamp-making processes, about the business of Tiffany’s, and about Louis Comfort Tiffany himself (who was the son of the jewelry store's Charles Lewis Tiffany) and his family history. I learned all this while enjoying the story of Clara Driscoll’s life. She was a real person who worked for Mr. Tiffany, from helping with the creation of glass windows, coming up with the idea (supposedly) for Tiffany lamps, and becoming a designer of glass lamps and windows under Tiffany’s tutelage. She also became the manager of the women’s department at Tiffany Studios. Meanwhile, she led an interesting personal life and was fortunate to have some great friends.

I appreciated all the research that Susan Vreeland must have performed and her creativity at filling in the gaps of Clara’s story whenever there was no documentation available. The characters in the book really came to life and so many of them were loveable and irresistible.

The narrator of the audio book, Kimberly Farr, did a fine job overall. At times she read a little too slowly/robotically but would strike her groove fairly quickly. She was able to pull off some good accents and her voice acting was good. I give her an A.