The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier, reviewed by Eva Leung

An image of a UK first edition of The Glass-Blowers

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Saga, Historical Fiction
Original Publication: 1963

When the elderly Madame Sophie Duval meets Louis-Mathurin Busson du Maurier, she knows immediately that he is her nephew, the long-lost son of her eldest brother, Robert. But Louis-Mathurin’s version of their family history is different – in fact, it is fabricated, and Sophie alone knows why. In a series of letters, Sophie decides to tell Louis-Mathurin the cruel truth about the family and about his father, Robert-Mathurin Busson, as the black sheep of the family. Meanwhile, Sophie passes the family heirloom of an engraved crystal goblet to George “Kicky”, son of Louis-Mathurin, signifying the reconnection of the lineage and the succession of the family’s spirit, craftsmanship and creativity – qualities that define them as master glass-blowers.

A bestseller in its time, The Glass-Blowers is yet another underrated du Maurier novel, a fictionalised account of her own family history documenting the affairs of her French forebears – the master glass-blowers of la Brûlonnerie, Chérigny, la Pierre and le Chesne-Bidault. It should be noted that “Kicky” would grow up to be the author’s grandfather – famous novelist and cartoonist George du Maurier (1834-1896), and that Sophie’s letters to Louis-Mathurin, as well as the crystal goblet so significant to the family, are not the author’s fabrications, but real artefacts that were in her possession when she researched for and wrote this novel.

When I first read the novel, I was too young to understand it, and I had to stop halfway because I could not renew it from the library (a pain most library users relate to). I reread it more than once when I was older  – and it was extremely rewarding when I could finally understand the twists and turns, and the risks and resolutions. The Glass-Blowers is an unexpectedly heart-wrenching read.

© Eva Leung August 2024.

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