When Jessie Burton's novel The Miniaturist was first put up for sale at the 2013 London Book Fair, it prompted a bidding war between publishers. Now, the story of Petronella (Nella) Oortman and her doll house are coming to Masterpiece PBS in a three-part miniseries.
Set in 17th-century Amsterdam, the period thriller follows Nella, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, as she weds wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell). But as she moves in with her husband and learns to deal with a difficult sister-in-law named Marin, Nella realizes not everything is what it appears to be.
Furthering the intrigue, Johannes gives his new bride a cabinet house, an exact replica of her new home, which she furnishes in detail with gifts from a mysterious, seemingly all-seeing miniaturist.
"To see all your characters come to life is such a privilege," Burton tells Town & Country. "It’s absolutely wonderful. For [the miniseries] to be made and to be made quite quickly off the back of publication is a really wonderful thing."
While the author wasn't heavily involved in the production of the show—"I didn’t cast anyone"—Burton did help with the tone of the project, consulting with the screenwriter, and even appearing as an extra in one of the scenes.
"They dressed me up as a merchant’s wife," she says. "Anya [Taylor-Joy] and Alex Hassel as Johannas came towards me, and that was quite surreal because I was like I made you guys up, but now you’re human beings and you’re very real, and we’re all now in this make believe. It’s very strange—I very much felt like the miniaturist sort of making her own fate."
But before the miniseries was even a possibility, Burton, an actress herself, was crafting these characters as the kind of roles she felt were missing from the screen.
"I think I was trying to write characters that if it wasn’t going to be me playing them, at least somebody somewhere down the line would enjoy it," she says. "Generally speaking, women do find their options far more limited, I think, than men do in the acting world."
"Somebody like Marin, who is played by Romola Garai brilliantly—there is a woman who is quite a difficult character, she’s not trying to make people like her, she’s quite unpleasant, she doesn’t care about beauty," Burton continues.
"I wrote a character like Nella, who even though she is the young ingenue, she’s got a mouth on her and she’s brave and bold, and she’s actually quite sexually curious. She’s not this passive innocent, she wants to be in the world."
The series has already aired in the UK, but it will have a slightly different format on PBS.
"I just want you to enjoy it. Take it in," Burton says. "I’m not just saying it because it’s my book. Honestly, the acting is unbelievably brilliant. Anya’s incredible, all of the supporting cast. Just go to it with an open mind. Don't expect that it’s going to provide you with every answer It’s not that kind of thing. It’s part mystery; give it time."
The Miniaturist premieres on September 9 on Masterpiece PBS at 9 p.m. eastern, 8 p.m. central. Want to read the book ahead of time? Shop it below:
As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects
