Rembrandt's Promise

Stunning historical immersion into the world of Rembrandt with a gripping plot of a promise turned sour. For fans of Stacey Halls, Maggie O'Farrell and Tracy Chevalier.



Hanging beside the door is a painting of a wedding feast. ­ The light is centred on the bride; the guests are banished to the shade. ­ That is how it is when he looks at her: all others fade away.

1642.
­The Dutch Golden Age is underway, with Amsterdam at the height of its powers.

Geertje, an impoverished widow from Edam, enters a melting pot of wealth and culture when she becomes nursemaid in the house of renowned painter Rembrandt.

After Rembrandt's wife dies, Geertje is drawn deeper into his world and despite her friends' warnings, she begins a passionate affair with the master of light and shadow, with devastating results.

Based on the true account of a wronged woman who demanded justice, with themes of feminism, loss, ambition and redemption, this is a remarkable debut, perfect for fans of sumptuous historical fiction.

Review

'In Rembrandt's Promise, Barbara Leahy swaddles the reader in the living, visceral moment of the era and its players. With glorious language, she gives us a believable, elegant, and atmospheric novel - just beautiful' -- Nuala O'Connor ― author of Seaborne and NORA

'Rembrandt's Promise is something genuinely special. Beautifully written, stunning in its imaginative scope and note-perfect in its conjuring of a fascinating era, this is a gripping story rich with passion and vitality, populated with characters you won't want to be easily parted from. A remarkably assured debut novel, of the kind that, once started, is hard to put down, which really ought to break out the deeply talented Barbara Leahy to a wide and enthusiastic audience and bring the kind of kudos she has long and so richly deserved' -- Billy O'Callaghan ― author of Life Sentences

'Here is a gift of a first novel, with prose as resolute and sensual as its wronged and determined narrator. Intimate, measured and meticulous in its detail, this is read-on storytelling at its very best. A wonderful debut' -- Alan McMonagle ― author of Ithaca

'Barbara Leahy's prose is as luminous as the Dutch Golden Age it evokes and is unforgettable. Barbara Leahy shines a clear, unfaltering light on a life too long left in shadow. Right from the beginning, Geertje took up residence in my head and my heart. This is a novel that lingers long after reading. Barbara Leahy's sentences are sublime. The novel is an indelible testament to Geertje, a woman Rembrandt would have preferred the world forgot. Outstanding' -- Danielle McLaughlin ― author of The Art of Falling

'Rembrandt's Promise offers us historical fiction at its vibrant and vivid best. Barbara Leahy takes the oft-maligned figure of Geerje Dircx, and draws her - and the Dutch Golden Age - fully into the light. A truly compelling and absorbing debut' -- Neil Hegarty ― author of The Jewel

'Meticulously researched ingredients creatively laid out on the page invoke the world of Rembrandt with the precision of one of his own works. Leahy's prose is cut-to-the-bone-lean, but moves with seductive and voluptuous agility. Goes down easy and lingers long' -- David Brennan ― author of Upperdown

About the Author

Barbara Leahy is from Cork. She was a winner of the Irish Writers' Centre Novel Fair in 2023. Her short stories have won numerous awards, appeared in the Bridport Prize Anthology, the Bristol Prize anthology, and been broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. Rembrandt's Promise is her first novel.