The Anatomy Lesson
A Novel
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By:
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Nina Siegal
About this listen
Commissioned by the Amsterdam Surgeons’ Guild, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp was the first major Rembrandt work to catapult the young painter to international fame. Taking this painting as its inspiration, Nina Siegal’s novel The Anatomy Lesson opens on the morning of the medical dissection and follows several characters as they prepare for the evening’s big event: we meet Aris the Kid, a one-handed coat thief who is awaiting his turn at the gallows; Flora, the woman who is pregnant with his child and who hopes to save him from the executioner; Jan Fetchet, a curio collector who also moonlights as an acquirer of medical cadavers; René Descartes, who will attend the dissection in the course of his quest to understand where the human soul resides; and the twenty-six-year-old Dutch master himself, who feels a shade uneasy about this assignment. And in the twenty-first century, there is Pia, a contemporary art historian who is examining the painting.
As the story builds to its dramatic and inevitable conclusion, the events that transpire throughout the day sway Rembrandt to make fundamental changes to his initial composition. Bringing to life the vivid world of Amsterdam in 1632, The Anatomy Lesson offers a rich slice of history and a textured story by a young master.
©2014 Nina Siegal (P)2014 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a narrative in paint which tells a story of Amsterdam in its Golden Age. Now, Nina Siegal's lovely novel dissects the dissection, evocatively translating the painted narrative into words, bringing a grim tableau to life and reanimating a moment in history when art, science, life, and death converged." — Russell Shorto, author of Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City
"Brilliantly structured, wonderfully evocative, filled with vivid characters, The Anatomy Lesson transports the reader to that day in 1632 when the coat thief Aris Kindt passed from life to death and from death, thanks first to Rembrandt and now Nina Siegal, into immortality. A dazzling debut." —Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy
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Story
Gregory Maguire proves himself to be “one of contemporary fiction’s most assured myth-makers” (Kirkus Reviews) with Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, his ingenious and provocative retelling of the timeless Cinderella fairy tale. Perhaps best known for his dark and breathtaking Oz series The Wicked Years—including the novel Wicked, which inspired the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical—Maguire is a master at upending the ordinary to help us see the familiar in a brilliant new light.
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A Very Human Story!
- By SamiJo McQuiston on 05-02-18
By: Gregory Maguire
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Mirror Mirror
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough, Kate Forbes, Barbara Rosenblat, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives at Montefiore, the farm of her father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up to the farm. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia, no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a quest, he leaves Bianca under the care of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but salvation can be found in the dark forest as well.
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Interesting re-telling of the fairy tale.
- By Patricia on 03-04-10
By: Gregory Maguire
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The Essex Serpent
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Perry
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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When Cora Seaborne's brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at 19, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive 11-year old son, Francis, and the boy's nanny, Martha.
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Unbearable Narrator
- By ACB on 06-08-17
By: Sarah Perry
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The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre
- By: Dominic Smith
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In this luminous novel, Dominic Smith reinvents the life of one of photography's founding fathers. In 1839, Louis Daguerre's invention took the world by storm. A decade later, he is sinking deep into delusions brought on by exposure to mercury, the very agent that allowed his daguerreotype process. Believing the world will end within one year, he creates his "Doomsday List", 10 items he must photograph before the final day. It includes a woman he has always loved but has not seen in half a century.
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Dud
- By Deborah on 01-31-08
By: Dominic Smith
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The Spymaster's Lady
- By: Joanna Bourne
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit... British spymaster Robert Grey must enter France and bring back the brilliant, beautiful - and dangerous - Fox Cub. His duty is to capture her and her secrets for England.
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Highly enjoyable; Audiobook is fantastic
- By Emily London on 12-28-10
By: Joanna Bourne
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The Serpent Garden
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Susanna Dallet is the daughter of a Flemish painter and wife to a philandering husband, living in the court of Henry VIII. When her husband is murdered, Susanna is suddenly left with a household to provide for and nothing to her name. Her days of anonymity are over when Susanna finds that guild rules preventing women from working do not apply at the king’s court, and she manages to secure a position as a miniature-portrait painter. Before long, she has not only made a name for herself, she is close to those who surround Princess Mary. But even in this lofty company, Susanna is not safe....
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DON'T FALL FOR THE PRINT VERSION AMAZON REVIEWS
- By The Louligan on 03-06-14
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The School of Mirrors
- A Novel
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors.
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Fascinating but pedophilia nonetheless.
- By Barbara W. on 05-10-22
By: Eva Stachniak
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The Passion
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues, Daniel Pirrie
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Set during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: Henri, a simple French soldier, who follows Napoleon from glory to Russian ruin; and Villanelle, the red-haired, web-footed daughter of a Venetian boatman, whose husband has gambled away her heart. In Venice’s compound of carnival, chance, and darkness, the pair meets their singular destiny.
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Excellence.
- By Scottie V. on 10-07-19
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Instruments of Darkness
- A Novel
- By: Imogen Robertson
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. Not one to be bound by convention or to shy away from adventure, she recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer, and historical suspense's newest investigative duo is born.
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Not The Best, But Not Too Bad...
- By MJ on 01-13-13
By: Imogen Robertson
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Jack Maggs
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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With scars on his back and silver in his pocket, the huge figure of Jack Maggs strides across the rich landscape of 19th century London. As this enigmatic man moves through its streets and houses, his single-minded quest to find his son will engender love, deceit, and vengeance in the lives around him.
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Jack Maggs
- By Kathleen on 04-04-05
By: Peter Carey
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The Painter's Apprentice
- Venetian Artisans
- By: Laura Morelli
- Narrated by: Anna Butterworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father's legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she's ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter. Maria arranges to leave the painter's workshop to return to her family workshop and to a secret lover waiting for her back home. But the encroaching Black Death foils her plans.... When the painter's servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away to train with Master Trevisan, they threaten to reveal a secret.
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Decent book if you can overlook a few quirks
- By Laurie S on 01-27-19
By: Laura Morelli
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The Gondola Maker
- By: Laura Morelli
- Narrated by: Edoardo Camponeschi
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Venetian gondola-maker Luca Vianello considers his whole life arranged. His father charted a course for his eldest son from the day he was born, and Luca is positioned to inherit one of the city's most esteemed boatyards. But when Luca experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. Soon, he finds himself drawn to restore an antique gondola with the dream of taking a girl for a ride.
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Excellent narration
- By The computer lady on 03-29-17
By: Laura Morelli
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
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Another winner by Norah Lofts
- By Bird Lady 147 on 10-03-17
By: Norah Lofts
What listeners say about The Anatomy Lesson
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AlwaysResearching
- 01-20-16
Good book!
Enjoyed the story more than I thought I would and would like to see this painting in person.
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- Kathi
- 03-12-14
Very interesting look into 17th century mindset
Nina Siegal has taken one masterpiece painting, "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" by the young 26 year old Rembrandt, and historically and imaginatively brought it to life. And though it states above that she is the narrator, I believe it was done by several other people whose names I don't see listed there.
Siegal has reflected upon this one painting (which it helps the listener to look at in an art book or via googling) and given it a credible story. She has brought to life even the corpse, so the reader/listener can have a greater sense of who the real people posing there might have been. It was well researched and provides insights into the life, mindset, religious views, ideas, artistic approaches, and even superstitions of the 17th century Dutch world.
There is one character, Pia the art restorer, who "dissects" the picture via dictation, as she prepares to clean it, thus giving the listener the opportunity to hear about every detail in it. This is especially interesting as it parallels the way the Rembrandt character goes about creating it in his own mind before beginning to paint it. The painting depicts an autopsy, and she focuses on how the corpse's right hand appears to look as though it has been altered at some point by Rembrandt, which she also cleverly works into the story itself.
I found the characters fascinating, because she excellently provided historical perspective through them. There were Rembrandt and Dr. Tulp, the anatomist, and how they came together for this painting, but also Adrian, the hanged criminal (corpse) and his wife Flora. Rene Descartes was prominently a part, as he searched for the seat of the soul and mind in the body. At that time, they apparently believed the body would reveal the misdeeds of a man's life. Dr. Tulp says that "to know the body is to know God's purpose." One particularly moving point the author weaves in, is the observation that the corpse looks particularly Christlike, itself a frequent topic in art history. She mentions especially another well-known painting, "Lamentations of Christ," comparing the perspective and the emotions aroused in the viewer.
I believe that Siegal has done a good job of bringing not only the characters, but the historical times alive. She has provided a combination of back story to explain how the people arrived where they were in the painting, an exploration of artistic social value, guilds and techniques, philosophical and theological ideas and common mindsets and beliefs that would have guided their daily lives. I think she handles the dissection as carefully for the listener as possible. I did not find it at all upsetting, but I suppose the overall premise of the book could be uncomfortable for some listeners.
I would hope that she will take more paintings and do this sort of imaginative/historical exploration more in future. I love art and art history, often find myself wondering what the story inspiring many old paintings might have been, and so I very much welcome her contribution. I think she gave a good balance to what is known combined with her creation of characters' thoughts and intentions. The narration was wonderful, almost all voices being clearly distinguishable as the particular character at all times. I think the book begins a tad slowly, but looking back, perhaps it had to, to be able to draw the listener in with enough details to understand the whole effort. This is a book that I could listen to again (which I rarely do).
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7 people found this helpful
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- Carol
- 10-17-14
A Brilliant Exploration of a City and an Era
This novel envelopes the reader in Amsterdam when its culture was at its height, by revealing typical characters drawn together by the annual anatomy lesson as painted by Rembrandt. The reader is particularly drawn to the young man being dissected, his pregnant girlfriend, and various characters involved with this annual lesson. Through the painting of the lesson, the reader sees the highs and lows of a city at its zenith.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Wendy L Wood
- 01-21-15
Horrible performance! !
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Just an awful read by Bruce Mann. I've listen to many, many books and have never, EVER not been able to finish it because of the reader. As another reviewer said…I'll get the book!
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4 people found this helpful
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- mg in New Mexico
- 09-21-14
I cringed at the narration -- intolerable
What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?
I couldn't listen to this book for long. Bruce Mann's voice makes me cringe. I couldn't tolerate listening to this anymore. I'll get the book in print.
Any additional comments?
I will never get a book narrated by Bruce Mann again.
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5 people found this helpful