This brilliantly written novel by Tracy Chevalier is based on the 16th century painting, Girl With a Pearl Earring painted by the talented artist, Johannes Vermeer who at the time lived in The Hague, Netherlands. In the novel, Greit; a young teenager raised in a lower class family is being involuntarily told to be the full time maid for a high class family; the Vermeer’s. In the 16th Century, social differences, stereotyping, and class rankings were “social rules” that were practiced during this time. This is what makes the plot line interesting throughout the novel. Some examples of this are when; Catharina and her husband, Johannes Vermeer; the famous painter during the 16th Century, visited the household of Griet where they were looking
