The Miniaturist

2017 • BBC

3.7

7 reviews

Eligible

Season 1 episodes (2)

1 Episode 1

12/27/17

It’s 1686. NELLA OORTMAN arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life, following her marriage to one of the city’s leading merchants, JOHANNES BRANDT. Johannes is absent but she meets his ice-cold sister MARIN, along with the Negro servant Otto and the oddly insolent maid Cornelia.

2 Episode 2

12/28/17

Realizing her marriage is a sham, Nella resolves to leave Amsterdam, but Marin and the servants plead with her to stay, since her departure will bring disgrace on the family and threaten to reveal Johannes’ secret, which will endanger all.

About this show

In 1686, 18-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. Full of hopes and dreams, she has travelled from the quiet countryside to begin a new life as the wife of affluent merchant, Johannes Brandt. But, instead of Johannes, she’s met by his cold sister Marin and quickly realises that nothing is as it seems in the Brandt household. When Johannes finally appears he presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a doll’s house replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive Miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror what is happening within the house in unexpected ways–seemingly predicting and unravelling the future with unsettling accuracy.

Ratings and reviews

3.7

7 reviews

Thomas Spettel

April 9, 2021

Bit of a disappointing ending. The main character was the only one who was sane enough to try and fix things while everyone in the house were screwing things up. The "husband" got everyone into trouble, the sister was a bit of a looney while one of the servants, after stabbing his master's ex boyfriend, abandoned the household then returned after realising he had a kid. The miniaturist herself was disappointing. What was the point of the doll house in the end? Good build up of mystery though.

R Hawthorne

December 29, 2017

Very well written with intelligent dialogue and complex characters.

David Owens

January 3, 2019

Features the wonderful Anya Taylor-Joy.

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