Set in 18th century Dresden, The Porcelain Menagerie, by Jillian Forsberg, follows Johann Kändler as he is called to the palace of King Augustus and tasked with creating a porcelain menagerie. The second timeline features Fatima, the king’s mistress, who collects exotic animals for a real menagerie decades before Johann arrives. King Augustus is a cruel and violent man, ruled by whims that can destroy the lives of others.
Previous mistresses and porcelain makers have been discarded, lives ruined. Johann and Fatima struggle to survive in a world that is opulent and alluring as well as dangerous.
The historical details in both timelines resonate behind the story. From Johann, the reader learns every step of the painstaking process of chiseling a figure, making molds, and firing the porcelain. The competition between Meissen, where the king’s porcelain factory is located, and the far east, source of the finest porcelain in the world, pushes King Augustus to imprison his porcelain makers until they get it right. From Fatima we see the cages in the garden for animals she loves and wants to preserve. At the same time, the king holds regular hunting parties where hundreds of animals are rounded up, tortured by playing with them, then killed. The agony of Fatima’s relationship with the animals and with the king kept me turning the pages.
18th century Saxony life is brought to life in the details—the glittering royal court, the precious porcelain the king calls white gold, and the magnificent animals. This novel is a tale of obsession, power, resilience and survival.