It's good when people recommend books, because you get to read something that you wouldn't otherwise have read. So it was with Girl With A Pearl Earring. This is a historical coming-of-age story, that carefully describes a young woman's thoughts and emotions as she is employed in the Vermeer household as a maid. Lots of details anchor the setting in the Holland of the 17th Century. I winced when the protagonist had to handle white lead, unknown then as the insidious toxin we now know it to be. Same with the pewter wine decanters.

A book I've already recommended to several people.