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Victoria Redel's 'I Am You' explores art, gender, love and 17th-century Dutch art

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The cover of "I Am You" and author Victoria Redel. (Courtesy of Zando and George Rings)
The cover of "I Am You" and author Victoria Redel. (Courtesy of Zando and George Rings)

Victoria Redel's sweeping new historical novel "I Am You" takes on a dizzying breadth of subject matter, including gender, art, women's rights, history and romance — all set in 1600s Amsterdam.

The story follows famed Dutch painter Maria van Oosterwijck and her assistant, the younger painter Gerta Pieters, as the two defy the norms of the male-dominated art world and fall in love.

Maria van Oosterwijck painted by Wallerant Vaillant in 1671. (Courtesy of The Rijksmuseum)
Maria van Oosterwijck painted by Wallerant Vaillant in 1671. (Courtesy of The Rijksmuseum)
Maria van Oosterwijck, "Vanitas Still Life," c. 1690. (Courtesy of The Rijksmuseum)
Maria van Oosterwijck, "Vanitas Still Life," c. 1690. (Courtesy of The Rijksmuseum)
Still life of flowers by Geertgen Wyntges. (Courtesy of The Fitzwilliam Museum)
Still life of flowers by Geertgen Wyntges. (Courtesy of The Fitzwilliam Museum)

Book excerpt: 'I Am You'

By Victoria Redel

Excerpted from "I Am You: A Novel" by Victoria Redel. © 2025 by Victoria Redel. Used with permission of the publisher, SJP Lit, an imprint of Zando, LLC.

This segment aired on September 30, 2025.

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