Violet Speedwell is resigned to a life of spinsterdom after the Great War killed her fiancé. To escape her overbearing mother and suffocating life at home, Violet moves to Winchester. It is here she is drawn into the society of borderers at the local cathedral.

I so wished to have liked this book as it is so well written but alas the plot was a struggle to get through. Perhaps it’s just that the subject matter is not my cup of tea but unfortunately A Single Thread wasn’t for me.

This was an enjoyable read. The author has captured perfectly the social attitudes and behaviours prevalent in the early 1930s. Violet (our heroine) - and indeed the country - has been greatly affected by WW1. Society is oppressive, everyone watching to make sure that people stay in their place and behave as expected. Violet is however determined to be her own person and work for her living, and moves to Winchester to follow her own path.

An impulsive visit to the Cathedral and its Broderers Group leads to unexpected consequences - friendships, personal growth, and love.

Read it for yourself - the pace can seem a little slow at times, but the writing transports you and the characters are superb.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Historical fiction of dreams. I’ve recommended this so many times. Absolutely incredible story; absolutely incredible writing. Loved it.

After her father dies Violet is determined to move away from home as she feels her life will eventually become that of carer to her mother. The book is set between the two world wars so an unmarried daughter would be more likely to have this expectation. Her brother is married and has a family. He and Violet get on, he understands why Violet wants to make the move and encourages her. Their older brother and Violets fiancé were killed during the Great War.

So she makes the move to Winchester. It’s not too far away from home and she can visit her mother on weekends. Violet takes a room in a lodging house and finds life is financially rather difficult but she loves the independence she has found.

Violet finds herself in the Cathedral one day when a service for the embroiderers begins. She arranges to join them. This group of women who embroider the Cathedrals footstools etc., become a lifeline to Violet and she makes friends.

We read of her life at work, with the embroidery group and at home. She meets new people. One of whom introduces her to bell ringing and gives her a tour of the bell tower.

As the daughter whose mother was a tailoress and whose partner is a cross stitcher perhaps it wasn’t surprising how enjoyable I found that element of the book but I also found the bell ringing element quite fascinating and I found myself completely hooked!

Still, it was Violets story, her family and those friends she made and people with whom she came into contact with that kept me engrossed in this book. Within all of this the author brings up issues that would have been seen as improper to talk about at the time but these subjects – lesbianism, single parenthood, mental health and attitudes that push against the times are glimpses of what is to come. Whilst WWI saw the beginning of change in class attitudes it would be well after WWII that many of these subjects would begin to become more openly spoken of and acceptable parts of life. Today they remain sources of potential dissension, disagreement and conflict.

Violet at 38 and unmarried finds the courage to strike out on her own and make her own way. She deftly handles issues at work and in her private life. She encounters a very unsettling situation which is still all too familiar today. Still, with the help of friends, Violet comes up with some great and unique solutions. I particularly liked how the care of her mother was resolved.

Well written, captivating, enjoyable and simply just a wonderful story A Single Thread was one of my favourite reads in 2021.

Book: NetGalley and Purchased

Thanks
My thanks to the publishers for an eCopy of A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier via NetGalley. I did indeed buy my own copy too as it was such a good book.

This was a good read and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. There was a lot going for the book and the narrative flowed nicely so I was engaged throughout.

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier is set in 1932 in Winchester.  Violet lost a brother and her fiancé in the Great War (World War I), and like so many women at the time, is single due to the huge amount of young men who died in the war.

She moves to Winchester, escaping her mother's home, and joins a group of women who embroider the cushions and kneelers in the cathedral.

Violet finding her feet, the group of women and World War II on the horizon is all part of this story, which I really enjoyed.  The history of Winchester is part of the story, and was very interesting.

A Single Thread was published on 5th September 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Tracy Chevalier on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins.

A somewhat pedestrian Chevalier

Chevalier has written some marvellous, well researched, but lightly revealed, books, which did not forget that primarily narrative and character needed primacy, not to overwhelm the reader with the researched topic.

Unfortunately this one never really integrated research into embroidery, bell-ringing and the architecture of Winchester cathedral into credible narrative fiction.

Set in the early 1930’s, central character Violet Speedwell is still dealing with the loss of her older brother George, and her fiancé Laurence, in the trenches.

She is set to be an overlooked, rather nondescript spinster, under the thumb of a domineering, selfish, self-obsessed mother.

Escaping to Winchester, in lodgings, and a typist in an insurance office, she makes no waves until by chance she encounters a group of ‘broiderers’ making kneelers and cushions for Winchester cathedral.

The ‘transformation’ to her life and her character feel a little obsessively contrived. Hard to quite believe that learning to embroider could so easily change an ignored wallflower into someone so much more three dimensional and alluring.

There was too much exposition of information about the three subjects of research in the book for me. Perhaps bell ringers, embroiders and devotees of Winchester cathedral might be more enamoured.

I do love books which teach me about things I know nothing about, but, in fiction, this really needs to be properly embedded within the character driven narrative for it to work for me. Otherwise I am just far too aware that the author has done a lot of research and wants to share everything they have learned. In which case a factual book may have been a better choice

A Single Thread is set in 1930’s Winchester and Violet Speedwell has lost both her brother and fiancé during WW1. To escape her overbearing mother, she moves to Winchester and begins working as a typist, but she soon joins a group of women who embroider church kneeling cushions.

As she begins to embroider she becomes part of a community and finds support for her tragedies and emotions. There is a lot of detail about the craft of embroidery and life within this church community.

This is not a fast read by any means but a beautifully written tale of Violet’s life. She’s a resilient woman with her flaws and now she’s making a new life for herself against a backdrop of postwar Winchester, small minded communities and prejudice. A character driven tale to relax with and savour the atmosphere.

I might try again at another time to read this book.

I am a huge fan of Tracy Chevalier but honestly couldn’t connect with this novel at all. Possibly, I tried to read it during lockdown and think that my concentration was not up to scratch. I also couldn’t connect with the characters.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

Another stunning read from Chevalier. I don't know why I put off reading this for so long, I was immediately hooked into Violet's world. Violet is such a vivid, strong character whom I loved getting to know. Her story is sweeping and very readable.

I have read previous works of Tracy Chevalier, so when I saw this was available I want to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed, this book really evoked many feelings within me. The books focus is about grief, love, and solitude during WWI. The story is about how the characters deal with the pain of loss of their children and husbands and how they try to move forward.

As in all books by Tracy Chevalier, this story is not only a tale. The reader gets immersed in new worlds which have been very well researched. All in all a great read.

Thank for the EARC in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this book about the Embroiderer's Guild - a group of women who embroidering kneelers and cushions for the Cathedral in Winchester, so much history involved in the story when Violet Speedwell joins their number and becomes part of them, and it also goes on to tell you about the bell ringers and all the changes in the peals of the bells and explains it all in layman's terms.

I have also read The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier and enjoy reading her books, so would definitely recommend this one.

Set in the 1930s, with memories of the Great War still very raw in people's minds, this book also explores English Society at that time and the very real real restrictions still placed on young women who had glimpsed a more independent life but then found the walls of society closing in again.
Violet, desperate to be more independent, and perhaps hoping to find a partner, leaves her fractious and widowed mother in Southampton and moves to a boarding house in Winchester. No great distance these days but relying in trains made travel more difficult and expensive for Violet. Her job is unfulfilling - a typist in an insurance office and she finds it difficult to make new friends - especially at a time when women jealously guard their husbands or become sad, grey spinsters. Her new friend Gilda introduces her to the 'Broderers' at the Cathedral and there she learns a new skill and subsequently about the motifs used in the church embroideries.
All well and good, but then throw a lonely and bereaved married man into the mix and things take a new turn and provide a new interest for Violet - bell ringing. No spoilers though! And of course there is also the 'special' relationship between Gilda and Dorothy.
Violet develops as a careful social strategist, enabling both her friends and her family to forge new relationships, and has a surprise of her own at the end.

I have never read a Tracy Chevalier book before but to say I thoroughly enjoyed this is an understatement

Following the lives of 3 girls through the toughest of time whilst working in a machine factory their story is heartbreaking but full of hope

Curl up with this on a cold winters day and you won’t come up for air until it’s finished

Loved it

An excellent novel! Set in 1932, the story is about grief, love, and solitude met both by parents losing a child during WWI and women who lost their loves in those tragic years, or could not find a husband as so many men did not come back from the war. The story is also about how they deal with the pain of loss as they try to move forward. Violet left her mother to live in Winchester. She is not earning much money from her job as a typist, but this is not essential for her aim is to get independent from her mother emotionally and financially. She wants to make a life for herself. This is hard work! Violet knows and will not give up. Through her we discover the world of embroidery, bellringing, and the hope for romance.
No cliché characters. No super heroes. Their personalities are realistically crafted.
As in all books by Tracy Chevalier, this story is not only a tale. The reader gets immersed in new worlds which have been very well researched. This makes her books not only captivating but interesting and informative as well.
I can't wait for Tracy Chevalier's next novel.
Thank you Tracy for letting me read this book for free on NetGalley .

A great read, as always, by Tracy Chevalier. I always enjoy the way in which she gets inside the lives of women in the past, allowing you to appreciate them as people while also learning something about a different place and era. I particularly enjoyed the embroidery theme.

As a genre, historical fiction is incredibly varied, covering as it does every period in the last few thousand years. A Single Thread focuses between the two world wars. Violet has lost everything dear to her, including her fiancé. Now 38, she’s a ‘surplus woman’, with no real place in society. However, she also has when many married women did not – freedom. When she joins a group embroidering kneelers for Winchester Cathedral, Violet finds a new way to both connect with the world, and make a mark on it.

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier. I really enjoyed this and it was great to have a break from my usual psychological thrillers, so this book had a lovely welcome calming effect. I just loved the way the writing flowed, along with the portrayal of Violet’s character.

It is 1932, post-World War 1, in Southampton and after a number of tragedies, including the death of her brother, finance and father, Violet escapes the clutches of her controlling mother by moving to Winchester. With little money, she moves into very basic accommodation which she can hardly afford and gets a job as a typist working for an insurance company.

The world is on the brink of the World War II and Violet takes personal refuge in Winchester Cathedral where she gets involved with a group of women who embroider cushions for the church and develops further knowledge, friendship and support.

A lovely tale and it was so admirable and astonishing the strength that Violet showed dealing with all challenges of that era, all the while showing courage and independence in the face of hard times.

Having just read and enjoyed reading 'Remarkable Creatures ' by Tracy Chevalier, I discovered a copy of this 2019 novel.

It took me a while to get into this book, however I ended up liking it very much. The characters grew on me.

I enjoyed the setting in and around Winchester.

This is a novel that deals with a range of social issues in England during the period after the First World War. I won't go in to the details of the story for fear of spoiling the plot. Suffice to say that there isn't really a plot as such. However, Tracy Chevalier has managed to weave a story into an exploration of the slowly changing social attitudes of the era.

When the book came to an end, I found myself feeling 'I wonder what happened next.
I think that this is what I liked most.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and the Borough Press for a copy in exchange for this review.

There isn't much that Tracy Chevalier writes that I don't love! She will often grasp a painting, a tapestry or a person and bring them to life in a fictional masterpiece.
Here I little thought I would become intrigued (as does Violet in the story) with the beautiful sewing needed to make the knee cushions for a church - or in this case the majestic Winchester Cathedral. Having visited Winchester the cathedral (home to the burial site of Jane Austen) the author superbly describes the architecture and evokes a spiritual link between those surviving now and those that have passed over time.
Beautifully written love story with an unusual twist - like the very skeins of thread themselves!