I suspected I was in for a well written, compelling story, and I was not disappointed. This book had the warm, hazy, lazy feel of ‘A Month in the Country’. The characters were all beautifully written and sympathetic, and there were a few little twists and turns that really added to my enjoyment. Definitely one to read again, very much recommended.

I find this period of history absolutely fascinating and often ignored. I love a historical novel and read this in a few days, I really couldn’t put it down. Violet is independent minded and a great character. She knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to get what she wants, in a 1930’s kind of way. The novel takes place over a few years and you really see her blossoming, taking steps to carve out her own life.

If you’ve ever thought about the women behind all the cushions and kneelers in a church or cathedral, then this forms a lovely backdrop to Violet’s life in Winchester. As Violet learns how to stitch, she also learns more about herself, dealing with love and loss, and a new life in a new city.

This was a wonderful read and a time period Ive rarely read about. The context fell into place for me when I realised my grandparents would have been about 40 at the time of this novel. A time when women were expected to marry and have children, but where the male population had fallen by 2 million during the Great War and when Britain was still recovering from one war, while Hitler rose to prominence as the Chancellor on the way to the next. It was terribly difficult to earn a living and live independently as a woman ‘left on the shelf’. This is the story of a woman and the life she makes for herself, the community to which she comes to belong, the friends she makes, the interests and skills she develops and how she comes to lead her own life through a community of broderers. A poignant and lovely story. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

A beautiful book of a surplus woman’s battle for independence in the straitjacket of 1930s England. So much depth in the research, as ever with Chevalier’s novels, and the pace of the story reflects the pace of life, the work of the kneeler embroiderers and the suffocation of society. An immersive historical gem.

A Single Thread Tracy Chevalier

This is a gentle, slow burner of a book. But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s dull, I was utterly invested in ‘surplus woman’ Violet Speedwell from the first page.

Set between the wars when so many young women had no hope of a husband after the better part of a generation of young men did not come back from the First World War. These women lived in a society when being an unmarried woman over 30 was alien, strange, and threatening.

Violet, belittled by her embittered, suffocating mother’s demands, strikes out on her own and moves to Winchester.
Earning a pittance as a typist in an insurance office, she stumbles upon a service for the Cathedral ‘broderers’ in her break and sneaks in to listen. She plucks up the courage to join the group of women and slowly builds her confidence as a needlewoman and starts to makes friends in the group.
One of her new friends, Gilda, introduces her to Arthur, one of the retiree bellringers who offers to ‘show her the ropes’.

There are fascinating details about both embroidery and bellringing in this gem of a book from Tracy Chevalier, indeed she quotes in the acknowledgements one of my favourite books which also features the world of bellringing, Nine Tailors by Dorothy l Sayers.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this gem of a book, with it’s bittersweet relationships. I almost cheered at the ending! Buy it and you won’t regret it.

I was lucky enough to be on holiday so I could read this lovely book in a day. It wasn’t what I expected from Tracy Chevalier, but it was interesting, charming, and a lovely way to spend a day in the sunshine. .
Set in Winchester in the early 1930s (an era that I always find intriguing) #ASingleThread shows the challenges faced by single women at the time to make a living and be independent. Through her embroidery (really) Violet finds friendship and is able to make a mark in the world. I didn’t expect to find out so much about Winchester Cathedral or about the kneelers I have seen there. I could imagine the author at Midnight Mass having a lightbulb moment about her next book.
I very much enjoyed A Single Thread and will recommend it.
Thank you to Tracy Chevalier, the publisher, and to @NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this charming novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of "A Single Thread".
Violet Speedwell is one of many 'surplus women' in her 30's who sadly lost their fiances during the Great War. Violet's story set in 1932 is a gentle telling of a women of the time making a stand for her independence, quietly rebelling against a society that believed spinster daughters should remain at home looking after elderly parents. She leaves home. She joins the Winchester Cathedral Broiderers and through this we meet other friends whose stories are also intertwined.
Tracy Chevalier has done a marvellous amount of research about Cathedrals, embroidery, bell ringing and the social/economics of the early 1930's and I for one have learned an awful lot whilst also being entertained.

"A Single Thread" is classic Tracey Chevalier. A gentle novel which is character-driven, exploring the relationships between people, the connections made over simple expressions, conversations and interactions.

This novel is set around the worlds of embroidery and bell-ringing in 1930s Britain; our main character Violet gets immersed in these two crafts while seeking our companionship at a time in history when "surplus women" were common in post-war society.

We learn, as Violet does, that these crafts are deceptive - they appear more straightforward and simple than they actually are but both involve careful attention to detail, working in synchronicity with others and can actually be quite intense experience-wise.

As Violet grows as a person through these experiences, we learn about her life, her losses and her hopes for the future - and we hope for a happy future for her too.

A comforting historical read to savour. Chevalier draws you into Winchester in 1932, the scars of the first war evident and another on the horizon, with likeable heroine Violet driving the narrative. The plot is interesting enough to keep you turning the pages, but this is more of a study of people living in a society on the cusp of change, connected through activities that they found meaningful - embroidery and bell-ringing. Not quite the ingredients for a drama, you might think, but you'd be surprised. Through Violet, her family members, her friends and a lover that can never be more than that, we see all the issues and complications of life back then when supposedly things were simpler (!). The role of women, being an unmarried mother, grief, PTSD, sexuality, LGBT issues, prejudice, poverty - all these and more are explored in this very enjoyable book. If you like character-driven historical fiction, particularly set between the wars, you'll find much to enjoy in A Single Thread. With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

An interesting story about the era and life in England.
A beautiful location very well described and a strong woman who tries to find her way in life after the ost of her fiancee and brother due to the war.
The community and the support she's receiving it's a great help to find herself and dream of a better future away from her mother and family.
If you like historical stories this book is perfect for you.

A Single thread Is the first book from Tracy Chevalier that I have read, and I love historical fiction so I happy when my request was granted to get a copy of this book.
It’s 1932, Victoria Speedwell is 38 years old, unmarried and suffering the losses of her fiancé and brother in the war. Like so many others at that time. She is deemed a ‘surplus’ woman after the losses of men and married women fear her. She decides that she wants to be more independent and doesn’t want to live with her mother anymore who stifles her and keeps complaining all the time. So, she decides to move to Winchester and takes a job as a typist for an insurance company and lives in a boarding house. After her meagre earnings and paying the boarding house Victoria lives a quite poverty, compared to her colleagues at the insurance company. She is quite jealous of them, with their make up and up to date fashion. When she gets involved with a embroidery group that makes kneelers and cushions for the Winchester Cathedral a whole new world opens up for her. She meets a mixture of people on her travels and gets involved with a bell ringer from the cathedral.
Although I love historical novels and I love the story of Victoria claiming her independence and found this quite slow in parts. I did find the parts of the embroidery group quite interesting but, I just thought that there was something missing in this story. I can’t put a finger on it. 3.5 stars from me.

Tracy Chevalier has returned to Europe for her latest work of historical fiction, specifically, Winchester. I could imagine her visiting the cathedral one day, looking at the kneelers and wondering who had made them and what their story was. There are many themes in this book but as the title suggests they are held together by a single thread that is our central character, Violet Speedwell.

Violet is one of many surplus women who were unfortunate to lose their man to the Great War and then struggle to find another to replace him, all the while being harshly judged and treated by society. Violet is a strong and determined woman who manages to throw off her overbearing mother who has also lost her son, Violet’s brother to the War, to strike out independently in Winchester where she joins a group of broderers who are working on the most perfectly produced cushions, kneelers and alms purses for the cathedral. She makes friends, learns inner calm, learns secrets and is inadvertently introduced to married bellringer, Arthur.

Violet really does endure and carries the burdens of others. As a reader, you really want things to come good for her but Chevalier keeps it real. She falls in love with a man she cannot have, is almost raped by one she doesn’t want, covers for her lesbian friends, deals with her demanding mother - without much support from her surviving brother, who has is own family, has an inconsiderate boss and a nosy landlady!

The level of research, as with all of Chevalier’s books, is evident. The real life character of Louise Pesssel is introduced via the borders’ group and there is considerable detail about the art of campanology. The depth of description can weigh things down somewhat and this is certainly not a fast paced book. It is however, an excellent window into another time and a reminder of how women were treated and viewed....especially if they were gay or unmarried and pregnant.

This is sure to please fans of Chevalier’s earlier works and will appeal to anyone who enjoys historical fiction - or indeed knows Winchester and its surroundings.

With thanks to the publishers for a pre-publication copy via NetGalley.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Tracy Chevalier, and it’s basically well done chick lit, which is absolutely fine. 

The setting is Winchester in the 1930s, in an England that has barely started to recover from the ravages of WW1 although the shadow of the next war is already there to see for the more perceptive of the population. 38-year-old Violet Speedwell, a spinster who lost her brother and fiancé at Paschendale and has never married, is living a stifling life with her domineering, martyred mother in Southampton, frustrated and unfulfilled but daunted by the thought of changing anything. Our first impression of her is that she is a timid sort whose life is passing her by, but there are early hints that there is mettle in there somewhere. Her occasional ‘sherry men’, for instance - anonymous hotel pick-ups for one-night stands. 

Sure enough, she decides to move to a Winchester for an independent life, albeit one of living in a boarding house and barely making ends meet as a typist in an insurance company. Wandering into the Cathedral one evening she stumbles upon a dedication ceremony for the Cathedral Broderers’ latest batch of needlepoint kneelers, an event which proves something of a turning point. Here she meets Gilda Hill, one of the broderers, and is drawn into the select society of ladies, under the tutelage of real-life character Miss Louisa Pesel who is the designer for the Cathedral embroidery project. She also meets Arthur Knight, one of the Cathedral bell ringers, whose wife’s mental health has been ravaged by the loss of their son in the war. 

The story is a gentle one, of Violet’s slow blossoming into confidence. There are many incidental pleasures along the way. Character development is a little predictable, but Tracy Chevalier does a decent job of showcasing the difficulties single women past marriageable age faced in the period between the wars: second-class status, limited employment opportunities, salaries which didn’t begin to reflect living costs without a husband to be the main breadwinner, the misery of a hand-to-mouth life in a female boarding-house which was the price of independence, being seen as fair game by a certain class of man. 

Along the way, Violet makes some good new friends, becomes a more open and tolerant person, gains insight into why her mother is so negative, and develops a quiet assertiveness which alters the dynamic of her relationships with her mother and her boss, to her advantage.

Without giving away any spoilers, I was rather disappointed that Violet's fulfilment comes in quite as conventional a format as it does, but over all this is a pleasant and undemanding feelgood read. I generally want a bit more from my fiction, but it passes the time on a holiday very nicely and is well done within its genre.

Tracy Chevalier can do no wrong in my opinion. I think this is the ninth book of hers that I have read and they are always a treat. Her writing is so detailed, well-researched and subtle. Violet is such a great character; left a spinster after the war she is expected just to spend the rest of her life living for her family, caring for her bitter mother – she doesn't – and you can't help rooting for her.
Historical fiction at its best, as always. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I so enjoyed this quiet book. It doesn't promise any jaw dropping revelations, but it deals with issues that were shocking then, and still being discussed and debated now. It has film adaptation written all over it, perhaps Rosamund Pike, with her dewy eyed innocence, and steely resolve. This book brought back many memories for me, both good and puzzling in equal turns.
Violet Speedwell, is 38 years old, and is a surplus woman. Her fiancé died in the war, ' to end all wars', and was treated as being unlikely to ever marry and enjoy children. Her fate, and others like Violet was to be a frustrated spinster, to become dependant upon family for her livelihood , so like Jane Austen, who did live in such a state, who is referred to constantly in this intriguing book.
I had a Aunt Ethel, who lived in this spinster state, no hope of marriage, as she too was ' ruined goods', after allowing her fiancé to have ' carnal knowledge ' , before he died at the age of twenty in Flanders. She became a mothers help to her eldest sister and her six children, and when they had no further need of her, went to take care of her parents. Such were the low expectations of these women, it was considered unusual for a single woman to want a career and live alone, and in this story , we are introduced to women, who not only live together,but are considered to be intimate, not having the need for a man in their lives. Whilst homosexuality was illegal, lesbianism was not. Queen Victoria couldn't believe that women did such things, and so there was no laws against this, but social condemnation of loose sexual morals, ensured that such women were treated with suspicion.
There are beautiful descriptions of genteel poverty on these pages, the hardships of a poorly paid job, nosey landladies and the threats expressed or implied against single ladies, who go out on their own at night. Violet meets some ladies who belong to the Winchester Cathedral Broderers group, who make cushions, kneelers and alms bags for the Cathedral, and finds that embroidery can induce a state of mindfulness, through peaceful and repetitive work. It is therapeutic and gives one time to dream and plan, and by doing work or good deeds for charity can give a sense of usefulness. I find exactly the same happiness when I do my knitting, the rhythm and gentle clicking of the needles, sets my mind free, its pure and liberating.
In this book, Violet is undertaking a pilgrimage of memories, her dead father, fiancé and brother. She meets another troubled soul, a campanologist , and they both become very close over the shared activity of bellringing. The repetition of peals and rounds, the certainty of mathematical formulae, bring both strength and constancy Into their lives, and the end result of this friendship is both forward and logical.
It brought back happy memories of my late father, a bell ringing captain of his local tower, so thank you for that.
A marvellous novel, written with such understanding and compassion. A repeat trip to Winchester is on the cards! I am fascinated by the story of Louise Pesel, who features in this book, as an embroiderer and was responsible for the creation of the cushions etc, that are a feature of this story. I want to learn more about her. I'd love to visit the bells, but sadly, I have no head for heights!!
A most creative book. A five star read.

Eye-Opening Tale of Stitchers and Ringers

If you’ve ever taken up painting, playing a musical instrument or cross stitch, then you’ll know how utterly absorbing these activities can be.

In A Single Thread, Tracy Chevalier shows how engrossing yourself in an interest can also be a form of salvation.

A Single ThreadIt’s embroidery that comes to the rescue for the protagonist, Violet Speedwell. It rescues her from a life where her only choices are to stay at home with her over-bearing embittered mother or live hand-to-mouth in a draughty boarding house and drudge each day as a typist.

Violet is what the newspapers of the 1930s labelled a “surplus woman”: unmarried and likely to remain so because vast numbers of eligible men died during World War 1. The war was a double tragedy for Violet, both her fiancée and brother having fallen at Passchendale. She is still mourning their loss 16 years later.

Desperate to get away from the stultifying atmosphere of home, she moves to Winchester to take up a secretarial job. But still she feels she is living only half a life.

“I felt as if I were in a deep hole that took me so long to climb out of. It was as if I were sleepwalking, awake but unable to say anything or do anything to make my life come to to life again.”

It isn’t until she visits the cathedral and discovers the broderers, a group of women creating intricate canvas embroidery for kneelers and cushions, that she finds fulfilment and friendship.

Under the mentorship of the group’s founder Louisa Pesel, Violet flourishes. Her nights at the boarding house are no longer an ordeal when she has her stitches to practice. She gains the confidence to negotiate higher wages from her employer and to handle her mother’s demands. Romance beckons in the shape of a bell ringer at the cathedral, though it’s a forbidden love since Arthur Knight is already married.


A Celebration of Stitches
The story is reasonable though ideally I would have preferred more drama and greater variety in pace. The elements did exist. For example, there’s a stalker who accosts Violet in a field and again near the Cathedral one dark night (no prizes for guessing who comes to her rescue!).

There’s also tension within the borderers because of one member who’s very bossy. And we have a lesbian love affair that raises eyebrows in the ultra conservative cloistered world of Winchester.

Unfortunately they all seem to fizzle out too quickly.

But I’ll forgive Tracy Chevalier because there were two aspects of this novel that were simply wonderful.

This is a writer who can take an artist or a great work of art and pluck from her research a story of its creation that is rich in detail and historically accurate. A Girl In A Pearl Earring opened up the world of Vermeer and a later novel, The Lady and the Unicorn, delved into the world of tapestry weavers in sixteenth century Brussels.

In A Single Thread she turns her attention to the work of Broderers’ Guild in Winchester. The members took inspiration from the Cathedral’s medieval tiles; using cross, tent and rice stitches to form intricate patters of medallions, Celtic knots, trees of life and flowers. The kneelers, cushions and alms bags had a practical purpose – they were used everyday by the congregation and clergy – but they also wanted them to be beautiful, as befitting the grandeur of the Cathedral.

A Single Thread

Tracy Chevalier shows how this is a painstaking exercise, demanding precision and attention to detail but get it right and the canvas comes alive. As Violet discovers:

“…once you were skilled enough, you could settle into it and empty your mind of all but the work in front of you. Life then boiled down to a row of blue stitches that became a long braid across the canvas, or a sunburst of red that became a flower. “

It’s hardly surprising that Violet finds stitching more satisfying than typing contracts.

I’ve tried tapestry work myself and would have loved Louisa Pesel as a tutor. I doubt however that my work would be anywhere near the standard of those cathedral stitchers. But I’d have more of a chance at proficiency in embroidery than I would at bell ringing.

Ringing the Changes
I’m rather like Violet when she has her first introduction to ringing:

“She could not make out any pattern in these bells ≠ though each was clearly struck they seemed to clatter over each other in no particular order. Yet they were deliberate, not chaotic. It was like listening to people speaking German and sensing there was a grammar and structure, a rhythm and logic to it, even if you could not understand the meaning. “

Arthur tries to explain:

“We start by ringing the five bells down the scale, one after the other. These are called rounds. Then we switch the order of two of the bells, so that each sequence of bells is different from the last. We call them changes. One of the rules of change-ringing is that no sequence is repeated.”

It’s all to do with maths apparently and something called factorials. Don’t ask me to explain; I can only just cope with fractions and equations. I suppose the only way to really understand what’s going on is to climb up into a bell tower and watch the ringers in action. I wonder whether Tracy Chevalier did that as part of her research? Since I’m highly unlikely to summon up enough courage to climb so high I shall just learn to appreciate the magnificence of the sound that comes out of that tower.

There’s no doubt that this is a highly readable book with some interesting characters (I loved the depiction of Violet’s mum) and fascinating historical detail.

A Single Thread: Fast Facts
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier will be published by The Borough Press in September 2019. My copy was provided by the publishers in exchange for a balanced review.
Louisa Pesel is a real person. She was the first President of the Embroiderers’ Guild of England in 1920.
Jane Austen is buried in Winchester Cathedral,She has a modest gravestone whose inscription records her personal virtues and stoicism, but makes no mention of her writing.

Violet is one of the 'spare women' left over after the first world war with no fiance and no prospect of a husband. It is now the 1930s though and women are slowly gaining some independence. Violet is determined to have her own life - not to be forced to stay with her vicious mother, moving to Winchester is her solution. A typist job gives her a tiny income that means she can live on fish paste sandwiches and little entertainment. Until she visits the cathedral and stumbles upon the Cathedral broderers. They make the kneelers and cushions for the cathedral and amongst them violet finds friends, advice and a purpose.

If you've read any books about the spare spinsters there is normally sympathy for this left generation of women. Chevalier depicts the other problems - judging from other women, being seen as a threat or as a victim, the assumption that you will look after whoever needs you as you have no purpose as a single woman. Violet succeeds in making a life for herself but it is not without controversy.

I've always liked the way Chevalier takes an object or person from history and weaves a fictional story around them. In this case the kneelers at Winchester cathedral are central to the story and the women who make them. Women like Violet.

A Single Thread follows Violet as she navigates her way through life following the death of her fiancé Laurence. Set after the First World War , the location for this novel is mainly Winchester and features the broderers of Winchester cathedral and their bell ringers. The reader is given a wonderful insight into not only the history of the broderers but also what it meant to be an unmarried woman in this era. It’s quite hard to appreciate how little freedom a woman like Violet had and the constraints society placed upon such individuals. Simply to be out on a walking holiday, alone, as Violet does at one point, was deemed unusual. Relationships between two women were definitely frowned upon but love and friendship is at the heart of this gentle novel, whether it be love between a man and a woman, between two women or the friendship between women united by a certain task.
I loved Violet’s character, for her bravery in the face of the death of her fiancé and her resilience in escaping from the confines of her mother’s home, despite facing hardship in renting a room and going without proper meals because of her meagre wages. Her typing job is mundane and
everyone needs to find solace in this world, something that can take them away from everyday life and for Violet this is embroidery. She shows an interest in helping these women and quickly becomes enveloped in their circle . Whilst I can’t pretend to know anything about this subject, the author has clearly done a great deal of research in this area. To be honest I did find the passages that went into great detail about kneelers and cushions rather tedious but overall didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment of the novel. I can appreciate the history behind the story of the broderers of Winchester cathedral and the bell ringing aspect I found fascinating. Aside from the history, A single thread is a love story between Violet and Arthur, a married man and bell ringer at the cathedral whom Violet first meets through Gilda, one of the broderers. However, it is a forbidden love and can never be truly be acted upon though Arthur proves to. be a true friend to Violet, even accompanying her part way on her walking holiday and allowing her to have a brief lesson in bell ringing. The author describes beautifully Violet’s resignation and understanding of her predicament and there is no self pity, just a determination to soldier on and the eventual resolution of this situation is heartwarming, wonderful and hopeful. I thoroughly enjoyed following Violet’s journey through these hard times and felt like I was walking beside her when she embarked on her solo walking holiday through the countryside, determined to enjoy her life.
For me, the author expertly captures the essence of the era and with all the meticulous research deserves to have a best seller on her hands. This is a perfect read if you love history and serves as a pleasant antidote to all those psychological thrillers on the market. This is most definitely worth a read and my thanks goes to the author and the publisher as well as Netgalley for allowing me to read ahead of publication.

Violet lost her brother and fiance during the Great War. Her father has since died and she lives with her mother. She feels stifled. Against her mother's and her remaining brother's wishes to transfers to Winchester, into lodgings with other women. she is drawn to the cathedral and soon becomes involved with the society of broderers. These are women who embroider kneelers and cushions for the cathedral. She finds friendship and support within the group and when her way of life is threatened is she strong enough to live her life as she wants?
This is a lovely , well written book of women's independence after the first world war and of friendship and hope.

This was an ok book.
The beginning and the ending of the book were slow but the middle of the book was good
All in all an average read