This is the first book that I’ve read by Tracy Chevalier. It had me hooked right from the very start. I love needlework of all types, so was very interested in this novel. It’s so well written and I really liked Violet as a character. For those not interested in needlework, some of it may be too detailed, but I absolutely loved it. I also have a musical background, so the detailed information on the bell ringing I also found fascinating. The relationship between Violet and Arthur was charming. I really did enjoy this book.

From the very beginning of A Single Thread, with its vivid description of Winchester Cathedral (cue a trip down a rabbit hole online to look at plans of the cathedral), I was caught up in this story. I felt for the outsider Violet with her constrained life. I know little about the inter-war period but the relationships and reactions to loss rang true. The descriptions of embroidery and bellringing stayed just the right side of exposition. The end came a little too soon for me and I can’t decide whether I found the tied ends of the resolution satisfying or frustrating.

What a lovely evocative story about women and their roll in society between the wars. Tracy Chevalier deals compassionately with all the characters that do conform to the norm.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I would call A Single Thread, an easy but good read, well written . There aren't any real surprises or twists in the story. Violet is a woman, in the 1930's, who has to make a life for herself, when she finds herself alone after having lost her fiancee. She has very little money, but is resourceful and makes a brave decision to leave the comfort of home and move on by herself.

The book is very well written, but for me, there was just too much time spent on the broderers, and bell ringing. I kept thinking the story would move on, but it didn't. I have to confess I skimmed quite a lot of the book, looking for something different.

I read Tracy Chevalier‘s Girl With a Pearl Earring when I was very young. I found myself enchanted with her effortless prose and gentle human relationships. As with that first novel, A Single Thread unfurled slowly, the plot strangely captivating. I still cannot quite understand what exactly it is I love about Chevalier‘s writing.

Both of the novels I read seem decorated with things I do not normally share an interest in. In the first it was baroque art, religion in 1600s Delft, early photography, etc. In this new novel, I find myself enchanted by embroidery, bellringing, and 1930s sensibilities.

I am especially fond of the inclusion of LGBT themes, and the loneliness and desolation felt after the Great War. All in all, a slow but beautiful read.

I loved this book! I was very excited to have the opportunity to read a new Tracy Chevalier novel as I have so enjoyed her others. A Single Thread is a fascinating read with an unforgettable main character, Violet Speedwell. Breaking away from the demands of an unpleasable mother, Violet makes a new life for herself in Winchester. This isn’t easy for a ‘spinster’ in the 1930s but Violet keeps going, despite setbacks, and finds some friends amongst the broderers at the cathedral. I had no interest in embroidery or bell ringing before I read A Single Thread but the author writes so beautifully and knowledgeably about both that I was completely drawn in. I found it easy to warm to Violet and several times had a tear in my eye when life didn’t treat her well. But Violet is a survivor living in fascinating times and I couldn’t put this book down. I finished it at 5am today and am now feeling a bit lost without it (and tired - but it was worth it!)

I've enjoyed all of Tracy Chevalier's books so far; this one however resonated slightly less with me than some of the others. It could be that the themes of embroidering kneelers for the church and the intricacies of bell ringing didn't appeal to me so much but that's not to say they won't appeal to other readers. On the other hand, the main character's determination to seek out an independent life for herself in what was still a very patriarchal society really caught my imagination. It's hard to believe just how difficult it must have been for a young single woman. The writing is as smooth and eloquent as ever so whilst I didn't love this book, I certainly liked it.

This story is set in the early 1930s and the changed lives of those left behind after the First World War – the soldiers who came home, the mothers of those who didn’t, the loss of loved ones and women adjusting back to “normal” life in what is still very much a man’s world.
The story focuses on a young woman called Violet Speedwell - now in her mid-thirties, Violet lost a fiancé during the war, and is one of the “surplus spinsters“. She moves from Southampton to Winchester to escape an overbearing mother, but life is not as idyllic as she’d hoped. Struggling to make ends meet on her meagre typists wage, and living in a boarding house that is far from salubrious, Violet eventually finds friendship within the Cathedral Broderers group - a group of women embroidering cushions and kneelers for the cathedral
The characters are well written and relatable and it was refreshing to see the inclusion of individuals who refused to follow convention & to see how their little ripples would eventually change society.

From the details of the embroidery, to the intricacies of church bellringing, the book has been incredibly well researched and the descriptions make you want to visit Winchester Cathedral - I am also sure that I am not the only reader to have looked up the unusual pyramid at Nether Wallop as a result of reading this book!

There are no major twists or big surprises in this book yet the story is well developed and there is enough interest to keep you wanting to read to the end. Discovering that parts of it were based on a true story was more of a gentle reveal of a little secret than a shocking surprise as it was so real, so engaging, so unusual yet detailed...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be actively searching for more novels by this author.

Disclosure: I received an advance read a copy of this book free via NetGalley. All opinions on my own.

This author seems to write books with me in mind, I have interests in Quakerism, Vermeer, needlework, and this one is set in Winchester where I live. So I was immediately drawn into the story since nearly every location is somewhere I have visited.
Fourteen years after the First World War, the country appears to have moved on, with young men and women meeting and becoming couples. But there are parents who mourn their lost sons, and women whose lovers never came back. The protagonist of the novel is one of these ′surplus women′ and although she has joined the workforce as a typist, and moved out of her mother′s house in Southampton to live in lodgings in Winchester, there is still an underlying melancholy and desperateness to her impoverished life.
The story starts a few months after her move to Winchester and the opening scene is set in the beauty of the cathedral, with a first glimpse of the embroidered kneelers that will change her life. As the book progresses she finds new interests, friends and more income. Money is an important consideration for her, she barely has enough to pay her rent and feed herself, so food is as richly described as the colours of the embroidery. The author tends to keep strictly to the viewpoint of the protagonist in the novels of her′s that I have read. Sometimes this leaves you wanting to learn more about other characters, but it does immerse you in the life of Violet. The grey misery of her life can be depressing to read at first, but you jare uplifted by her happiness as life improves. It is a small town (city) life with minor dramas which seem large to her, nothing earth-shattering, but her life at the end of the book is completely changed.
The historical background and location of the book seems very accurate, but no one who has walked up Romsey Road between the hospital and the gaol would describe it as gradual!

I really enjoyed this book. Violet is one of the "leftover" women, the 2 million or so women who are single due to the effects of the Great War. She lives a penniliess existence, having broken free from her mother's stultifying house and moved a few towns away to Winchester and a joyless boading house managing on her meagre wages from typing up insurance forms in an office. At 38 she is thought of as "middle aged", too old for marriage and living in poverty (fish paste or marmite snadwiches for lunch and beans or sardine on toast for dinner) as womens wages are way below those of men. She wanders into the Cathedral to enjoy the peace and the colourful windows one afternoon when she finds herself in the midst of a ceremony dedicating beautiul, bold coloured new petit point kneelers made by "broderers", volunteer women stitchers. Looking for friendship and something to do that will show she "was here" (the kneelers have the initials of the maker stitched into them) Violet reolves to join the borderers. Here she makes friends with two younger women who have a "very close" relationship that is causing aprobation in the sewing circle. She is taken under the wing of Louisa Pesel (a real life chracter who oversaw the mammoth task of producing kneelers, altar cloths, bench cushions, alms purses etc for the cathedral) and meets a bell ringer, an older man called Arthur wiyh whom she satrts an emotional affair. However, going on a short walking holiday on her in the area she becomes aware of the menancing presence of a local farmer who starts to stalk her.

This book really delves into the vibrancy of the petit point work the women are doing, dreamed up by Lousia Pesel. Stitches are described and explained. Arthur's bell ringing is also described in great detail, as is the architecture of the Cathedral and the surrounding countryside. The sense of foreboding when you suspect someone is following you is described to a tee as is the disdain that others treat you with when you are a "spinster". I read this book in a few large chunks as it really gripped me. It also inspired me to look up images of the borderers work (which is currently being repaired and cleaned) and Louisa Pesel's books on embroidery. I really fancy taking a trip to Winchester now to check it all out. One of those books you don't want to end. If you are interested in life between the Wars, especially for women then this will really suit you, even, if like me, you thought you had little interest in embrodery or bell ringing.

A Single Thread, Tracy Chevalier

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction.

I enjoyed this, didn't love it and skim read a few parts where it dragged but on the whole its a story I really liked.
I loved Violet, so typical of the time, with her fiance killed during the war, and like so many other ladies of her age, she's become almost an outlier in a society where women are brought up to be wives and mothers. What can they do though, there's a huge shortage of men due to the war, and yet these poor ladies don't have a real place in society through no fault of their own?
Life was a struggle for Violet, she tried so hard to find her own place in the world, keep her independence, it was a constant balance trying to eke out enough money to survive.

The story was so typical of the time, at points such as when her employer is bemoaning the fact the he employs typists, mainly a female occupation, and yet too often they leave to get married or look after aging parents. Violet has to work hard to stay out of that trap, when her mother is ill, her brother expects her to leave her job, home, the life she's carefully crafted as of course he has his family to look after, so naturally Violet should do the caring. Its how women were perceived then ( and very often still...). It was hard for her to stand against that but somehow she manages to work things so she can keep her little bit of independence.

The war and the losses it caused, the people who survived but with problems, the grieving parents, the ladies left single in a society geared up for couples, this book really brought all that forward. Then of course there's the broderers, the ladies embroidering hassocks and cushions for the cathedral. I've never really thought much about that but it was interesting reading, about how the patterns were chosen, and the importance of the stitching in making something lasting. I found that part inspiring, how something so everyday can take on such an important part of life. I enjoyed the history we learned through it too.
Then of course the relationships, how as I said its all couples that are the norm, heterosexual ones, and how suspicious anyone outside that was treated. The difficulties of loving outside that narrow remit, the way at the end Violet's actions caused even her own family to distance themselves from her.
She had a tough life, but found a way to work through it, to live and enjoy it, with the help of a few close friends, even though she went against the strictures of behaviours that were set at that time



Stars: Four, a fascinating read, bring in life in a very personal way.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Great fiction on the women conditions after the first World War. Interesting and touching story, I strongly recommend this book. as usual Tracy Chevalier managed with success to make us time travel.

Set in the early 1930s, after WW1, this book explores the impact the war had on peoples lives and the social changes that came after. This is an era where homophobia is rife since same-sex is illegal and citizens are living in a post-war depression. Women's lives have changed forever and yet since they outnumber men, so many men having been killed, many women are spinsters with no hope of finding marriage. This leaves them with few choices, stay at home and live with their parents or leave and live in a boarding house on a barely living wage.
The setting is Winchester and the beautiful cathedral which comes alive with the authors writing and is almost a character in itself.
This is a well-researched book, beautifully written with immersive storytelling due to the depth of all the characters.

I got about a third of the was through and gave up. Whilst the writing was lovely there was not enough going on to maintain my interest.

This is the story of Violet Speedwell, one of the generation of women who lost their fiancés in the First World War, and had to make a life as a single woman, looked down on by those who had husbands.
She is a typist in Winchester, just about surviving on her meagre wages, when she becomes involved with the Broderers of Winchester Cathedral, which gives her life more purpose, and opens new horizons and friendships.

The description of family life in the 1930 was extremely well drawn, the claustrophobia, expectations, what women were deemed capable of, and how they were expected to behave.
As a needlewoman I found the descriptions of the work of the Broderers very interesting.
I also learnt about bellringing, the history of the swastika in religious art, the history of Winchester and its cathedral.

I enjoyed some of the characters, Gilda and Dorothy, and how they made the system work for them, Mrs Harvey, the landlady, even Violet’s irascible mother.

But I couldn’t believe in Violet, she was far too passive, her relationship with Arthur, and the idea of her maybe stalker didn’t make any sense.

Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Like the embroidery that is such an integral part of the story, this novel brings together the delicate threads that connect us to others. An examination of life 13 years after the end of the first world war and the consequences of that war still influencing many lives. Two million women in Britain were left never to marry, raise a family, to live the “normal” life most had grown up to expect. Violet is one of the “surplus women” losing her beloved fiancé Laurence, as well as her older brother George. Her father dead and her mother broken-hearted from her losses, they exist in unhappiness. By age of 38, Violet makes her escape. She moves to nearby Winchester and becomes involved in making tapestries for the famous cathedral.
Well researched, full of history and heart, this is a novel to savor.
Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins.

Oh my I loved this book... such a change from my usual psychological thrillers. I have read books by this author before but for me this one has been the best! Violet was such a strong lady and I instantly warmed to her. She fought for what she believed it.. something I strongly believe in and made good friends along the way. I really hoped she would end up with Arthur as they obviously loved each other, but the she got the next best thing so a lovely outcome.

Tracy Chevalier’s latest book A Single Thread is a testament to the author’s unstinting flair for research - in this instance embroidery and bell-ringing. On the face of it these subjects pose little interest for me but she balances this book, set in the 1930s,, by her tremendous characterisation. Violet Speedwell, a woman in her late 30s who lost her fiancé at Passchendaele, is leading a lacklustre life blighted by her embittered mother while she works as a typist for an insurance company. Encouraged by her brother Tom she asks for a job transfer from Southampton to Winchester where she encounters the Broderers and bell ringers in the cathedral. This a very gentle book which will appeal to anyone yearning for some relief from the stresses of everyday life. It covers a lot of issues such as the early rise of Hitler, lesbianism and, not least, the expectation that single women in the 1930s should put family responsibilities before their own lives. I confess that I found this book a little parochial and became bogged down by the embroidery and bell-ringing explanations but I have to admire the meticulous research and the interweaving of history with fiction. Thanks to HarperCollins for the ARC.

We all know about the 'lost' generation of young men after the First World War, and the consequent despair of their families and loved ones, but I never realised before how the unmarried women ('spinsters') left alone in their communities were almost derided in their loneliness and 'single-ness', or at best noticeably pitied by others. How cruel - these women grew older in a very male-orientated world where even their going to a pub was frowned upon. They couldn't even speak about their condition- at least they were alive, unlike their men, beaus, siblings.
This wonderful story written with Chevalier's smooth acuity is a delight; gently educative, entertaining and with such a sense of constriction preventing the main character from progression in her life due to traditional expectancies, you root for her at every point. It's very nostalgic - you feel the 'shell shock' of all the survivors who lost so much and were scrambling to find a settled, normal existence again - often to the cost of these forgotten women. Relationships formed that were frowned upon - you feel the pain of these women who were ostracised from their communities for trying to find love in less traditional relationships - the 'happy, settled' ones couldn't even forgive them this.
All this around the activities of embroidery and bell ringing - wonderful, nostalgic activities of the time, enabling people to come together. You ache for the advancement both emotionally and economically of Violet and her singleton friends. Charming, nostalgic but with a message about acceptance, empathy (and lack thereof) of the time. Highly recommended.

A few years ago I used to impatiently wait for every new Tracy Chevalier book, reading them as soon as they came out. After missing some of her newest releases I jumped at the chance to read her newest book when I saw it was up for request. Sadly, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to.

Set in the 1930s, A single thread tells the story of Violet Speedwell, a 38 years old woman who after losing her brother and her fiancé in the Great War, decides to move to Winchester to start a new life and try to leave her mark in the world. This is definitely a character driven/slice of life novel so don’t go in waiting to find lots of action. Though the writing is beautiful and most of the characters are three dimensional and well-drawn, the lack of plot is my main issue with it. The first half is super slow-paced and the endless descriptions of embroidery, embroidery techniques and bellringing don’t help. If you’re interested in those topics maybe you can appreciate them but I was a little bored every single time they came up. The second half picks up a little and I really enjoyed one of the subplots involving a LGBQT+ relationship. The ending includes one of my least favorite tropes ever so, though I appreciate what the author was trying to do, I was not a fan.

Things I liked:
Violet, some secondary characters, writing, setting, LGBQT+ representation.

Things I didn’t like:
Info dumping on embroidery and bellringing, love interest/plot, lack of plot.