A Single Thread
Tracy Chevalier
A Single Thread is set in the UK in that period between
the two wars. In 1932 families are still freshly grieving those lost in the
Great War while in Germany Nazism is being birthed.
Violet Speedwell, having lost both her beloved brother
and her fiancé is uncomfortable and unhappy living with her demanding mother
who almost seems to resent her for still being alive. So she sets out to move
from Portsmouth to Winchester, not a vast distance, but far enough to get out
from under.
The small city of Winchester is dominated by its
Cathedral and Violet soon meets and joins the group of women who are
embroidering cushions and other accoutrements for the Cathedral. They are
broderers, a term I’d not heard before and what they are doing is now called
needlepoint. They are led by Louisa Pesel, who is chief designer and instructor
for the project and an actual historical figure. Violet also gets to know about
bell ringing – those giant change bells in places of worship all over the UK. These
two topics alone, described in meticulous and well-researched detail made A
Single Thread worth the read.
As a spinster, Violet is subject to the scrutiny and
judgement of others because women without hats, or on their own, or with ideas
of their own or with no male relative in view, are considered to be highly
suspicious. It’s amazing to think how far feminism has come in less than 100 years.
The story is easy to get into and I was sitting back
comfortably when, to my amazement and joy, 100 pages in, Violet Speedwell sets
out on her own to walk from Winchester to Salisbury and from there down to the
coast to get the ferry over to the Isle of Wight! Of course, this behaviour
makes her motives especially questionable because women of that time did not set out to walk a long distance just for the pleasure of the adventure. I’m
delighted to find that Violet enjoys walking alone, finding it a time to think
and reflect and it makes me wonder if Tracy Chevalier has taken up long-distance walking, a popular pastime in the UK these days.
One detail that surprised me in A Single Thread was the name
of the main character, Violet Speedwell, very close to author Deanna Raybourn’s
character, Veronica Speedwell around whom there is an entire series of books,
also highly entertaining and recommended.
There are various themes in this book – women’s
rights, lesbianism, family, friendship, love and loyalty – and once again Tracy Chevalier
has succeeded both in touching on them and in bringing the past to life in an
entertaining story.
