If she was to make a mark on the world, she would have to do so in another way…
It’s 14 years after The Great War and Violet Speedwell is like many others – mourning the loss of her loved ones. Her brother and fiancé were both victims of the war. Unlike many others though, Violet is now 38 years old and unlikely to marry again. She is what they call a ‘surplus woman’. Violet however is not just going to meekly accept her lot in 
life. She decides to live alone, moving out from under the control and judgement of her suffocating mother.
When she makes her move to Winchester, things begin to change. She has a job that pays her enough to have a hot meal once a day. She has her own space – in a boarding-house, but space nonetheless – and she finds she can almost ignore the obvious glances at her ringless ring finger. It is also in Winchester where she becomes a ‘broderer’, one of a group of women who embroiders kneelers for the Cathedral. This group of women, including the real-life Miss Louisa Pesel, are a way for Violet to find herself again. She’s ready to make friends, ready to contribute to her community, and perhaps ready to risk her heart again. But Violet learns that opening herself up to these new experiences and people, opens her up to being privy to their secrets. Could these secrets ruin what’s left of her reputation, or tear a community apart? And with whispers of a second Great War coming, how will Violet cope?
A Single Thread is a touching and beautiful snapshot of one person’s life in a community. We keenly feel Violet’s grief at the loss of her brother and fiancé. We sigh in exasperation with her when her mother makes insensitive comments. Our hearts soar when she opens herself to the possibility of love. A Single Thread gives us the opportunity to see what happens between the ‘big moments’ of history. Here we see everything from Violet’s perspective, and we know that there are bigger things happening historically in the world, but all we care about right now is Violet and her community.
Award winning author Tracy Chevalier has created an exquisitely detailed story that tugs at your heartstrings and cements itself into your mind without you even really knowing. It will consume your thoughts for days after reading, wondering about ‘what happens next’. This book helps prove that one person can make such a difference to someone else. Even a ‘surplus woman’ like Violet is a thread in a tapestry that helps hold another thread in place. No matter how small or unimportant the thread may be, A Single Thread shows that it has its place. A true treasure and compelling story.
Buy a copy of A Single Thread here
About the Author
Tracy Chevalier grew up in Washington, DC. She moved to England in 1984, and graduated in 1994 from the MA course in creative writing at the University of East Anglia.
Her first novel, The Virgin Blue, was chosen by WH Smith for its Fresh Talent promotion in 1997. In 2000, HarperCollins published Girl with a Pearl Earring, which has gone on to sell over two million copies worldwide. Falling Angels was published to much critical acclaim in 2002, The Lady and the Unicorn, followed in 2004 and Burning Bright in 2007, followed by the bestselling Remarkable Creatures in 2009. Her most recent novel The Last Runaway was chosen as an R&J pick in 2013.
The film of Girl with a Pearl Earring, starring Colin Firth as Vermeer, was released in the UK in 2003. It was nominated for 10 BAFTAs and two Academy Awards.
Tracy Chevalier lives in North London with her husband and son.
Oh! Violet is such an insipid protagonist, and yet, and yet, SHE is the single thread that binds the story together. Thank you for a compelling read. My washing is still on the clothesline, my dishes are left, unwashed in the sink. I couldn’t put ‘A Single Thread’ down until I arrived at the last page.