A Single Thread

Violet Speedwell is a 38-year-old surplus woman, a term used to describe women who had lost their husbands or fiancés as a result of the Great War. Having tended to her elderly and unpleasant mother, who never recovered from her own losses, Violet leaves her dull life in Southampton, England, and starts anew in the nearby town of Winchester, where she takes a low-paying job as a typist at an insurance company. In Winchester, Violet stumbles upon a group of women, the broderers, who embroider kneeling pads for parishioners at Winchester Cathedral. Their devout artistry helps shape our heroine’s future in more ways than expected. Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) excels when describing the events and organizations of the time as well as the nuanced craftsmanship of needlepoint. Readers may find themselves more interested in Violet’s craft than the story of how her life unfolds.