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A Single Thread

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A Single Thread

By: Tracy Chevalier
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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Summary

FROM THE GLOBALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING

‘Bittersweet … dazzling’ Guardian

‘Deeply pleasurable … the ending made me cry’ The Times

‘Told with a wealth of detail and narrative intensity’ Penelope Lively

Violet is 38.

The First World War took everything from her. Her brother, her fiancé – and her future. She is now considered a ‘surplus woman’.

But Violet is also fiercely independent and determined. Escaping her suffocating mother, she moves to Winchester to start a new life –a change that will require courage, resilience and acts of quiet rebellion. And when whispers of another world war surface, she must live with a secret that could change everything…

©2019 Tracy Chevalier (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World War I Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Inspiring
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Critic reviews

"Bittersweet...dazzling." (Guardian)

"Deeply pleasurable...the ending made me cry." (The Times)

"Told with a wealth of detail and narrative intensity." (Penelope Lively)
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If you like your books full of thrill and gore and action -this is not for you. If you like an immersive, thoughtful and evocative read this one is all those things. Tracy Chevalier is consistent in her quality of writing and variety of settings. The story focuses on Violet Speedwell, a single woman in her late 30's who is under the thumb of her domineering mother. Violet's fiancee died in the war and she has little direction in life. Finally she breaks away from her mother's house and begins a new life in Winchester where she joins the Cathedral broderers.Violet comes into contact now with a range of people from different backgrounds who challenge the way she has been raised and the stereotypes of women at this time.

The power of the story is in the slowly unfolding confidence of this woman and the smallmindedness of those around her.

It is hard to describe as it is a slow, intricate read but worth it.

singleness post-war Winchester

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slow, mesmerising, and beautiful... loved the ending, and felt I'd met and known these characters for years

this story is beautifully woven

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The book grows on you S it unfolds. the 1930 context was intriguing and the portrayal of family and gender relations subtly and skilfully handled. loved the metaphorical interweaving of bell ringing and embroidery.

Stong characterisation and social insights

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Loved this book, particularly as I know Winchester and the surrounding villages. Really interesting to see the same landscape in an unfamiliar time and also to consider the plight of single women between the Wars. I wonder what they would think of Emma Watson promoting ‘self-partnering’ as the solution to the same issue today.

Fantastic

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Having read several Chevalier books before (Remarkable Creatures, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Burning Bright, Falling Angels), this was not my favourite. It's ok, and was an acceptable companion for gentle dog-walking, but it lacks plot. I mean, something nearly happens at one point, but then it doesn't, and that's it.

The narration was excellent, though.

Nearly a story

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