Blackberry and Wild Rose cover art

Blackberry and Wild Rose

A gripping and emotional read

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Blackberry and Wild Rose

By: Sonia Velton
Narrated by: Heather Long, Beth Eyre
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

For fans of Jessie Burton and Tracy Chevalier, a rich historical debut set among the Huguenot silk weavers of Spitalfields in the late 18th century.

WHEN ESTHER THOREL, the wife of a Huguenot silk-weaver, rescues Sara Kemp from a brothel she thinks she is doing God's will. Sara is not convinced being a maid is better than being a whore, but the chance to escape her grasping 'madam' is too good to refuse.

INSIDE THE THORELS' tall house in Spitalfields, where the strange cadence of the looms fills the attic, the two women forge an uneasy relationship. The physical intimacies of washing and dressing belie the reality: Sara despises her mistress's blindness to the hypocrisy of her household, while Esther is too wrapped up in her own secrets to see Sara as anything more than another charitable cause.

IT IS SILK that has Esther so distracted. For years she has painted her own designs, dreaming that one day her husband will weave them into reality. When he laughs at her ambition, she unwittingly sets in motion events that will change the fate of the whole Thorel household and set the scene for a devastating day of reckoning between her and Sara.

THE PRICE OF a piece of silk may prove more than either is able to pay.

©2019 Sonia Velton (P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited Fiction Historical Fiction Marriage Heartfelt Thought-Provoking

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Midwife cover art
The Wind Chime cover art
The Darkest Shore cover art
The Irish Healer cover art
The Last Witch of Scotland cover art
The Strange Adventures of H cover art
Rembrandt's Mirror cover art
The Girls with No Names cover art
A Necessary Murder cover art
The Shadow Ryana cover art
The Women of Chateau Lafayette cover art
The Apothecary's Daughter cover art
Morgan Is My Name cover art
Backwards to Oregon cover art
Redeeming Love cover art
The Words in My Hand cover art

Critic reviews

"Sumptuous and moving." (Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions)
All stars
Most relevant
Literary gem: brilliant and simple. Could not stop listening. Well researched historical facts throughout life of people in opposite social classes. Hope this author will delight us with more of her excellent writing.

Great book and will be re-listened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A very well narrated story that kept me interested and amused. Very well drawn characters

Loved this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The overall story was edged with sadness and reality and the reader hoped for a happy outcome which would have destroyed the reality. It was well read by the two women portraying the characters .

Sweet title

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story kept my attention throughout.
A thought provoking insight to life in Lonfon for a young girl during the days of silk production and male oppression of ALL women .

Excellent Narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A cast of characters tell a fine story of the poor and prosperous people of London's Hugeunot silk weavers.

Journey back in time to old London

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews