The Golden Thread cover art

The Golden Thread

How Fabric Changed History

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About this listen

As heard on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week

A new history of ingenuity from the author of The Secret Lives of Colour.

From the mummies of Ancient Egypt; via the silken dragon robes of Imperial China and the woollen sails of Viking longboats to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution (and sparked more than one war); arriving finally at the lab-blended fibres that have allowed astronauts to moonwalk -- fabrics, manmade and natural, have changed and shaped the world we live in.

In twelve fascinating chapters, Kassia St Clair lays out an alternative history of civilisation and human creativity. Wittily written and compellingly argued, this book will change the way you see the world.

©2018 Kassia St Clair (P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Art World Ancient History Ancient Egypt War China Middle Ages Mummy Steampunk Africa
All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyable, and gave me a good few bullets to slapdown naysayers, but a bit of a slog.
Worth sticking with it.

Interesting but slow

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Fabric explained using historical context - if you enjoy historical non-fiction, I would highly recommend this book. With sections broken down into different materials (cotton, linen etc), the author takes us through a timeline starting in the neolithic and ending in the future of fabric.

Well written and engaging

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This is a fascinating history of fabrics, but unfortunately the narrator doesn't live up to the material. At times her voice wobbled and she sounded almost tearful. At other times it just grated. I would love to hear this read well.

Poor narration.

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A very full coverage of all aspects of textiles, including their sources and usage. Most interesting and inspiring. Some facts seem to be added a touch glibly, but overall there’s no reason to doubt the authenticity of the information.
The voice of the narrator sounds to me as if it were on the point of breaking up all the time, which I found irritating at first, but managed to ignore after a while.

In depth history of Textiles

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An interesting subject that has been well researched but I couldn’t get on with the narrators voice.

Interesting subject but...

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