Welcome to Litsy!

Violet is a spinster between the wars. Tired of living with her complaining mother, she sets out on on her own and finds out how difficult it is to live on her salary as a typist. Lonely and a little lost she stumbles on a group doing needlework for the local cathedral and joins them, impacting her life. I really liked reading about this period from Violet‘s perspective but it was so hard knowing that WWII was looming just around the corner.

I liked the story but thought the ending was too abrupt. I want to know what happened to them all!

A Single Thread was about Violet, a “surplus woman” trying to make a life for herself in 1932 Britain. Books about found families are usually very readable for me, and this was no exception.

‘Shhh!‘ Violet Speedwell frowned.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Set between the great wars,Violet is a "surplus woman", one of many spinsters after WWI.She moved to Winchester to put some distance with her difficult mother, joins a group of broderers making cushions and kneelers for the cathedral and she starts to find her own place in the world. The problems women faced are the centre of the story but it doesn't feel heavy at all,and the embroidery project is a true story which makes it very interesting. ⬇️⬇️

Spent a lovely morning snacking and finishing this one. Set between the WWs in England, Violet is determined to be an independent woman. She becomes part of an embroidery circle and develops feelings for an older bell ringer. A slow burn that reminded me a little of Toibin‘s Brroklyn.

Just a light pick for me on this one, although on a different day I‘d probably have rated it more highly. A quality historical fiction about Victoria Speedwell, left a spinster by WW1, she gets involved with the “broderers” at Winchester Cathedral. I have read some great #spinsterlit this year and this didn‘t quite live up to others like Barbara Pym, but it did have more plot. Some fascinating historical details and great ambience and setting.

Consider this book if you are a fan of historical fiction & subversive women. Set in 1930s England, Violet is a “surplus woman,” an unmarried woman in her 30s. Despondent at the outlook of her future, she resists social expectations & builds a life of her own design. I am glad I finished the book; a few of the characters grated on my nerves & I was particularly confused at the necessity of including one of the characters. CW: attempted assault.

A really good book, my second by this author in just the last couple months. It‘s a bit different, focusing on the lives of women in England between the world wars. The MC is a woman who doesn‘t recognize her strength. I enjoyed the setting and some of the situations: the bell ringing I mentioned in an earlier post, and the needlework that is central to the story. Picture is from when I stitched, before carpal tunnel syndrome got in the way.

I‘m really enjoying this book, and I just read a section that involved bell ringing. I taught handbells for the last 7 years of my career, and came to love it. I‘ve seen the bell ropes in a couple churches in England, but never had an opportunity to hear change ringing. Someday, I hope. I took this picture the last time I went to the school to work with the kids and give their pregnant teacher a break 😄

My current read wasn‘t doing anything for me, so I bailed. I‘d picked this up for my Kindle a couple weeks ago. I just opened it and got thrown a bit. Apparently, the MC is Violet Speedwell, which is awfully close to the name of Deanna Raybourn‘s heroine, Veronica Speedwell. Let‘s hope I like this as much as the books in that series 😄

I recently finished a copy that someone had given to me and was enthralled. It takes place in England, Post WWI, and the setting is the Winchester Cathedral, Having worked on the Close of the National Washington Cathedral in D.C., it was so real! She does her research with historical fiction. The setting entranced me along with the story. Tracy Chevalier is such a poetic writer.

Really enjoying #audiosewing while listening to this coincidently appropriately named book. My flannel baby quilt is for Project Linus, an organization that donates blankets to kids in difficult circumstances. Violet Speedwell, challenged by gender expectations and personal loss following WWI, finds solace by stitching needlepoint kneelers and listening to the bellringers in Winchester Cathedral. #DecemberSong #CaroloftheBells @eggs

I really liked this book. It was slow but I especially enjoyed the parts about sewing and learning about the surplus women. Ebook on sale today.

I loved this. A gentle pace and not much occurring but I felt compelled to read on and find out what happened to Violet. A lovely read.

Shhh! Violet Speedwell frowned. She did not need shushing; she had not said anything.

Honestly this mother gets my dander up every time she speaks 😡

Not much is happening, some sewing, some horrendous mother moments but I'm loving this so far. I'm invested in Violets life.

I'm a fan of her work and it kinda sorta just jumped in the trolley today. Pesky books!

Next to read on kindle. How do you decide which book to read next if you have a long tbr list??

It‘s a slow moving book. I listened to the audio and my mind did wander some. I almost rated it a bit lower, but I was focused enough throughout the end of it, that I wanted to up it just a little. Anyway, it‘s also just after WWI, and this is shown to affect many of the characters. It is a time where some things are less accepted, and that is portrayed in the book, as well.

Chevalier us a seasoned writer and was really disappointed with the way she wrote this book. Basing the book on an English woman known for her needlework who isn‘t a main character was not a great idea. The book doesn‘t get moving until around page 95. Yeah so basically a little boring. I suggest picking up the audiobook if you‘re really interested in this one.

What a lovely, quiet, gentle story. It is so calming to listen to this after a busy stressful day. ⛪️

When I started this, I wondered how Chevalier could make embroidery and bell ringing interesting. Violet is a spinster in England. The year is 1932. She is lonely and adrift when she discovers the broderers at a local cathedral. She becomes fascinated by the work they‘re doing embroidering kneelers and cushions and sets out to join them.

Chevalier has a way with historical fiction and I really enjoyed this one.

This is a quietly sad book with a likeable character, Violet. It‘s not my favourite Chevalier though. It is a book in which I felt almost nothing happened. The final few chapters were the best. I also wished the title had been woven into the story a bit more (kinda like quilting in Alias Grace...)

This is a lovely historical fiction book that takes place in England in 1932-34. It‘s slower paced, contemplative, with lots of details about embroidery, bell ringing, and cathedrals. It‘s very character driven, which I really enjoyed. I was amazed at how gossipy and judgmental village life was in that era, especially for unmarried women. This was a good read.

I find myself reading two books at the same time. This one takes place in England 1932. Everyone has tried to adjust, with varying success, to the loss of brothers, beloveds, and sons from the Great War, while you, as the reader, knows what lies ahead. There is great detail of embroidery.The pace is slow, meditative,like creating handicrafts.(This treasure was stitched by my mom as a teenager. The nerdy subject makes my heart melt.)

My newest book to read for f2f book club. We will be doing it on zoom which will be new to me.

I loved this audio book. I also loved her novel Remarkable Creatures when I read it years ago. This was a great comfort read during this pandemic! Highly recommend if you are looking for a comfort read.

Oooh i liked this very much.
I enjoy a bit of cross stitch and grew up.onntbe South coast with family in both Southampton and Winchester so I truly appreciated much of the scenery references.
Which others of hers should I read?

Oooh i liked this very much.
I enjoy a bit of cross stitch and grew up.onntbe South coast with family in both Southampton and Winchester so I truly appreciated much of the scenery references.
Which others of hers should I read?

Timely checkout from the library as I'd finished my other book!
I'm a newcomer to Chevalier so no clue what to expect!

Quiet, restrained, and beautiful study of single women post WW1 in the UK. Violet lost her love, and with the shortage of men, women must find financial independence. Violet leaves home and falls into a church embroidery circle, giving meaning to her life. A chance introduction leads to mutual attraction, bittersweet in face of social mores. Fascinating information on embroidery for the church and bell ringing. So rooting for Violet‘s happiness.

Big hug of a book. Never thought I‘d enjoy a book with needlepoint as a central theme!

My first audiobook of the month, this was a historical fiction taking place after WWI and just before the start of WWII. I enjoyed the descriptions of the embroidery and the churches, and the look at this time period in the English countryside. I thought the story flowed nicely and the characters were well rounded. This probably isn‘t a story that will stay with me for a long time, but it was an enjoyable read.

Many elements of this book are worth mentioning: at its heart it‘s about the plight of “surplus women” due to the dearth of available men after WWI. These “spinsters” face loneliness, expectations they are just caretakers for others without their own ambitions, lack friendships and relationships, and worst of all, the fear women have of feeling stalked and threatened by men who think they can “have” you just because you‘re a woman. ⬇️

Great characters in this historical fiction set after wwi about women who were left in a world that didn‘t know what to do with them.

5 ⭐️‘s for bringing background figures and history to the forefront, as well as illustrating social attitudes regarding women in England in the 1930s. 3⭐️‘s for the execution because dialogue was on yeoman‘s duty explaining history and methods re: embroidery, cathedrals, bell-ringing, etc. #TracyChevalier #handcrafts #bellringing #threads

My audiobook choice. I‘m loving it!

A postwar British woman trying to figure out a future with few available men after getting sick of living with a mean mom. What I love about Chevalier‘s writing is her incorporation of artistic techniques. Here we learn about embroidery and church bell ringing. One of my favorite reads of the year.

A Single Thread is both meticulous in detail and in the telling of the story. It is character-driven, so the pacing of this book may be too slow for you. Where this book excels is in the finer writing that carefully details the art of embroidery and the history of the time period. Although this book isn't quite as memorable as her other works, Chevalier delivers a rich and authentic work of literary fiction with an interesting premise.

Read this after a friend recommended it to me.
#recommendsday

This is a solid pick because of Fenella Woolgar's narration. She turned this rather dry read into a lovely story to listen to. Violet is lovely as well, and Fenella made her more so. I know this is a book about the women left with no husbands, fiances, brothers, fathers, etc after WWI and their struggles to live independent and sometimes lonely lives - but the majority was about embroidery and bells and oh my it was dry, yet quiet and lovely.

Violet lost her brother and fiancé in WW1 and has just moved out of the home she shared with her overbearing mother. This book goes in-depth into a hitherto unknown subject, as many of Chevalier‘s books do; this time its the embroidery of church kneelers, as well as a spot of bell-ringing too...!

There is, as always, an absorbing storyline alongside the fascinating facts, which made for an unputdownable book.

#netgalley #asinglethread

Reading this tonight and desperately wanting to learn how to embroider!

Our interview with Tracy Chevalier is up now on Books On The Go! We loved this book and Tracy was a delight to chat with. Take a listen! 🤩🎧

Has anyone read this? I love historical fiction but would like to hear from my Litsy
friends? "A Single Thread"
#friendsopinions
#callinglitsyreaders
#historicalfictionlovers