A Single Thread

 A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier (2019), 336 pages

Violet Speedwell finds herself, at 37, to be a "surplus woman". The year is 1932 and many young men have lost their lives in the Great War. Instead of remaining home with her difficult, embittered mother, she strikes off on her own as a typist in a neighboring town. Life is difficult and lonely and Violet finds herself drawn to a society of broderers (women who embroider kneelers and cushions for churches). There she finds friendship and company. 

This was an interesting book as I knew very little about broderers and found the subject quite interesting. The novel also delves into Cathedral bell ringers and the mechanics behind that trade (also interesting). The story itself, though, was just ok. While I appreciate Violet's struggle for autonomy and self-sufficiency in a time where women were expected to be married, she wasn't that likeable of a character. But, if I had survived the Great War and lost so many people I loved, I might not be particularly likeable either.