The shadow of war – one past but still deeply felt, one chillingly inevitable – hangs over Chevalier’s mesmerising new novel. A moving and thoughtful examination of womanhood in turbulent 1930s England, A Single Thread resounds with understated power and delicate beauty.
Violet is 38.
The First World War took everything from her. Her brother, her fiance - 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...
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008153847
Number of pages: 400
Weight: 300 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 26 mm
‘Bittersweet … dazzling’ Guardian ‘Tracy Chevalier shows once again her ability to illuminate ordinary lives and to pay attention to those most often ignored … movingly examines hidden depths beneath quiet exteriors’ Sunday Times ‘Writing with quiet but devastating empathy, Tracy Chevalier pinpoints Violet’s predicament as a single woman, her unexpected emotional crisis and her struggle to give her life depth and meaning. I loved it’ Daily Mail ‘A well-woven story of love … Chevalier has such a sure eye for details, whether she is describing the loveliness of the cathedral or the dismal interior of a 1930s boarding house. Reading this is deeply pleasurable’ The Times ‘I enjoyed A Single Thread enormously. Tracy Chevalier wonderfully evokes the social climate of the nineteen thirties – this is the intriguing story of a young woman facing the conventions and prejudices of the day, told with a wealth of detail and narrative intensity’ Penelope Lively ’Tracy Chevalier’s quietly moving story of a woman finding freedom in the 1930s is a gem’ Stylist ‘Evocative and beautifully written’ Sunday Express Magazine ‘I loved it. So compelling and warm and subtle, and very moving’ Bridget Collins, author of The Binding ‘Evocative, beautifully written’ Daily Mirror ‘Beautifully written … utterly immersive’ Red ‘Atmospheric … wonderful’ Good Housekeeping ‘I loved it! Enchanting and full of hope. Absolutely needed in this political climate’ Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions ‘A fierce and moving book about the great courage of a small life’ Sadie Jones ‘It’s a chance encounter that sets Violet on an unexpectedly rewarding path in this pleasant, leisurely paced novel’ i Paper ‘Absorbing, empathetic, poignant’ Daily Mail
I must admit that I’m a great fan of Tracy Chevalier’s books. Every single one of them brings a different joy to my life.
In this novel she brings us the story of “surplus women”, a humiliating label put on single...
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This book plays a poignant reminder to the horrors of the First World War. It is portrayed so well. It’s side effects are made more apparent in the everyday lives of the characters. You can not help feeling sorry for... More
Violet is what people call a ‘Surplus girl’ due to her being 38, unmarried and childless. She takes it upon herself to do more with her life than be shielded at home while looking after her mother who does nothing but... More
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