Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton
'Sumptuous and moving. Velton weaves her tale with the threads of betrayal, thwarted dreams and good intentions gone awry' Laura Purcell 'A richly imagined and brilliantly twisty tale' Anna Mazzola 'A plot as finely detailed as Spitalfields silk' Stacey Halls 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.
A sumptuous and moving debutVelton weaves her tale with the threads of betrayal, thwarted dreams and good intentions gone awry -- Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions
Richly immersive, with a plot as finely detailed as Spitalfields silk -- Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars
An utterly absorbing novel that draws you into a fascinating and often sinister world. I loved it -- Elly Griffiths
Beautiful inside and out. A richly imagined and brilliantly twisty tale of secrets, silk weaving and betrayal based on the true story of master silk designer Anna Maria Garthwaite -- Anna Mazzola
Velton gives [her characters] genuine depth in a moving story of love, secrets and betrayal * Sunday Times *
This exquisitely evocative novel will appeal to fans of The Miniaturist -- Sarra Manning * Red *
A rich, rollicking read * Sunday Express *
I absolutely loved it, and read it in one sitting, unable to put it down - the story was rich and compelling, the writing sensuous and sensitive. We were there with the silk weavers in Spitalfields, in the jacquard of their lives, their loves, their losses. Poignant and stunning -- Mary Chamberlain, author of The Dressmaker of Dachau
With a richly detailed evocation of the era, including the shockingly grim life of the poor and the repression of women, this assured and multi-layered historical novel weaves its own magical spell * Fabulous magazine *
Romance and revenge, hypocrisy and hardship play out against a vividly researched backdrop * S magazine *
Richly immersive, with a plot as finely detailed as Spitalfields silk -- Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars
An utterly absorbing novel that draws you into a fascinating and often sinister world. I loved it -- Elly Griffiths
Beautiful inside and out. A richly imagined and brilliantly twisty tale of secrets, silk weaving and betrayal based on the true story of master silk designer Anna Maria Garthwaite -- Anna Mazzola
Velton gives [her characters] genuine depth in a moving story of love, secrets and betrayal * Sunday Times *
This exquisitely evocative novel will appeal to fans of The Miniaturist -- Sarra Manning * Red *
A rich, rollicking read * Sunday Express *
I absolutely loved it, and read it in one sitting, unable to put it down - the story was rich and compelling, the writing sensuous and sensitive. We were there with the silk weavers in Spitalfields, in the jacquard of their lives, their loves, their losses. Poignant and stunning -- Mary Chamberlain, author of The Dressmaker of Dachau
With a richly detailed evocation of the era, including the shockingly grim life of the poor and the repression of women, this assured and multi-layered historical novel weaves its own magical spell * Fabulous magazine *
Romance and revenge, hypocrisy and hardship play out against a vividly researched backdrop * S magazine *
Sonia Velton grew up between the Bahamas and the UK. After graduating from university with a first class law degree, she qualified as a solicitor at an international law firm, later going on to specialise in discrimination law. Sonia relocated to the Middle East in 2006. Eight years and three children later she returned to the UK and now lives in Kent. Blackberry and Wild Rose, inspired by real characters and historical events, was short-listed for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize as a work in progress, was longlisted for the Mslexia novel competition, and is Sonia's first novel.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781787470750 |
| ISBN 10 | 178747075X |
| Title | Blackberry and Wild Rose |
| Author | Sonia Velton |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Quercus Publishing |
| Year published | 2019-01-10 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |