Set in eighteenth-century Spitalfields, London, Blackberry and Wild Rose is the rich and atmospheric tale of a household of Huguenot silk weavers as the pursuit of the perfect silk design leads them all into ambition, love, and betrayal.When Esther Thorel, wife of a master silk weaver, rescues Sara Kemp from a brothel, she thinks she is doing God’s will, but her good deed is not returned. Sara … not returned. Sara quickly realizes that the Thorel household is built on hypocrisy and lies and soon tires of the drudgery of life as Esther’s new lady’s maid. As the two women’s relationship becomes increasingly fractious, Sara resolves to find out what it is that so preoccupies her mistress …
Esther has long yearned to be a silk designer. When her early water colors are dismissed by her husband, Elias, as the daubs of a foolish girl, she continues her attempts in secret. It may have been that none of them would ever have become actual silks, were it not for the presence of the extraordinarily talented Bisby Lambert in the Thorel household. Brought in by Elias to weave his masterpiece on the Thorel’s loom in the attic of their house in Spitalfields, the strange cadence of the loom as Bisby works is like a siren call to Esther. The minute she first sets foot in the garret and sees Bisby Lambert at his loom, marks the beginning of Blackberry and Wild Rose, the most exquisite silk design Spitalfields has ever seen, and the end of the Thorel household’s veneer of perfection.
As unrest among the journeyman silk weavers boils over into riot and rebellion, it leads to a devastating day of reckoning between Esther and Sara.
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Blackberry and Wild Rose is set for the most part in Spitalfields, London in 1768, and into the 1770s. We have several interesting and entertaining women, a couple of nice fellows and several less than stellar characters of both sexes. Sonia Velton tells a fine tale. The detail of weaving and the growing art of silk work, as well as the beginnings of the unionization of workers and the justice or lack of it in the court system at that time, are spot on, as are the household details and social divisions. The story is compelling and ends too soon. This is a book I was pleased to receive, and one I am happy to refer to friends and family. Sonia Velton is an author I will follow. Her authenticity of time and place is impressive.
I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Sonia Velton, and Blackstone Publishing, Quercus. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this book of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.
Blackberry & Wild Rose, by Sonia Velton, has a lovely atmospheric cover and a quaint old-fashioned title akin to the fairy story “Snow White and Rose Red.” Those elements drew me into reading it.
Set during the mid-eighteenth century in London, it tells the story of two women. Esther Thorel, the English wife of a Heugonot master silk weaver who has advanced himself on the backs of the men in his company who weave his silk, is quietly elegant and restrained. Sara Kemp is a naive country girl tricked into working in a whore house. Esther, as an act of Christian charity, rescues Sara and hires her as a maid, not realizing how devious Sara will become. Esther is one of those wealthy women who run their husband’s households, embroider, paint, and bear children. However, Esther is barren, leaving her husband with no heir to his silk-weaving company. She can envision her paintings woven in silk, but her husband will have none of it.
London society is beautifully depicted as is the somewhat sinister world of silk weaving at a time when it is being replaced with India calicos in which the designs were printed rather than woven.
Esther, a complex woman with ambition and talent, should have been the primary protagonist rather than alternating points of view with Sara, who is treacherous and determined to undermine the entire household. The other females, Moll the maid, and Elizabeth Swann, the owner of the whore house were equally despicable, being mere caricatures of women. Esther’s husband, Elias Thorel, the rabble rousing weaver Barnstaple, and the journeyman weaver, Bisby Lambert (who helps her achieve her dream of weaving her designs into fabric) are also at opposite ends of the spectrum of the male half of humanity with little nuance to their characters.
So overall, a well-researched piece of historical fiction with great atmosphere and lovely prose, but with characters who need nuancing.
Just started book. So far it’s very slow. Will try to read more but I don’t think I’ll finish it.
enjoyable read
Loved this book! Can’t wait for her next one.
Interesting story about the silk making industry.
I did not like this book. I thought it dry and uninteresting. Thought the characters were not built well. Just not my style to read
Did not like it. Too much gory detail
I loved this book. Very fond of historical novels. I would like to read more of books written by Sonia Velton.
interesting bit of historical fiction ‘woven’ into the storyline. Another example of the great divide within mankind.
Historical fiction about a lesser known craft. Interesting look back to life and work in the 1700’s
Historically true to character for the time. I did look forward to reading it each time and was invested in the outcome. Realistically, it ended as expected for the time period but I still wanted justice to be served on the husband. A good read.
BlackBerry and Wild Rose is one of those few books that stayed with me long before I had turned the final page. Sonia Velton has created such a rich world inhabited by unforgettable characters that it totally sweeps you away. Historical fiction at it’s very best!