A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier

Violet Speedwell is grieving the loss of her beloved brother and her fiancée in the first World War. She is one of a generation of “surplus women” who have to make new lives for themselves at a time when there were rigid expectations for unmarried women. Escaping her repressive home, Violet becomes a ‘broderer’, embroidering kneeling cushions for the magnificent Winchester Cathedral. A Single Thread is an engrossing depiction of a women learning to stand up for herself against prejudice and condescension.