I have just read my synopsis above and realised that it makes this book sound a little uninspiring and yet, it really was a good read. I don’t think that I have ever read a bad Tracy Chevalier novel – some are better than others and some are just brilliant but this one showcases Chevalier’s storytelling technique to good effect.
The story concerns itself with Violet Speedwell, a lady in her thirties, who loses her fiancé, Laurence, in the First World War and is expected to remain a spinster in Southampton where her mother lives, with a view to becoming her mother’s carer and companion. But there is a problem with this in that Mrs Speedwell is a scold, having never quite recovered from the death of her son, George who like Laurence, was killed in battle, and is pretty much hell to live with. She is overbearing and opinionated and hard work. Living with her is like living under a permanent black cloud and Violet wants to escape it. Quite rightly.
She gets a position in Winchester, a town a small distance from Southampton and carves out what is seen as a “small life” for herself. She lives in a boarding house, types for a living and has no friends, but in a chance visit to the cathedral for which Winchester is known, she comes across a group of women broderers (women who embroider) and has a desire to become part of it. She also makes friends with a bellringer called Arthur who is about twenty years older than her but holds an attraction nonetheless, despite the fact that he is married.
I hesitate to use the word charming to describe this book but it is a nice read. I think this is why it has been described as being about a “small life” – because it does not cover any grand courageous acts or grandiose ambitions, so it is not “big” in that sense – and yet, Violet has courage and strength and this is shown in smaller choices and decisions which to a modern day audience may not feel that significant but to a lady of Violet’s position in the 1930s, would have been seen as different indeed. Chevalier provides us with a window into a time where women were gaining greater status and weaves a story of friendship, love and family to frame it.
Good read.
Scuffed Granny 