Blackberry and Wild Rose

BlackBerry and Wild Rose is Sonia Velton's debut novel. She has crafted an extraordinary historical novel that takes place in eighteenth century London.  It is a tale of a household of Huguenot silk weavers who are pursuing the creation of the perfect silk design.

The publisher's summary:

"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 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 watercolors 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."

I loved this book. As a weaver I enjoyed reading about weaving and design creation.  However, with two strong female characters I would have to say that there are two protagonists.  Both Esther and Sara are featured equally and the telling of this story alternates between them.  However, Esther is supposed to be the protagonist so I don't understand why the two women had equal roles.  I must admit, though, that Sara interested me more. Also, the author did a great job of showing us the history of this era.  The men dominated the women and the silk industry guild machinations were described in detail.  The tensions between the master weavers and the journeymen were part of the plot. The author took events that actually occurred and wove them into her plot (pun intended). The story depicts a riot by the journeymen against the master weavers when their wages were reduced.

The author states in her Note at the end of the book that the idea for the novel came from the life of Anna Maria Garthwaite, a cutting edge designer of silks in Spitalfields during the eighteenth century. Garthwaite has been credited with bringing the artistry of painting to the loom. Many of her patterns can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

5 out of 5 stars.