Good Reads / Community Library Notes
A Single Thread
Tracy Chevalier
Review by Priscilla Comen
A Single Thread
Tracy Chevalier
Review by Priscilla Comen
A Single Thread, by Tracy Chevalier, is the story of Violet, a “surplus woman.” That is what unmarried women were called in Great Britain after the first world war. Violet’s brother and fiancé were both been killed in the war, and in 1932 Violet has moved out of her mother’s house where she listened to constant complaints. She once counted nine of them in one evening. She has a decent job at an insurance company typing claims for burned houses, damaged cars, and wrongful deaths. Her younger brother, Tom, drives her to her new residence, a boarding house. When she arrives she shuts her door and makes a cup of tea. She feels strong.
The women who work with Violet ( M and O) talk about their affairs with men and Olive has a diamond ring on her finger. A small diamond. Violet sometimes sleeps with men she meets at a bar, but nothing serious evolves. It’s difficult to get by on her salary and she often skips a meal, but she gets breakfast at the boarding house and sometimes treats herself to a movie. At the big cathedral where she went with her mother on Sundays, she saw a “kneeler” with a lovely design embroidered on it. The next day she called the group’s leader, Mrs. Biggins. Violet agrees to go to the next meeting and gets time off work.
At the meeting Mrs. Biggins told her to organize a cupboard and sort the wool, but when Miss Pesel came in, she was kind and vowed to teach Violet herself so she could learn her stitches by summer break. Author Chevalier describes the process so well the reader could do it. Violet loves that Miss Pesel praises her work. Violet has lunch with a fellow embroiderer, Gilda, the sister of the man Olive is going to marry. Two young men, Keith and Arthur, greet the women. Violet is attracted to Arthur and blushes when he speaks to her. He gives her his handkerchief to dry her tears. She puts it in her bag and forgets to return it.
When Olive announces she’s going to marry her fiancé immediately, Violet and M (now Maureen) know the reason. Violet and Maureen work extra hours for Olive’s absence. She treats herself to a good supper when her boss agrees to the extra pay. She teaches Maureen to embroider and improves her technique at the same time. She embroiders at all times: at lunch, at tea -time, in the evening watching television at the boarding house.
When summer approaches, Violet makes plans to go on a walking tour. Walkers in Great Britain stay at B and Bs or above pubs, and walk as much or as little as they want. Brits do this a lot. She doesn’t want to spend summer with her mother and brother. The family is doing something else.
She begins her walk, rucksack on her back. Author Chevalier describes the fields and countryside after Violet leaves the city gates. The Roman Road takes her through fields, and a strange man follows her. She runs and gets to the John O’Gaunt Inn. That man is there at the bar with a drink before she arrives. How did he get there so fast? She orders a pot of tea. The man at the bar frightens her, but a woman pushing a pram helps Violet feel safer. It’s so normal. She continues her walk. After fourteen miles she gets to the town of Nether Wallop and the Five Bells where she’d reserved a room. She falls asleep instantly. Later, she dons a dress and goes to see the village. Arthur is in his garden pruning roses. He remembers her and says he’ll see her at the pub later. Women don’t usually go to the pubs, but because she’s staying there, she can have dinner there. He asks her to play cribbage with him. They talk easily, like friends. She orders a steak and kidney pie and drinks a dry sherry. She enjoys his company. They talk politics and she’s glad he thinks her intelligent enough to do so.
She sees the man that scared her before at the bar and spills her drink. Arthur senses she is afraid. He says he’ll find out who the man is and will let her know after ringing the bells the following day. Violet says it’s not easy being a woman on her own. Arthur walks with her part way. He tells her about the rules of bell ringing. He’s been doing it for fifty years. Returning home, Violet does not tell Gilda about seeing Arthur, even though she had introduced them.
In September, she bumps into Arthur on the High Street. He invites her to see the bells at her local cathedral. They meet there the next day. Arthur’s friend Keith Bain joins them. They climb into the attic, a huge room. Author Chevalier tells us about the bells as if she’s been there. Violet hopes Arthur is not setting her up with Keith. She hates that. People think single women need a man or a husband. Violet watches the twelve men who sit in a circle and ring their bells. She is awed.
On Christmas Eve she and her family go to the cathedral’s midnight mass. Gilda takes Marjory, Violet’s niece, to look at the kneelers. They run into Dorothy Jordan who seems to be whispering with Gilda. Violet has an uneasy feeling about the two women. Gilda looks happy and a bit guilty. On New Years Eve, Violet goes to a party with Gilda and Dorothy. They dance together and it looks natural to Violet. As she leaves the party she sees the man from the corn field, Jack Wells. He sees her and begins whistling, and follows her. She panics and runs to the cathedral. She finds the hidden key Keith Bain had shown her. She climbs the stairs to the bell chamber. All the bell ringers are there, ringing. Arthur and Keith calm her and walk her home. But they are not supposed to have visitors in the chamber, and their leader fines them and puts them on leave for a month.
The next day is complicated. Gilda comes to Violet late in the evening. Dorothy has been fired from her job of teaching Latin and kicked out of her house. Gilda has come to Violet for help. She phones Miss Pesel who says of course, Dorothy can come stay with her for a few days. Some people are tolerant and compassionate and others are not. Dorothy says a few words in Latin and goes to her new room at Miss Pesel’s.
The next evening she goes to the cathedral after the embroiderer’s meeting where she sees Arthur. They sit together and clasp hands. They speak of Hitler and Isaac Walton and fishing. She is thrilled when Arthur suggests dinner for the following week. It’s not really a date; yet it is.
Tom calls one night to tell her their mum has had a seizure, she’s in the hospital. Gilda’s brother Joe takes her to the hospital. When mum is discharged with nothing seriously wrong, Violet goes home with her. Violet is ready to flee as the complaints start again. Tom thinks she should stay with their mum, but Violet wants her new freedom back. She’ll find a solution. She gets Dorothy Jordan to lodge with mum and look after her. Perfect. Dorothy doesn’t play the victim to mum and does things her way. Mrs Speedwell takes it gracefully.
When Violet next sees Arthur, he asks her if she knows the design on her cushion is a swastika. Miss Pesel had designed them and Violet asks her to explain her reason for the design. She tells Arthur the design is not a swastika. They are fylfots, an ancient symbol used for thousands of years. She’s used the design as an act of rebellion and subversion. Miss Pesel and Arthur laugh and Violet sees them as a couple. The author says that Miss Pesel did exist and this is why she seems so real. When Violet leaves hurriedly, Arthur catches up with her and treats her to a three course dinner with dessert.
On Violet’s birthday, she goes to her mother’s house. Mum announces she’s moving to her sister Penelope to help her. Gilda and Dorothy will move into mum’s to live together and look for jobs in the area. Violet and Arthur now meet every week for supper at the Old Market restaurant. One Sunday he takes her and shows her how to ring the bells. Afterward they bicycle toward her house. They stop in a field and she invites him to join her. They lay together and she tells him they should not meet again. His wife needs him. He agrees.
Will they see each other again? Will Arthur know he is the father of a baby girl with blue eyes like his? Author Chevalier brings this very British story to a satisfying close. Find it in the fiction room of your Mendocino Community Library.
The women who work with Violet ( M and O) talk about their affairs with men and Olive has a diamond ring on her finger. A small diamond. Violet sometimes sleeps with men she meets at a bar, but nothing serious evolves. It’s difficult to get by on her salary and she often skips a meal, but she gets breakfast at the boarding house and sometimes treats herself to a movie. At the big cathedral where she went with her mother on Sundays, she saw a “kneeler” with a lovely design embroidered on it. The next day she called the group’s leader, Mrs. Biggins. Violet agrees to go to the next meeting and gets time off work.
At the meeting Mrs. Biggins told her to organize a cupboard and sort the wool, but when Miss Pesel came in, she was kind and vowed to teach Violet herself so she could learn her stitches by summer break. Author Chevalier describes the process so well the reader could do it. Violet loves that Miss Pesel praises her work. Violet has lunch with a fellow embroiderer, Gilda, the sister of the man Olive is going to marry. Two young men, Keith and Arthur, greet the women. Violet is attracted to Arthur and blushes when he speaks to her. He gives her his handkerchief to dry her tears. She puts it in her bag and forgets to return it.
When Olive announces she’s going to marry her fiancé immediately, Violet and M (now Maureen) know the reason. Violet and Maureen work extra hours for Olive’s absence. She treats herself to a good supper when her boss agrees to the extra pay. She teaches Maureen to embroider and improves her technique at the same time. She embroiders at all times: at lunch, at tea -time, in the evening watching television at the boarding house.
When summer approaches, Violet makes plans to go on a walking tour. Walkers in Great Britain stay at B and Bs or above pubs, and walk as much or as little as they want. Brits do this a lot. She doesn’t want to spend summer with her mother and brother. The family is doing something else.
She begins her walk, rucksack on her back. Author Chevalier describes the fields and countryside after Violet leaves the city gates. The Roman Road takes her through fields, and a strange man follows her. She runs and gets to the John O’Gaunt Inn. That man is there at the bar with a drink before she arrives. How did he get there so fast? She orders a pot of tea. The man at the bar frightens her, but a woman pushing a pram helps Violet feel safer. It’s so normal. She continues her walk. After fourteen miles she gets to the town of Nether Wallop and the Five Bells where she’d reserved a room. She falls asleep instantly. Later, she dons a dress and goes to see the village. Arthur is in his garden pruning roses. He remembers her and says he’ll see her at the pub later. Women don’t usually go to the pubs, but because she’s staying there, she can have dinner there. He asks her to play cribbage with him. They talk easily, like friends. She orders a steak and kidney pie and drinks a dry sherry. She enjoys his company. They talk politics and she’s glad he thinks her intelligent enough to do so.
She sees the man that scared her before at the bar and spills her drink. Arthur senses she is afraid. He says he’ll find out who the man is and will let her know after ringing the bells the following day. Violet says it’s not easy being a woman on her own. Arthur walks with her part way. He tells her about the rules of bell ringing. He’s been doing it for fifty years. Returning home, Violet does not tell Gilda about seeing Arthur, even though she had introduced them.
In September, she bumps into Arthur on the High Street. He invites her to see the bells at her local cathedral. They meet there the next day. Arthur’s friend Keith Bain joins them. They climb into the attic, a huge room. Author Chevalier tells us about the bells as if she’s been there. Violet hopes Arthur is not setting her up with Keith. She hates that. People think single women need a man or a husband. Violet watches the twelve men who sit in a circle and ring their bells. She is awed.
On Christmas Eve she and her family go to the cathedral’s midnight mass. Gilda takes Marjory, Violet’s niece, to look at the kneelers. They run into Dorothy Jordan who seems to be whispering with Gilda. Violet has an uneasy feeling about the two women. Gilda looks happy and a bit guilty. On New Years Eve, Violet goes to a party with Gilda and Dorothy. They dance together and it looks natural to Violet. As she leaves the party she sees the man from the corn field, Jack Wells. He sees her and begins whistling, and follows her. She panics and runs to the cathedral. She finds the hidden key Keith Bain had shown her. She climbs the stairs to the bell chamber. All the bell ringers are there, ringing. Arthur and Keith calm her and walk her home. But they are not supposed to have visitors in the chamber, and their leader fines them and puts them on leave for a month.
The next day is complicated. Gilda comes to Violet late in the evening. Dorothy has been fired from her job of teaching Latin and kicked out of her house. Gilda has come to Violet for help. She phones Miss Pesel who says of course, Dorothy can come stay with her for a few days. Some people are tolerant and compassionate and others are not. Dorothy says a few words in Latin and goes to her new room at Miss Pesel’s.
The next evening she goes to the cathedral after the embroiderer’s meeting where she sees Arthur. They sit together and clasp hands. They speak of Hitler and Isaac Walton and fishing. She is thrilled when Arthur suggests dinner for the following week. It’s not really a date; yet it is.
Tom calls one night to tell her their mum has had a seizure, she’s in the hospital. Gilda’s brother Joe takes her to the hospital. When mum is discharged with nothing seriously wrong, Violet goes home with her. Violet is ready to flee as the complaints start again. Tom thinks she should stay with their mum, but Violet wants her new freedom back. She’ll find a solution. She gets Dorothy Jordan to lodge with mum and look after her. Perfect. Dorothy doesn’t play the victim to mum and does things her way. Mrs Speedwell takes it gracefully.
When Violet next sees Arthur, he asks her if she knows the design on her cushion is a swastika. Miss Pesel had designed them and Violet asks her to explain her reason for the design. She tells Arthur the design is not a swastika. They are fylfots, an ancient symbol used for thousands of years. She’s used the design as an act of rebellion and subversion. Miss Pesel and Arthur laugh and Violet sees them as a couple. The author says that Miss Pesel did exist and this is why she seems so real. When Violet leaves hurriedly, Arthur catches up with her and treats her to a three course dinner with dessert.
On Violet’s birthday, she goes to her mother’s house. Mum announces she’s moving to her sister Penelope to help her. Gilda and Dorothy will move into mum’s to live together and look for jobs in the area. Violet and Arthur now meet every week for supper at the Old Market restaurant. One Sunday he takes her and shows her how to ring the bells. Afterward they bicycle toward her house. They stop in a field and she invites him to join her. They lay together and she tells him they should not meet again. His wife needs him. He agrees.
Will they see each other again? Will Arthur know he is the father of a baby girl with blue eyes like his? Author Chevalier brings this very British story to a satisfying close. Find it in the fiction room of your Mendocino Community Library.