A Single Thread in Reading with Style

Oct 27, 2019 Penny (Literary Hoarders) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it, audible-owned, audiobook, reading-with-style-seasonal, books-read-in-2019

If i were to give this a 4-star it would be because of Fenella Woolgar's narration. It should be a 4-star and excellent read because of that. Fenella is absolutely lovely and she makes this book a lovely one as well - especially Violet.

This is a quiet and fairly slow-moving story. There is nothing wrong with that really, however I feel that if it weren't for the lovely Fenella reading this to me, my head would have hit the table in a loud thunk many times. It's a story filled to the brim with t ...more

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Nov 09, 2021 Rosemary rated it liked it · review of another edition

Violet Speedwell is trying to build an independent life for herself in Winchester in the 1930s, having moved the 13 miles away from her domineering mother in Southampton. She drifts into the cathedral where she meets and then joins a group of women embroidering kneelers and other cushions for the pews, which begins to give her a social network.

I did enjoy this, but I didn't love it because of the long sections of tourist information thinly veiled as dialogue, and because I found it hard to warm ...more

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Jul 27, 2022 Kim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, historical-fiction, war, women-friends, europe, libby

Violet Speedwell is a 38 year old maiden aunt, who lost her fiancé in World War I. Her life feels empty, she cares for her hypercritical aging mother. When she walks into Winchester Cathedral and discovers a group of women call broders, her life changes. The women embroider kneeling cushions for worshippers, and provide friendship and support to each other. This group gives her the courage to strike out on her own.
I enjoyed this book, the narrator was excellent, and the historical details were ...more

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