Liz
Trenow's latest novel revisits a character from The Silk Weaver. Close friend of The Silk Weaver's heroine Anna; Miss Charlotte.
Charlotte grew up in poverty; a child raised at the foundling
hospital, she learned to sew and spent time in domestic service
before becoming an accomplished seamstress and eventually running her
own business; making dresses for the bon ton including the
aristocracy and the stars of the stage. Despite her success Charlotte
has always remained curious about the mother who left her at the
Foundling hospital. What drove her to give up her child? What kind of
woman was she? And who was her father? When she buys a bundle of
scraps at auction she discovers amongst them a beautiful piece of
silk which evokes a sense of uncanny familiarity. When she shows this
scrap to her sister Louisa; her reaction is one of fear and a
refusual to talk which only spurs Charlotte to make further
enquiries. Charlotte's quest is interspersed with the narrative of
her life and background about the decisions that have brought her to
where she is now. This is a page turning tale of London life in the
mid eighteenth century from beggars in the gutter to the nobility.
Charlotte's rise in fortune is based on some real women from the time
that the author found while researching the eighteenth century silk
trade but her status hangs by a thread as she relies heavily on the
goodwill of her brother in law Louisa's husband the pompous and
controlling Ambrose. A delight for fans of Liz Trenow to return to
some familiar characters and for fans of the work of Hazel Gaynor,
Lucinda Riley and Rachel Hore here is an author you will adore.
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