This review will be posted on my blog, Foxes and Fairytales, on 17 Jan 2019

Blackberry and Wild Rose is a really immersive historical novel set in late-eighteenth century London. I requested this arc because I knew nothing at all about Spitalfields' Huguenot silk weavers, and it seemed an intriguing premise for a story.

This turned out to be perfect, as the world-building is one of the novel's greatest strengths. To say that I learned a lot about the process of weaving silk and the society of the Huguenot's in London sounds a little dry, but Velton really pulled it off. The world is so vivid and rich that learning a little more about the subject was just a little bonus which I barely registered while reading: I was so caught up in her beautiful writing. The only complaint I had from a technical standpoint is that the pacing was a little off in places. After the initial set-up in the opening chapters, I felt everything slowed down and the story plodded along for a chunk of the first half. Luckily, things really picked up around halfway through and the stakes really built up.

Something I found really interesting about the novel was that I wouldn't say any of the characters -- even Sara and Esther -- were particularly likeable. But I actually thought this was the books greatest strength. The characters felt so real and complex. Both protagonists did have their likeable and redeeming moments -- so you're invested to keep reading -- but they both do some pretty nasty and selfish things too. I really liked that they were both headstrong and determined, and that they had a sort of uneasy alliance. I was particularly interested in Esther's journey (who is based on a real person) as she moves away from her life as a long-suffering wife in a lacklustre marriage to embrace her interest in silk design and explore her passions.

A strong historical based around a unique subject, with beautiful writing and strong, complex female characters.

The trials and tribulations of 2 very different women in 18th century London are bought to life in this stunning historical fiction debut.

Sara and Esther and brought together by circumstance. Esther is the wife of Elias, one of the finest silk weavers in Spitalfields, and their work in the community and church is well known and admired. Sara has a much different background, sent off to London by her mother and ends up being tricked into a world of prostitution, and when Esther rescues Sara after a chance meeting she hopes that giving her an alternative as a maid in their home is just the start that Sara deserves.

Their relationship is often touching, often tense. You can sense the unease between them at times as they get used to one another - Sara doesn't really know how to respond to someone trying to help her and can often take umbridge at the demands put upon her. And for Esther, it is proving a distraction to have Sara around as she is dealing with her own marriage issues - the purpose of a wife in those days was to produce children, and that hasn't happened for Esther so she is left feeling quite useless and surplus to requirements in a very unhappy marriage.

With the silk world beginning to change due to the import of Calico, there is more tension placed upon her husband and the workers he employs, and when Esther tries to get more hands on in the business it isn't taken well by her husband. Her escape is her artwork and when she has the idea of turning it into silk work she has to get help from one of the workers her husband finds himself in dispute with.

There were so many elements to this book that i loved - the complex relationship between Sara and Esther being the main one. Esther had her own reasons for wanting to help this young girl and had no prejudices about the pasts of others, as her family had their own difficult time. And the setting of 18th century London and the troubles between the silk workers and their bosses were another fascinating side plot - how things could change so quickly because of outside influences and how desperate people were to protect themselves, their profits and their livelihoods.

I raced through this book as I just became so involved with these women and their extraordinary lives and battles they faced. Highly recommended!!

A story of personal strength and realising one's own self worth, in a time when the value of women was as ornaments, as chattels, a story of one woman's fight to be more, to be who she is and with tragic and triumphant consequences. I loved it!

This is an interesting and well-written book about a period of history I didn’t know much about. It is set in Spitalfields in London in the 1760s and centres around Esther, the wife of a Hugenot silk weaver and her servant Sarah whom she has rescued from a brothel. Their lives converge when a silk weaver begins working in the loft of their house and both women are pulled in different directions. This book has been well researched and the story flows effortlessly. Sonia Velton has done well with her debut novel.

This historical novel set in London in 1768. The story is centred around two young ladies from very different backgrounds. Sara. aprostitute is rescued from that life by Esther wife of a wealthy Huguenot silk weaver. Sara is however not entirely convinced that life in service is such a step up. Their lives become entangled and there are lots of twists and turns along the way. It paints a vivid picture of life in the weaving business in the 18th century, but there is plenty of human interest too.

What a fantastic book! I rarely give 5 stars but this book is definitely deserving of that!
Based in Spitalfields in the 1760's, it is such an atmospheric and well written book, that you can hear, smell and see all that is described vividly.
Esther and Sara are on opposite ends of the class scale, but both are trapped by the expectations of society. The book not only tells their story, but gives a realistic insight into the silk weaving trade as well as the class system of the time.
A brilliant historical debut by Sonia Velton, which I couldn't put down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

What I Have to Say

This was beautifully written. It delved a lot more into the Huguenot faith and how blind Esther was to what it really means to help people. How her charity wasn't as beneficial to the people she was trying to help than she thought. How she lived in luxury with servants and expensive furniture when so many people, people she employed in her household, people who worked under her husband had so much less.

I liked both of the women, though. Despite how badly Esther handled things and how abrasive Sara was, there was something about their stories that drew you in and made it easy to get caught up in their hopes and dreams. I wanted Esther to have her own silk and I wanted Sara to be safe and happy. Their story was tragic, though. But the way it ended made a lot of sense and I was satisfied by it.

In all, this book did just go a lot deeper than I expected it to. I was really glad, because it was interesting to see all the issues laid out and the characters dealing with them. The book showed people with realistic faults, when it would have been so easy to have good characters and bad character, although there are some very, very bad characters. It showed that everyone makes mistakes.

I'm really happy to have read this book,

Blackberry and Wild Rose, Sonia Velton's historical fiction debut, is based around the silk workers in 1860s Spitalfields, London. From the alternating perspectives of Sara and Esther it illustrates the hardship and destitution present at that time. It also explores many more important but overlooked issues of the time such as the conflict between journeyman weavers and master weavers and the fact that women are forbidden to work in certain professions. This is a beautifully written, atmospheric and fascinating account of what it was like to live and fight against present-day problems in this bygone era. The rich detail perfectly portrays the adversity most of the poor felt at the time and was quite uncomfortable and sad to learn about.

You really feel emotional for what the characters go through in their lives. This is historical fiction at its best, and you can tell that the author has carried out extensive research to make the story as realistic and believable as possible; Velton did an exceptional job of that. I look forward to reading more of her work. I'm very excited to see what comes next.

Many thanks to Quercus Books for an ARC.

Blackberry and Wild Rose is a terrific debut novel from Sonia Velton. It follows the lives of Sarah Kemp and Esther Thorel in mid eighteenth century London. The story is told in the alternating voices of Esther and Sara. Esther is married to Elias, a powerful master silk-weaver. They live amongst the Huguenot community near Spitalsfields market. Sarah has just arrived in London from the country having been sent away by her mother for reasons unknown to Sarah. She has the address of an relative in London to contact but it befriended by Mrs Swann on her arrival in London. She is too naive to realise that Mrs Swann’s house is really a brothel and soon Sarah is trapped in the life of a prostitute.

One day Esther sees Sarah being beaten by Mrs Swann and decides to put her Christian beliefs into direct action by rescuing Sarah. Soon Sarah is working for Esther as her lady-maid. But all is not well in the Thorel household. The silk industry is suffering as imports of cheaper silk is coming from France and the journeymen are building up resentment about having no work and the power that the master silk-weavers like Elias have over them. Some ‘combinations’, or trade unions as we’d call them now, are being formed and things are getting ugly. On top of this there are illicit relationships happening and no one is quite sure who can trust who.

This is a really well written novel with a good amount of details about the silk-weaving industry but also a good story. It reminds me of some of Tracey Chevalier’s novels. I especially liked the fact that the author has based this on some real life events in the London silk-weaver industry of the mid eighteenth century and feel quite inspired to learn more as well as to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to see some silks from that era.

Definitely an author to look out for and I eagerly await her future novels.

With thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed experiencing life in Spitalfields in the 1760’s through the eyes of Sara and Esther as they narrate in turn.

Sara is sent away from her mother to London and is spotted by the eagle-eyed Mrs Swann the moment she steps down from the coach. The Wig and Feathers becomes her whole existence. When Esther gives her a Bible, things are going well for her and it lays gathering dust. Until something happens that makes Sara seek her out.

Sara believes that working as Esther’s maid represents a clean slate and earning an honest wage will earn back her reputation whilst Esther believes she will gain kudos from the Huguenot community. I became very involved in the complex relationship that develops between them, emotionally invested in them both.

Sonia Velton’s writing drew me in, making it so easy to visualise and be a part of this story. I was interested in the historical aspect and enjoyed not only finding out about the judicial processes of the time but also the creative process of designing for the loom and how silk is weaved.

Set during the time that rebellions are breaking out in reaction to silk being smuggled from France, betrayals and frustration cause so much tension in the Thorel household and amongst Elias Thorel’s weavers. I was sat on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. And wow, what a crisis! I didn’t think I could detest characters as much as I did Elias and John Barnstaple. They brought out so much vitriol in me! I couldn’t see any redemption for either of them and can only hope that something foul befalls the pair of them (yes, they were so real to me that I could imagine them still after that last page was read).

Despite the sorrow and destruction there is also redemption. And after I had finished reading I thought how ironic for Sara …

Blackberry and Wild Rose is a debut you don’t want to miss. Highly recommended.

I picked this up based purely on the cover art.
For me it was reminiscent of The Miniaturist in style. The description of the sights, smells and sounds of eighteenth century London was highly evocative and well written. Likewise the cultural and social history of Huguenot Silk industry in Spitalfields was informative and interesting and a subject I knew nothing about previously. A must for fans of Jessie Burton, Laura Purcell and Imogen Hermes Gowar and recommended for readers of historical or women’s fiction.

My thanks to Quercus Books for an eARC via NetGalley of this debut novel by Sonia Velton.

It is set in the 1760s among the silk weavers of Spitalfields. Sara Kemp is tricked into prostitution shortly after her arrival in London. She is rescued from the brothel by Esther Thorel, wife of a Huguenot silk weaver. Sara becomes Esther’s maid and an uneasy relationship develops between the women.

Sara and Esther serve as alternating narrators giving insight into their lives. Central to the story is Esther’s desire to explore her artistic abilities and to apply these designs to silk. Likewise, Sarah seeks to put her recent past behind her. However, both women face considerable difficulties in realising these ambitions.

The novel is clearly extensively researched and incorporates social issues of the period involving the tensions between the journeymen weavers and the master weavers that led to unrest and violence.

Changes in the economy that threatened the silk trade and the limited roles available to women are also explored and woven into the central drama.

I was quite moved by the story finding it multifaceted and atmospheric. The cover art is exquisite.

This is one of the most atmospheric books I've ever read . I was totally transported to late 18th century Spitalfields.
From the moment Sara steps down from the cart and is accosted by a 'Madam' you think you know how the plot's going to unfold but then it twists and turns and catches you unawares.
Sara is rescued from her life in the brothel when Esther ,the dutiful wife of of a Huguenot silkweaver , witnesses her being abused by Mrs Swann. She pays her debts and employs her as her lady's maid.
Then the underlying tensions and intrigues within the household start to surface ; between Esther and her husband- she isn't the Huguenot bride he should have chosen and he belittles her hopes to be a part of his life by producing designs for his silk. ;Esther and Sara - two strong women from wildly differing backgrounds,who can find each other irritating yet recognise something in each other that draws them together;Sara and Moll the scullery maid : Moll ,Esther and Esther's husband - the triangle. Throw into the mix two handsome journeyman weavers - one highly talented who is kind natured and decides to help the mistress of the house fulfil her ambitions - the other not so talented.,handosome but brutal who uses people for his own ends , including Sara.
What a tangled web .All set against the background of the Spitalfield silkweavers , the tensions between the journeymen weavers and the masters who ran the Guild .,A culmination of the pressure engendered by silk being imported from abroad as well as the imports of the cheaper calico from India..The masters cutting back on what they were prepared to pay for silk to be woven and the weavers trying to start up what in effect , was a trade union..
The court proceedings had you on edge too - yet another twist.
I loved this book and will certainly be buying it as gifts
I will also be visiting the V&A the next time I'm in London

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Spitalfields riots, Blackberry and Wild Rose tells the stories of an unhappy Huguenot wife, trying to both support her husband and live her dreams, and her English maid, trying to make something of herself.

It's a study in contrasts; rich against poor, churched against the unchurched, pious wife against former prostitute, noble worker against discontent firebrand, masters against journeymen. The two main female protagonists speak in their own voices, telling their story, their motivations and perspective on things. The classism is obvious, but subtle. The snobbery is downplayed, yet prominent. Neither Sara nor Esther can understand the other, but it's all too clear to the reader.

Esther Thorel falls in love with a noble journeyman weaver, Lambert, because he teaches her to weave; Sara Kemp falls in love with his rebellious colleague, Barnstaple, because there is fire in his eyes and his speech. Throughout the warp of love and honour, Velton weaves in the weft of discontent, jealousy, and malice. With each word, each line, each pass of the shuttle, you're drawn to its inevitable end. You know what's going to happen, there's no other way this story can go. Not with what you know of Esther and Sara, of Lambert and Barnstaple, of the way Elias Thorel sees the world.

All you can do is read on as the world crumbles.

I have really enjoyed reading historical novels of late and Blackberry and Wild Rose is no exception. In the tradition of Laura Purcell and Jessie Burton, Blackberry and Wild Rose is a rich read, full of atmosphere, redolent with class politics and full of the small details and petty slights that make for a strong feeling of realism.

The narrative is set around the Huguenot silk weavers many of whom settled in London’s East End following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, when 400,000 Huguenots had to flee France or be massacred for their religion.

Young Sarah Kemp has recently arrived from the country and in her naivety has been tricked into working in a brothel. She is fortunate to be rescued by Esther Thorel, in an act of Christian charity. Esther offers her a position as a domestic maid, although Sarah is sometimes doubtful whether she now has a better fate. She has a difficult relationship with the existing maid in the house and petty jealousies run rampant.

Esther is married to a silk weaver but has found herself in a difficult position. She married for love, but has been unable to produce an heir and now her husband, who married outside the Huguenot circle, is looked upon as not quite of the same social standing as his peers.

So Esther is isolated and like Sarah, is trapped in the life she has opted for, only with higher social standing.

Sarah talks herself into becoming Esther’s personal maid and a strong relationship begins to develop between them.

Esther has an artistic bent and dreams of seeing her designs translated into silk, but her husband is hardly the type to encourage such feminist leanings. Esther, however, is not so lightly put off and she begins to make regular forays into the attic where her husband has rented out space to a journeyman weaver seeking to become a registered Master Weaver.

Sarah, meanwhile, has found her own connection with the weavers of Spitalfields as she embarks upon a relationship with the weaver at the centre of a fomenting revolution as the threat of printed calico begins to bite upon the craftsmen’s earnings.

Velton beautifully captures a time of great upheaval and social turmoil as progress and imports threaten the livelihood of silk weavers, who are now more easily tempted into rebellion against the perceived perpetrators of their downfall. Although Parliament attempted to ban textile imports to preserve the domestic industries, Spitalfield workers were known to enforce their prerogatives directly by attacking people in the street thought to be wearing foreign prints. Conflicts were no less fierce within the weavers’ community, between masters and labourers where workers combined to maintain wages by attacking those thought to be undercutting prices.

Velton takes one household and its characters and uses that to showcase the social and political change that is happening in the 1760’s. Effortlessly marrying excellent research with strong storytelling, Velton weaves her own pattern of betrayal, ambition, love and hope.

The Spitalfields of the weavers comes alive in this well written tale and the position of women is nicely juxtaposed in maid and madam.

Verdict: A well told tale of two women, love, betrayal and ambition in a time of social change.

A really well written compelling read. The story is set in and around the Thorel household in Spitalfields. It is a complicated story. There is a lot to the plot. The descriptions made it easy to imagine the characters and scenery. I could feel the emotion on every page. There is a lot of betrayal and hatred in this book along with love and compassion. It was really interesting to read about that period of history. I would definitely recommend this book and I will be looking out for more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Aw I loved this book and the characters just so gutted the way it ended but I would recommend it.. I was hoping for a happy ending but sadly it was not to be

I requested this ARC because I fell in love with the wonderful cover and discovered an amazing, atmospheric, and enthralling book!
I loved the female characters, so human and so realistic, that were well written and "tridimensional" and it was great to see them growing into strong women.
The historical background is well researched and I was fascinated by the world of silk weaver and Spitalfield.
Even if the book is a bit slow at the beginning it soon becames a fast paced and engaging read and you're not able to put it down.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Have you ever simply loved a book BECAUSE you basically hated all the characters?

I know it sounds wrong. I should maybe say 'disliked' instead of 'hated'. Some I disliked strongly, some I even liked at times - but no character in this book was the kind of people I like.

And that's exactly what I loved about them!

Because they were... human. And humans act like they did. We are flawed, fallible, infuriating at times. People are the way these characters were written. They were realistic. Natural. I loved that they didn't act like characters in a book. They acted the way real people would do.

That being said, I honestly enjoyed this book. At first, at least part of the plot seemed to be too predictable, but I liked the way the story turned out in the second part of the book. The story, too, just like the characters, happened to be more realistic than I expected. It touched me. I also found the choice of time, place and topic interesting: I've never once given a thought to silk weavers of London in the 18th century before, but now I'm interested!

I also liked the way this book was written, it was nicely worded and many times beautiful, it made me feel things, the only thing I feel was not that good is that the difference between the styles of Esther and Sara, the two main characters (coming from very different places regarding both place and social situation) was non-existent. I thought they could write and speak very differently.

It's a strong historical debut that demonstrates the relations between men and women, rich and poor, master and worker, lady and servant. Thankfully it's not that black-and-white as it sounds - we get to see the 'grey areas', all the people caught up in different situations. Actually, I'm impressed how many kind of people's life and tragedies are shown in this book.

Tricked into prostitution as an innocent newcomer to London, Sara’s rescue by Esther from the clutches of the awful Mrs. Swann offers her the possibility of gaining control over her life. However, Sara soon finds that is seems she may have swapped one form of dependence for another, constantly at the back and call of her new mistress. Furthermore, the possibility that the shameful details of her previous life may be revealed is a constant fear, particularly since not everyone in the Thorel household welcomes her arrival.

Esther’s desire and determination to use her artistic talent to produce designs for silk is a search for her own form of emancipation, an escape from what she describes at one point as ‘her gilded cage’. It also becomes an act of defiance in response to her husband Elias’s hypocrisy and deceit - ‘He was not the man I had thought he was and I no longer took his word for granted’ - and his dismissal of her role as nothing more than social status symbol, bed-mate or organiser of their household. ‘There was no mistress of silk in this house, only a master.’

The stories of Esther and Sara are revealed to the reader in alternating points of view, in the first person.
Alongside learning of their stories, I also enjoyed discovering fascinating detail about the silk weaving process and its place in the Huguenot community of the time. In an early example of the affects of globalisation, it was interesting to witness how the pressures on the industry as a result of imports from abroad and competition from cheaper material created unrest between the journeymen silk weavers and those who controlled the Guild system and the silk weavers’ livelihoods.

At the end of the book, Esther and Sara both find themselves facing difficult personal and moral choices that may affect others, some with tragic consequences. However, their experiences leave both women stronger, leaving open the possibility of them forging different, more fulfilling paths in the future. (There were a couple of very minor unresolved plot points for a curious reader like myself.)

Blackberry and Wild Rose is an impressive, assured debut that will prove a treat for fans of historical fiction with well-crafted female characters and an interesting historical setting. In the author’s historical note, she explains that Esther’s character is ‘loosely inspired’ by a real life female pioneer of the Spitalfields silk community.