Loved this unexpectedly brilliant little book. I thought the writing was great, loved the way it was part travelogue, part history, part knitting manual. Thought the device of having the different projects worked really well. I've not only recommended this one, I've bought it for friends. I thought initially it would be a bit knitting-niche, but I think actually it would please anyone interested in learning more about the different traditions in regions around the UK. A gem.

It was December and Esther Rutter was stuck in her office job, writing to people she'd never met and preparing spreadsheets. The job frustrated her and even her knitting did not soothe her mind. January was going to be a time for making changes and she decided that she would travel the length and breadth of the British Isles with occasional forays abroad, discovering and telling the story of wool's history and how it had made and changed the landscape. She'd grown up on a sheep farm in Suffolk - a free range child on the farm - and learned to spin, knit and weave from her mother and her mother's friend. This was in her blood.

The stories she tells are fascinating, from the Highland communities cleared for sheep farming, the development of the West Yorkshire mill towns, the Market towns built on the profits of the wool trade and the ganseys made for fishermen along the coast of the United Kingdom, showing how each has contributed to the industries we have today. There's a wealth of information here.

Rutter is a knitter: she could not explore this history without looking to knit significant garments reflecting the stories of the areas she visits. Her aim was to knit a garment a month, but the 'gansey' (guernsey sweater) she knit for her father took far longer and given that it is knit in one piece was far too bulky to haul about with her once she got up to the chest area. I loved the Dentdale gloves and the Shetland scarf and her descriptions of the yarns she used left me drooling. But it wasn't just the yarns: she has a knack for capturing places in just a few words. I found that I live in a place of wild seductive magic, something I've long known but never been able to express quite so evocatively.

The writing is erudite but always accessible. I found it a slow read, not because it was in any way difficult, but because I kept being tempted away to discover more about areas or subjects Rutter had visited. I spent nearly an hour at Propagansey and know exactly where I'll be going the next time I visit Whitby.

There are nuggets of advice - 'keep short needles' is something any experienced knitter will know instinctively. It doesn't refer to the length of the pins, but rather to the benefits of keeping the stitches as close to the point of the needle as possible. Hearteningly, Rutter is happy to tell us of the downsides of her work - the second sock is never as interesting as the first - stocking stitch, particularly on four needles, is boring - and of the areas where it needed practice and perseverance to achieve something presentable.

It's a joy of a book and one to which I'll return many times. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

I greatly admire Esther Rutter’s knitting skills. I certainly couldn’t knit the cabled front of a cricket sweater while watching a cricket match or knit a complicated ‘gansey’ or Fair Isle pattern while travelling on a train, bus or ferry. She has also been extremely industrious in her research and untiring in her travels. From Fair Isle in the far north, west to Wales and down to Cornwall she journeys to visit the breeders of rare sheep, the spinners, dyers and preservers of old patterns. As she points out at the end of the book, there is a correlation between extreme climatic conditions and excellent knitwear. This is the story of a year of knitting, in which she planned to knit items with a long history of use, whether a gansey (worn by fishermen), a ‘Monmouth cap’ or a lacy ‘hap’ for a baby. It seems to have been a huge success, if a difficult task at times.

I can’t agree with all the reviewers saying the book is ‘beautifully written’; I frequently got bogged down and the book took longer to read than is usual with me. Nevertheless, it is full of interest. I liked the comparison of knitting with folksong: first an oral tradition, very localised, then becoming more widely known outside its native area and written down. Of course, this means changes, but everything changes and not necessarily for the worse. When I returned to my sock knitting (sadly, I can’t knit and read at the same time), I felt a connection with all those knitters, men and women, from centuries past. That’s the greatest tribute I can pay the book as it’s what it’s all about.
I read this thanks to NetGalley.

Part travelogue, part social history, this book weaves together much about the history of Britain as told through the regional garments of Britain. I really enjoyed reading the etymology of words used in knitting as well as learning about the history of the agriculture, the communities of Britain and the clothing described.
The foundations of many towns were built on the profits of the wool trade from the towns of the Cotswolds to the church towers of Norfolk. The book also looks at the crofting communities of Scotland, the Fishermen of Yorkshire as well as military uniforms in Scotland and Wales amongst others. The book has a clear informative style and shows the importance of wool and the knitting industry and how it really is part of the fabric of Britain. (every pun intended!)

#ThisGoldenFleece #NetGalley

This was the most glorious book I read this summer. As a knitter and crafter in general, the topic naturally interested me. What I did not expect was the depth and insight into the history of working-class women. Women who used wool out of necessity, to earn extra money, to clothe their family using a resource available to them. This is about the craft, but it is mostly about life around the craft. And that is what really makes this book. Fantastic.

I was so excited to read this book- as a knitter and a lover of British wool in particular I was excited to learn about the history of my favourite craft in my home country. However, the Kindle version of this book is so badly formatted as to be almost unreadable in sections. titlEs are FoRMatTEd LikE ThiS, and some sections have mysterious mid-sentence line breaks that make passages seem like very bad poetry about wool.

The bits I could read were very interesting and informative, and given a great through-line by Rutter's mission to knit around the British Isles- I just wish that I could have read all of it.

A fascinating book, full of information and facts, it can be read like a novel.
I appreciated the style of writing, how it is organised and well researched.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This Golden Fleece is a very interesting book. I enjoyed the way the Author wrote as it was like she was sitting with you chatting and telling you all about the history of wool while knitting as she narrated her tale.

Its a very informative book with lots of intersting details and facts which have been well researched.

Thanks to Netgalley and Granta Books for the ARC. ( This review is my own opinion)