I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

Going from the freedom of a small village to the social circles her aunt and uncle are a part of in London is quite a culture shock for Anna. Her first mistake happens not long after her arrival (a long journey, very little food and then standing waiting for her cousin William to collect her means that she passes out) when her cousin finds her being revived by two Huguenots who he proceeds to punch and kick for touching a lady. From the variety of food available at breakfast to the expectations of how she must behave, the world is much more complicated than she's used to. Not allowed out alone, she finds ways to sneak out to sketch and socialise with their dressmaker but is always caught! I loved her spirit of adventure, rebelliousness and resourcefulness. Her path keeps crossing with Henri's.

Having successfully escaped from France, Henri and his mum have a tough life until he finds his silk Master, M. Lavalle. I loved the weaving in the attic. The relationship between them is more like father and son although there's an expectation that Henri is blind to ...

This is a time of riots due to the cheap French (illegal!) imports of silk and silk Masters hiring untrained people. 1000's of weavers are out of work and starving who want their voices heard. There are a couple of threads linking Anna. This is a very dark and depraved time and I wasn't sure how it would all work out. I was tense and at one point tearful. Those pages almost turned themselves as I was waiting for what I wanted to happen!

The pace was perfect, the settings felt very real and I thought the advice at the beginning of chapters brilliant (taken from The Lady's Book of Manners for Anna's narration and advice for apprentices and journeymen for Henri's).

The Silk Weaver is an historical romance with a difference. It's the first novel I've read from Liz Trenow but won't be my last! One to add to your reading list.

I have read all of Liz Trenow's books and have enjoyed them all but I think this one is my favourite so far. This is set in 1760, an earlier time than her other books but, once again, it deals with silk. Other books by this author feature this background as her family has been involved in the silk trade, previous novels being set in a Suffolk background just down the road from where I live which makes it even more interesting.

In Spitalfields. Anna Butterfield has moved from the country home in Suffolk to stay with relatives and to be introduced to London society. Anna is a talented artist and one day she has a chance meeting with a young French silk weaver, Henri. . Henri is working on his ‘master piece’, to become a master weaver and freeman and uses one of Anna's nature drawings to create a pattern in silk. Anna longs to become an artist but her family would rather she forget all this and to make an advantageous marriage and her friendship with Henri is frowned upon. As with earlier books the silk weaving process is beautifully described and Liz Trenow brings to life the glorious colours and design of the 'masterpiece'. I look forward to her next title.

A really enjoyable historical read. A great heroine. Ideal for fans of Lucinda Riley and Kate Mosse.

After the death of her mother Anna leaves the Suffolk countryside and the safe life with the father, the local vicar, and her sister and goes to stay with her aunt in London where she can be introduced into society and hopefully find a husband.

On her arrival she meets by chance a young French silk weaver, Henri, and there is an instant attraction between them, but she knows that this is a friendship that her aunt would never allow. As she settles in with her family she starts to realise that things there are not all they seem - her cousin William seems to be in some sort of trouble and the silk worker riots seem to be directed at her uncle.

As time goes on she finds the restraints placed on her more and more difficult and longs to break free and spend her time outdoors painting.....or in the company of Henri......an as the problems of the silk workers escalate she finds her family is in the thick of it.

I really enjoyed this book, there was a bit of everthing from romance to intrigue and the descriptions of the times and the plight of the silk workers definitely very interesting from an historical point of view

I love books that educate you and transport you into another place and time. I loved the descriptions of all aspects of the silk trade, importing and costume making businesses and felt you could imagine yourself at the loom creating a masterpiece alongside Henri. You learn about the tensions of the time and the dangerous world. You could feel the social expectations of the time and Anna was like a breath of fresh air. She wanted to be free to befriend whoever she wanted and the freedom to sketch and paint the world around her.

She is overawed by the sights and sounds in London having come from a vicarage in a small village but still finds a way to draw some wild flowers in a market. This leads to a great alliance that overcomes many obstacles.

I loved the whole atmosphere in the book and couldn't put it down. The romance running through is lovely and you are hoping things will develop despite the social constraints Anna has living with her aunt and uncle. Friendship plays an important part between Anna and Charlotte and together they find solutions to many problems throughout the book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical stories.

Today is publication day for Liz Trenow's latest novel which I have been eagerly awaiting.
Anna is sent to live in London with her aunt and uncle after the death of her mother. Her father thinks he is giving her the best chance to find a husband of means and marry. Anna has other ideas. She wants to be independent and only marry if and when she falls in love. Her aunt tries to keep her tied to the house not allowing her out on her own and she has a man in mind for Anna to marry.
This stifles Anna as she is a creative person who loves to roam the countryside and draw scenes from nature although there's not much inspiration in the middle of busy London.

Henri has fled from the poverty in France and is apprenticed to a silk weaver. He is just about to become a freeman and set up on his own but first he has to finish his masterpiece and present it to the silk weavers board, all he needs is a good design.
Anna wants to help him but finds it difficult as the lives of her aunt, uncle and cousins are thrown into turmoil. Will she accept a marriage proposal or hold out for love?

I love the historical influences in Liz Trenow's books. I didn't know that as far back as 1761 foreign trade was destroying British industry. As the silk weavers protest against French imports riots start and many men are arrested and hanged in public as a warning to others. Anna and Henri find themselves involved in the unrest and there were parts of the book when my heart beat that little bit faster.
Once again a well researched story with a great ending.
If you haven't read any of Liz's book I suggest you try them, they are all cracking good reads.

THE SILK WEAVER by Liz Trenow is a beautifully written historical novel that will bring you on an emotional journey from start to finish. Anna Butterfield finds herself thrust into London society after the death of her mother, and she struggles with the rigidity of society's rules, and what is deemed acceptable for proper ladies of the eighteenth century. Intelligent and determined she wants more from her life than mundane drudgery, and she yearns to be an artist. And when Anna accidentally meets Henri, a French immigrant and silk weaver, together they may be able to grasp everything their hearts desire. But with opposition from every side, and tensions boiling in the streets of London, Anna and Henri's path together will not be smooth. With exquisite detail, silk weaving and London at that time is brought to life among the pages, and we get to experience it in all its shades and colours - including the harsher tones of life and love at that period of history. THE SILK WEAVER by Liz Trenow is a compelling historical novel and I highly recommend it.

Anna Butterfield has been sent from rural Suffolk to the house of her aunt in London. In the mid-eighteenth century daughters of poor clergymen are expected to marry advantageously and Anna's aunt is married to a prominent merchant in the silk trade so she has an entry into society. Whilst Anna's aunt does all she can to ensure that Anna meets the 'right' sort of man, Anna is intrigued by a French Huguenot silk weaver. As they fight their attraction to each other, Anna dares to dream of a future governed by love rather than convention.

I was drawn to this book by its setting in Spitalfields, given that I lived there twenty-odd years ago, and indeed much of the action takes place on Wood Street (now Wilkes Street) and I lived in one of the weavers' houses (albeit in a rented room). This is a perfectly pleasant book but it definitely sits at the 'romantic' end of historical fiction. There is some excellent historical and social research here and that impresses - the prejudice against the Huguenots, the laws about imported fabric, the fight for fair wages. Trenow also obviously knows a lot about the process of weaving. In fact if I ignore the extremely syrupy romance this is a book from which I have learnt a lot and the link to Spitalfields means I do view it more kindly than I should.

Fans of Liz Trenow (myself very much included) have been kept waiting just about three years since the last publication from this author and I was beginning to wonder would we ever hear more from such a talented historical fiction writer. Thankfully she has now returned with The Silk Weaver which has the most sumptuous cover. So my only question before I begun this story was worth it the long wait? Well for the most part it was and I felt it was a departure for the author in terms of the era and setting she was writing about and she carried off to perfection. My only slight misgivings were that I felt the story took too long to establish itself and get going but then once this was achieved there was no let up in the plot and I enjoyed the book immensely. The author's previous books had never been set so far back in time as in 1760 the year this book takes place and I felt it was a real change both for me as a reader and Liz as a writer.

Although I love historical fiction at times you can become quite bored of the monotony of reading books set in or around either World War One or Two and I understand why so many books are set during this time but every now and then I like to mix it up within genres and this seemed like the book to do so. The more I read through the story and read the end notes it was clear this was a book the author had wanted to write for quite some time and it was evident throughout such vast and detailed research had been undertaken into all aspects of the plot and setting. Inspired by true events The Silk Weaver provided a fascinating insight into a time I would have given scant thought to previously and I suppose that's what endears me to this genre so much.

Anna Butterfield is travelling in a carriage with several other weary travelling companions making their way to the big city and hustle and bustle of London in 1760. It's evident quite early on that this is a big new adventure for Anna as she is leaving the quiet country village where she was born and raised and maybe not leaving through her own free will, but rather through circumstances and life events which took over. The reader can sense both Anna's apprehension yet excitement at moving to a city where dreams can be made and which couldn't be more polar opposite from all that she has known in her short life. There is a brief back story given regarding Anna and we discover she has been through a lot recently after nursing her mother before she succumbed to death. I wondered was Anna forced to leave home to live with her Uncle and Aunt and their children in London or was it voluntary? This wasn't made that clear until quite some chapters in so I didn't know how to view Anna. Should she be seen as someone who wanted a new experience and to move forward after such tragedy or did necessity force her Reverend father to send her away leaving his younger daughter to take care of the house?

I liked Anna from the beginning and I loved how her character attempted to go against social conventions without upsetting the applecart too greatly yet she still fought for that little bit of independence as a woman that she so desperately craved. I felt as a reader we were right there alongside her as she navigated this new and, I suppose to her, strange world in which she just wanted to soak right up and gain as many new experiences as possible all the while indulging her deep love of drawing and nature. Anna loves painting natural things but the city will be cramped and full to capacity with little or no green space. I did think her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Joseph (who works as a mercer) would be the villains of the piece but they weren't. Yes they had to be harsh and restrictive at certain times and they did want Anna to find a suitor in the hopes of leading to marriage but compared to other books I couldn't class them as evil tyrants. Their daughter Lizzie was a great conspirator when Anna needed one but I didn't think much of their son William even though he was utilised very cleverly when needed.

The chapters alternate between Anna and a young French weaver she encounters within minutes of her arrival in the city. Initially I felt having the different viewpoints there was some overlapping with details and scenes but the halfway mark when I felt the story picked up this vanished and everything really got going. All the setting up began to make sense and the major and minor stories started to come together in a frenzy against the historical backdrop of the weaving industry just showing how the workers had to fight for fair working conditions and payments and even today this is still the case worldwide in many jobs. So not much has changed in some ways.

Henri couldn't have been more different to Anna regarding all aspects of his life. I found his story as to how he travelled from France and eventually ended up working as a journeyman weaver for Monsieur Lavelle fascinating and it showed what a fearless person he was. It was obvious from the very brief first encounter between himself and Anna that they would meet again and that a spark had been ignited between the pair but so much was against them as is the same in many books. But I was glad this wasn't all focus on a love story between the pair, rather that obstacles were put in their way and this element didn't become the dominant force within the story rather it was one element amongst many that combined terrifically towards the end in a dramatic climax where the reader never truly knew what the outcome would be and I love to be still guessing the conclusion so late in a book. Henri was a fantastic character who was passionate about his profession as a weaver. He had great care and respect for all those around him particularly Monsieur Lavelle and he could see the end was in sight once his final masterpiece had been approved and he himself could become a master and attempt to establish his own business. Without the addition of Anna and discovering her talent for sketching exquisite pieces so rich and full of detail of nature Henri may never have had the chance to attempt to fulfill his dream. Yet it wasn't all smooth sailing and it was great that was the case it would have been too hum drum of a story if that had occurred.

Anna and Henri are polar opposites of each other in terms of background and ambition yet I could still see that there was that special something connecting them to each other. Anna had a lot to deal with acclimatising to a new city especially as unrest started to take hold. In one way she had to obey the rules set down by her aunt and uncle and society in general yet in others there was that fighting spirit deep within her just dying to be set free. She wanted to embrace her talent and love of nature but feels confined when her aunt starts the matchmaking process. Women at the time were viewed as best serving a purpose of running a household and establishing a family. I wanted Anna to be different to the norm, to step outside the box and listen to what her heart and mind were telling her. I loved how she showed great strength of character and such ingenuity when it was needed the most and battled to right a major wrong.

It's rare in a book to have two such strong lead characters but I believed Henri showed just as much metal as Anna when needed. I didn't like the turn of events that seemed to overtake his life and his task of becoming master weaver but on reflection it needed to be there as the book was inspired by true events and this circumstances added more flavour and depth to the overall story at just the point where I believed things may never get going and then everything took on a life of it's own and I couldn't wait to discover the final outcome for all parties involved. Despite all the very good points regarding this novel I wouldn't say The Silk Weaver is my favourite of Liz's books but it was certainly worth the wait for its publication and I just hope book five will not be as long in its creation. It's worth the read for the historical element alone and combined with a love story that has you rooting for a positive outcome you wouldn’t be sorry you picked up this book and enjoyed a few hours in the company of Anna and Henri and I hope you do to.

Really good read, ideal to curl up with on a long winters night