Helpful Score: 1
Historical fiction that increased my general knowledge of the silk trade, culture of the time, and the working people of the era. Highlighted the "free women" of the era, especially widowed/unmarried working women. Some of the characters were a somewhat unbelievable but a good read overall.
Interesting look at the silk trade in early England (around the time of War of the Roses). A widower father arranges marriages for his two daughters. When Isabel is widowed very shortly into her marriage, she refuses to return to her father's household knowing that he will quickly arrange another unwanted marriage. Instead she apprentices herself to her mother-in-law and her silk house, learning the business. Got a little lost toward the end with keeping track of who was who in the royal family; however, underlying themes of love, devotion, loyalty, betrayal and deception still ring true today.
Loved this book. Lots of information from the merchant side of the War of the Roses era without being too much. Craftly woven together to keep you reading. I put off going to bed so that I could finish it. Look forward to reading more by Vanora Bennett.
