A Single Thread

　　1932年。一場偉大的戰爭奪走了她心愛的兄弟和未婚夫，維奧莉特‧斯皮德韋爾（Violet Speedwell）成為一個「多餘的女人」。這一代人注定要在戰爭殺死這麼多年輕人後，過著孤獨的生活。維奧莉特設法存下一筆錢，搬到溫徹斯特鎮，在那裡，她被吸引到了一個由刺繡者組成的團體，許多為大教堂繡跪墊的女人，她們帶著長達數百年的傳統，為禮拜者帶來安慰。

　　維奧莉特在團體中找到了支持與屬於她的社群，在她們創造的工作中實現了成就，甚至與活潑的吉爾達（Gilda）建立了越來越多的友誼。但是，當部隊威脅到她的獨立生活，且另一場戰爭即將出現時，維奧莉特必須努力在一個女性不被期待會成長的地方紮根。她如何砍斷前方的荊棘，活出自己喜歡且妥適的日子？儘管她和其他女性面臨挑戰，但她仍然希望能活出自己的樣子。

　　在《戴珍珠耳環的少女》作者崔西．雪佛蘭（Tracy Chevalier）生動的筆調下，這一部永恆的故事，不只描繪友誼與愛情，更體現了一個女人如何創作自己的生活，走出自己的人生。

　　這不只是一本小說，這是一個值得品味的人生。(文/博客來編譯)

　　An immersive, moving story of a woman coming into her own at the dawn of the Second World War, from internationally bestselling author Tracy Chevalier

　　1932. After the Great War took both her beloved brother and her fiancé, Violet Speedwell has become a "surplus woman," one of a generation doomed to a life of spinsterhood after the war killed so many young men. Yet Violet cannot reconcile herself to a life spent caring for her grieving, embittered mother. After countless meals of boiled eggs and dry toast, she saves enough to move out of her mother's place and into the town of Winchester, home to one of England's grandest cathedrals. There, Violet is drawn into a society of broderers--women who embroider kneelers for the Cathedral, carrying on a centuries-long tradition of bringing comfort to worshippers.

　　Violet finds support and community in the group, fulfillment in the work they create, and even a growing friendship with the vivacious Gilda. But when forces threaten her new independence and another war appears on the horizon, Violet must fight to put down roots in a place where women aren't expected to grow. Told in Chevalier's glorious prose, A Single Thread is a timeless story of friendship, love, and a woman crafting her own life.