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In a time when duty outweighs desire can Anna break free and follow her heart?
Anna Butterfield has always taken care of her family. She nursed her mother through a long debilitating illness and cared for her special needs sister while her father worked as a vicar in their small village. When her mother dies Anna is sent to live with wealthy relatives in London to try and find a suitable husband to help support her and her family. She immediately feels the stifling bonds of high society life. From the elaborate clothes to the role of the demure female she must play, Anna finds herself unable to fit in. All she wants is to sit with her sketchbook and draw nature, have lively discussions, and feel like a part of something. When she meets Henri, a French immigrant silk weaver in the city, she feels an undeniable connection.
The Hidden Thread is set in the tumultuous time of the Age of Enlightenment and the silk wars of 1760s London, Anna is trapped between the prejudices of high London society against the lower-class French and the dawning of a new era of art and expression that she is desperate to be a part of.
This novel does a wonderful job of introducing you to the tensions of the time without making it heavy or too dry with facts. You get a real sense of the class divide in London and what feels like a very accurate representation of the silk industry. The story is sweet and light. I ultimately gave this book 3 stars. I believe this book fell under the radar because it was very simple in its telling. The characters are a bit stereotypical in their descriptions and behavior. There were no true high or low points to the book it was just down the middle across the board.
If you enjoy 18th-century historical fiction, Bridgerton, and the forbidden love trope this book would be a charming read.Â