A Single Thread

Violet Speedwell is a “surplus woman”, condemned to a precarious existence of stoic spinsterhood courtesy of World War I, which claimed a generation of men including her brother and fiance.

At 38, Violet escapes her overbearing mother and takes a job and lodgings in Winchester.

She yearns to leave her mark on the world and joins a group of women “broderers” — embroidering cushions for the Cathedral, discreetly sewing their initials on these beautiful offerings to leave their mark. But Violet is destined to leave more of an impression than she could imagine.

For those who enjoy the languid idyll of English life as presented in Midsomer Murders, without the murders but with a clumsy stalking plot. There’s also bellringers!