Stevie‘s review of The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow
Historical Fiction published by Sourcebooks Landmark 06 May 14
Although I’ll consider reading almost anything set in the first half of the twentieth century, I tend to be rather cautious about picking up a book that gives a prominent role to he-who-was-briefly-Edward-VIII. I’m glad I gave this novel a fair chance in spite of my wariness, especially since the Prince of Wales appears only in a few scenes and then as more of a initiating force for subsequent events than as a significant character. Spanning a century of British history, The Forgotten Seamstress tells the linked stories of a series of women, along with a very special quilt.
In 1970, research student Patricia Morton is given permission to interview former patients of a closed psychiatric unit, some of whom have lived there for many decades. She is particularly drawn to one old woman, Maria Romano (nicknamed Queenie by her fellow inmates), who was committed to the then asylum during the First World War. Although Maria’s story seems clear and comprehensive, Patricia is warned not to use it for her research since Maria is a fantasist and nothing she says can be believed. Maria claims that at the age of fifteen she, with her best friend and fellow orphan Nora, were employed by Buckingham Palace as seamstresses on the personal order of the woman about to become Queen Mary, consort of George V. Furthermore, following the Coronation, she caught the eye of the new Prince of Wales, and it was as a result of their brief affair that she ended up at the asylum.
Skipping forwards to 2008, we find Caroline Meadows, the daughter of Patricia’s onetime academic supervisor, helping her mother tidy out her attic and wondering how long it will be before her mother’s dementia means she has to leave the house forever. They come across an old quilt, and Caroline is intrigued by some of the fabrics that it contains. Her mother has no memory of who made the quilt, and Caroline takes it back to London to show to a friend from her university days, who is now working as a textile historian.
Shortly afterwards, Caroline is made redundant from her high-powered banking job and, inspired by the quilt, decides to return to her former passion for interior design as a replacement career. The quilt itself has provoked considerable interest, due to its incorporation of the May Silks, which had been made especially for the future Queen Mary at the end of the nineteenth century.
In 1970, Maria tells Patricia how she came across some scraps of silk in a box belonging to one of her predecessors at the Palace and decided to incorporate them into the quilt she was sewing for her unborn child. When her pregnancy became obvious, she was taken away from the Palace and gave birth to her baby in the asylum; although told by the nurses that he had died, she is convinced that she heard him cry. Many years later, a visitor to the asylum – now a hospital – helped Maria track down the bag containing her unfinished quilt – left in a bag in a storeroom – and they worked on it together, until one day her visitor just stopped coming.
In 2008, Caroline discovers that her grandmother had a friend called Maria who may have sewn much of the quilt. Helped by a journalist from her mother’s hometown, she sets out to track down anyone who might be able to tell her about Maria’s past. Eventually her search leads her to meet both Patricia and the people Maria lived with after leaving the hospital, and she discovers further links between herself and Maria.
This is a beautiful story, told in an unusual but engaging way. A couple of the plot twists that befall Caroline feel a little too much like the romance novel tropes that I find to be commonly overdone, but overall this book makes me want to find out more about both the May Silks and the secret messages in quilts. I also want to read more by this author as soon as I get a chance.
Grade: B
Summary:
She Kept Her Secret for a Lifetime…
A shy girl with no family, Maria knows she’s lucky to have landed in the sewing room of the royal household. Before World War I casts its shadow, she catches the eye of the Prince of Wales, a glamorous and intense gentleman. But her life takes a far darker turn, and soon all she has left is a fantastical story about her time at Buckingham Palace.
Decades later, Caroline Meadows discovers a beautiful quilt in her mother’s attic. When she can’t figure out the meaning of the message embroidered into its lining, she embarks on a quest to reveal its mystery, a puzzle that only seems to grow more important to her own heart. As Caroline pieces together the secret history of the quilt, she comes closer and closer to the truth about Maria.
Page-turning and heartbreaking, The Forgotten Seamstress weaves together past and present in an unforgettable journey.
Read an excerpt.
