We’re stepping into 16th century Italy for this debut. City of Silk is a historical fiction novel which follows orphan Elena who dreams of a life as a tailor. She’s a talented seamstress, a master of her craft since she was young but Renaissance-period Bologna doesn’t allow for women to be tailors. Kept down and put in her place, she gets by at the Baraccano orphanage despite those who lurk in the shadows and steal girls away to quiet rooms. But when her time at the orphanage is up and she is due to be married off against her will, she decides to make a run for it.
All alone in the world with her talents unrecognised and not a lot of choice for young women, she struggles to find work and life beyond the Baraccano is beginning to look just as bleak. Until one tailor takes a chance on her...
Glennis Virgo has already become a prizewinner in the inaugural Debut Writers Over 50 Award and I respect the amount of research and passion that has gone into her debut. With a tenacious young woman at the forefront, this is a rich and vivid novel that brings justice to the female experience of this place and time period. Despite a slow start, I was truly transported by this novel and as someone who has dabbled with sewing as a hobby and also has familial links to the craft, I did connect with this book and with it’s complicated but admirable protagonist quite deeply.
Reviewed by Abi.
City of Silk was published on 21/11/24 by Allison & Busby.
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