Turbulent Threads
by Karen McMillan
Karen McMillan has captured the 1890s in Victorian Dunedin in an engaging historical novel which is clearly very well researched. Through it run threads of the suffrage movement; betrayal, heartbreak and love; wealth and poverty; and the plight of immigrants.
When Greer Gillies is suddenly orphaned in 1890, she must leave her poor but happy home in the Devil’s Half-Acre area of Dunedin and find work. She is grateful for a post as a maid in opulent Larnach Castle and arrives there with few possessions apart from her violin and sewing machine.
McMillan’s account of life upstairs is well-grounded in the wealthy but ultimately tragic Larnach family story.
The life that Greer enters downstairs is far from her dreams of working in fashion, literature and music, but she is surrounded by kind and supportive people and finds solace in playing her violin. Throughout the book this instrument and the sewing machine will both play important roles in Greer’s future. A playlist at the end of the book will be appreciated by lovers of violin and piano music.
Thus, fact and fiction are interwoven, not only at the Castle but also back in the Devil’s Half-Acre where, on her days off, Greer befriends a Lebanese immigrant family and the Chinese businessman Charles (Choie) Sew Hoy (1836-1901). Benedix Hallenstein, (1835-1905) founder of the clothing chain which still bears his name, also makes a cameo appearance.
As the story unfolds, we gain an insight into the fervour and ferment of the last decade of the 19th century. We follow the growth of women’s campaign to gain the right to vote, and celebrate their victory, although given Dunedin’s prominent role in the suffrage movement, I felt more of the story could have revolved around this unique event.
The 1890s was a decade when determined women were able to pursue their own ambitions and we follow Greer and her friend Jamelie George into their own high-end dressmaking business. In this they both realise long-held dreams.
Then as now, there were often prejudices against non-European immigrants, and a fear of their differentness. Turbulent Threads explores the lot of the Lebanese and Chinese communities, highlighting how the Devil’s Half-Acre was a close-knit and supportive community for them in the face of outside misconceptions.
There are scoundrels in Turbulent Threads, but there is also enduring friendship and eventually love for Greer and her friends at decade’s end.
Having read Turbulent Threads, I was prompted to find out more: this is surely the sign of a successful work of historical fiction. Reading the fascinating stories of the Larnach family and their castle, Charles Sew Hoy, the Devil’s Half-Acre, the founding Lebanese families and the Dunedin suffrage movement all added extra, thought-provoking depth to the people and places that feature in this book.
by Karen McMillan
Karen McMillan has captured the 1890s in Victorian Dunedin in an engaging historical novel which is clearly very well researched. Through it run threads of the suffrage movement; betrayal, heartbreak and love; wealth and poverty; and the plight of immigrants.
When Greer Gillies is suddenly orphaned in 1890, she must leave her poor but happy home in the Devil’s Half-Acre area of Dunedin and find work. She is grateful for a post as a maid in opulent Larnach Castle and arrives there with few possessions apart from her violin and sewing machine.
McMillan’s account of life upstairs is well-grounded in the wealthy but ultimately tragic Larnach family story.
The life that Greer enters downstairs is far from her dreams of working in fashion, literature and music, but she is surrounded by kind and supportive people and finds solace in playing her violin. Throughout the book this instrument and the sewing machine will both play important roles in Greer’s future. A playlist at the end of the book will be appreciated by lovers of violin and piano music.
Thus, fact and fiction are interwoven, not only at the Castle but also back in the Devil’s Half-Acre where, on her days off, Greer befriends a Lebanese immigrant family and the Chinese businessman Charles (Choie) Sew Hoy (1836-1901). Benedix Hallenstein, (1835-1905) founder of the clothing chain which still bears his name, also makes a cameo appearance.
As the story unfolds, we gain an insight into the fervour and ferment of the last decade of the 19th century. We follow the growth of women’s campaign to gain the right to vote, and celebrate their victory, although given Dunedin’s prominent role in the suffrage movement, I felt more of the story could have revolved around this unique event.
The 1890s was a decade when determined women were able to pursue their own ambitions and we follow Greer and her friend Jamelie George into their own high-end dressmaking business. In this they both realise long-held dreams.
Then as now, there were often prejudices against non-European immigrants, and a fear of their differentness. Turbulent Threads explores the lot of the Lebanese and Chinese communities, highlighting how the Devil’s Half-Acre was a close-knit and supportive community for them in the face of outside misconceptions.
There are scoundrels in Turbulent Threads, but there is also enduring friendship and eventually love for Greer and her friends at decade’s end.
Having read Turbulent Threads, I was prompted to find out more: this is surely the sign of a successful work of historical fiction. Reading the fascinating stories of the Larnach family and their castle, Charles Sew Hoy, the Devil’s Half-Acre, the founding Lebanese families and the Dunedin suffrage movement all added extra, thought-provoking depth to the people and places that feature in this book.
Review by Carolyn McKenzie
Title: Turbulent Threads
Author: Karen McMillan
Publisher: Quentin Wilson Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-99-110333-8
RRP: $37.99
Available: bookshops
Author: Karen McMillan
Publisher: Quentin Wilson Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-99-110333-8
RRP: $37.99
Available: bookshops
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