The Children's Book

I recently finished reading A.S.Byatt's The Children's Book, a novel that may interest you, my internet friends. Not only is it an engrossing novel in itself, but it has various hooks for stitchers and craftsters. Set in the late Victorian to Edwardian period, some of the characters are part of the Arts and Crafts movement. The V&A is the setting for the opening scene and is integral to the plot. It also has wonderful descriptions of the characters' clothing - thought you might like to read a few snippets (I love that word):

"She came with little skimming steps across the grass and across the gravel path, very slow, very rhythmic. Unlike her daughters she paid a lot of attention to her dress. She wore white muslin decorated with violets, and a violet shawl. The muslin flowed from a high yoke: she was uncorseted, with a simple violet sash. Her gleaming hair was coiled on her head, and pinned with silk violets."

Violets!

"She herself was also dressed in clothes constructed from altered hand-downs, covered with faded golden lilies and birds and pomegranates. What she wanted was a sleek, dark, business-like skirt and a fresh while shirt with a collar, that would show off her narrow waist."

Pomegranates!

"She was handsome and golden: her hat had English meadow flowers on brown linen, a pale coffee-brown linen dress was trimmed with creamy lace. She had a pointed belt not unlike Elsie's, and a row of little bright silk flowers round the neck of her dress."

Coffee-brown linen!

"Violet said she would make Dorothy a dress ... It should be deep rose, perhaps, or dark blue, maybe in shot taffeta with a glow in it. Dark blue like the midnight sky, said Violet, and insisted on taking Dorothy on an excursion to London, for if she was to have a grown-up dress she must have some sort of shaping bodice. Everything this year, in the magazines, was lacy. She had the idea of making a lacy jacket - not in bright white, in some silvery thread - with short sleeves and a collar that would stand up when Dorothy had put her hair up."

A stand-up collar!

And check out the clothing at this wedding in a cold church on 27th December:

"Florence had a very smart slate-coloured grosgrain long coat over a blue-crocus-coloured dress; her hat was severe crocus-grey tulle, to match... Pomona was the only bridesmaid, in a dark-grey velvet gown, decorated with violets. The same flowers were round the brim of her hat... Seraphita was wrapped in a feather-edged robe in a kind of thick complicated tapestry, purple with grey and silver, edged with dyed swansdown and ostrich plumes... Imogen Fludd laid down the stone hot-water bottle she had been clutching, picked up her sheaf of hothouse lilies and walked through the church. She was wearing shimmering silvery velvet, very plain, with a high white fur collar, and big white fur cuffs."

Crocus-grey tulle! White fur cuffs!

Swoooooon...!

Read any good books recently?