Blackberry and Wild Rose - Sonia Velton

I received this book as a Christmas present and it caught my eye that on the cover was a quote from Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars, which I'd really enjoyed reading. Blackberry and Wild Rose is Velton's debut novel, so an endorsement from Halls was definitely an indication that this would be up my street. This historical fiction novel is set in eighteenth-century London and follows dual protagonists Sara and Esther, who narrate alternate chapters. 

Esther Thorel is the wife of a Huguenot silk-weaver, whose role to run a grand household does not fulfil her - she longs to weave silk like her husband. She begins work on a piece of embroidery in secret, with the help of the weaver who works for her husband, and the two form an unlikely bond. Her desire to step out of the convention that women are merely homemakers, and the barriers which stand in her way, are so frustrating to read. The misogyny is unbearable! Esther's husband really is a sod, and Velton's characterisation is so well-formed that you really feel the anger bubbling up inside you when he laughs at her dreams and dismisses her pleas for help. What a delight when she undertakes the painting and weaving of her design, which she names Blackberry and Wild Rose, without his permission.

Our second narrator, Sara Kemp, is a poor and naive woman who arrives in London with no possessions, and is quickly entrapped in the vicious and abusive clutches of a spinster old woman who promises a warm bed and three meals a day, in exchange for Sarah working in her tavern as a prostitute. The first few pages of the novel document her first experience with a paying customer, and it makes for some pretty tough reading - a trigger warning is necessary as it definitely caught me off-guard, but don't let it deter you from the rest of the book as the brutal passages are fairly scarce. Although difficult subject matter, Velton definitely brings to light the reality of the eighteenth century for numerous poor women who struggled to make ends meet and found themselves forced or coerced into undesirable and dangerous work, at the promise of shelter and food.

The novel begins at a fairly slow pace, and for a while I wondered when our two protagonists would intertwine, but before long the momentum of the story takes off at lightning speed! Jam-packed with action, tension and shocking moments, the narrative twists and turns in ways you definitely don't expect, and you'll be on the edge of your seat as the two women's lives clang together and the drama unfolds quicker than you can keep up with. The dual narration helps to keep the rhythm moving, particularly towards the end of the novel at its crescendo, when it feels almost as though you're watching the action from two vantage points, jumping rapidly between lenses and seeing a totally different perspective from each.

The writing style was, I found, comparable to Stacey Halls, and made for another gripping and enjoyable piece of historical fiction. Velton is not afraid to shock, and much of her storytelling was somewhat brash and unexpected, which I personally quite liked as it kept me engaged and entertained. If you're easily upset by violence and abuse (particularly of a sexual nature, during a few of the tavern scenes), then be aware of Velton's tendency to smack you right in the face with some hard-hitting passages. Definitely worth reading if you enjoy historical fiction, and if you're a Stacey Halls fan!