Figures in Silk

I thoroughly enjoyed Vanora Bennett's breathtaking novel of castle intrigue, the silk industry and the emerging role of women in England. The novel begins in 1471 where we encounter 14-year-old Isabel who has cold feet about the upcoming marriage her father has arranged for her. As she stews about this in church, a mysterious figure who sets her blood racing advises her to follow her father's wishes. From there, Bennett begins the episodic plot that spans several decades. Isabel's attraction to the man who would eventually plot his way to the crown is as bizarre and unpredictable as are the laws of the heart. The characters Bennett swirls in the story such as husband Thomas Claver, mother-in-law Alice Claver, Italian silk trader Goffredo, sister Jane & Princess Elizabeth are drawn well enough that they serve the story. The metaphor of the chess match well suits the intrigue. "Figures in Silk" held my interest and made me want to stay up an extra hour reading. The historical setting gives context that allows Vanora Bennett to weave her magic. Enjoy!

The House of York English King Edward IV is out of money so must find new sources to replenish the treasury. Though young to be a monarch, the Plantagenet ruler knows the only group with cash is the affluent merchant class who control power based on their manipulating the rivalry for the monarchy between the Houses of York and the Lancaster. In 1471 wealthy silk merchant John Lambert suffers an economic setback, which forces him to marry his two daughters to rich spouses rather quickly. However, his offspring do not quite see life as dire as he currently does. His older daughter Jane starts a heated scandalous affair with the young monarch; eventually becoming his mistress. Thus he turns to his other child Isabel who he pressures into marrying obese silk merchant Thomas Claver. As Isabel struggles with the horrific thought of marriage to odious Claver, a stranger provides her comfort in a church. Even after doing her duty, Isabel has not forgotten the unknown person who was kind to her. When Claver dies, the stranger returns, but he is not quite the Good Samaritan the widow thought he was. Though the romances of the siblings are critical to the story line, the key to this deep fifteenth century tale is the power struggles between the aristocracy and the rising merchant class. Jane rises in influence through her being the king's mistress while Isabel's rise to power is through her knowledge of silk-weaving and global trade as she leads an effort to supplant Venice as the silk trade center. Together John's offspring appear to be the most influential figures in England as they "control" the king and the silk. Fans will relish this powerful historical as real persona embellish the look at an early globalization era with internal partisan strife that sounds so twenty-first century as history in general terms repeats itself. Harriet Klausner

I was truly anticipating reading this book since I thoroughly enjoyed Vanora Bennet's previous book "Portrait Of An Unknown Woman". I was not disappointed! This book is another fine chronicles that follows the life of a woman in the 15th century under the reign of King Edward IV. There is so much historically correct information in this book that one gets a very real feel for the time. This is one of those books that I became engrossed in immediately, read over two evenings and was sorry to see end. It allowed me to escape for a time to another world - a world that felt alive and current.The depictions of what it would have been like to be a merchant and woman in the 15th century was fascinating and the books is full of interesting facts about the silk trade during this period. Rich in historical detail & thoroughly engrossing - this book is an great read - especially for anyone with a penchant for well researched historical fiction! I will eagerly await a new release by Ms. Bennett!

First of all, I know nothing about the silk industry, and I'm not a history buff, so I didn't notice any details being out of place. I just like reading historical fiction, and this was a great novel, in general. While I appreciated getting a peek at other character's POV, sometimes when it switched from Isabel, it was so abrupt, it took me a moment to figure out whose mind I was in. I had a lot of respect for Isabel's character until she got so lovesick over Dickon that she didn't appreciate how much she had accomplished. I can't believe that after defying her father, and becoming a "freewoman," she got sloppy with her lovelife. I wish she had made her final decision a lot earlier...which is why I'd like to read a sequel. Don't misunderstand me...I loved the story...in fact, I got too involved with the characters...lol. Another thing I liked about this novel is that it included references to "liasons" without giving lurid sex details. It was historical fiction rather than a trashy paperback with some history thrown in. If you like this book, you might also want to read The Blackstone Key: A Novel.

This book is a time machine that whooshes you back to fifteenth-century England to provide an insider's access to the mysterious events that still surround the 1485 usurpation of Richard III. Novelists have the advantage over historians when it comes to explaining the many contradictory decisions Richard made, as they are able to create fictional characters to narrate those events about which the actual historical record is silent. Enter novelist Vanora Bennett who has created a very believable character in Isabel Claver, a silk woman of the London mercery, through whose eyes the story is told. Lover of Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III), daughter of a London guildsman who supported the Yorkist cause, sister of Jane Shore (mistress of Edward IV and then of other nobles), and dressmaker to the Princess Elizabeth, Isabel is uniquely positioned to know the secrets of various characters in the real-life drama that was Yorkist and Lancastrian England. Bennett's research for the story is solid. Though Isabel Claver is a fictional character, she is based on a number of actual women in the London silk trade who went by the name of Isabel. Other figures who appear in the story were actual persons, including Alice Claver, silk trader and mother-in-law of the imaginary Isabel; Thomas Lynom, King's solicitor and eventual husband of the shamed Jane Shore; and Will Caxton, who established the first printing press in London. It is just plain fun to see Caxton in the role of Isabel's friend and confidante. The many threads of the Ricardian story hang together believably in this novel, while holding the reader's interest in the aspirations of the women of the London silk trade as well. Bennett also creates a mood in the novel that hangs with you even when you aren't reading the book, creating that little tug that keeps pulling you back to it. I found it hard to put down. For high school students who catch the Wars of the Roses bug, this book would certainly be a pleasurable way of getting to know the many figures in the saga, but parents and teachers should know in advance that descriptions of sexual liaisons are included in the book, though not lurid. With that caveat, I can conclude by heartily endorsing this book as one that will give you the you-are-there experience we so enjoy in the genre of historical fiction.