‘Emma’s Tapestry’ by Isobel Blackthorn is a tale spun so well I struggled to put the kindle down.
At the dawn of World War Two, German-born nurse Emma Taylor sits by the bedside of a Jewish heiress in London as she reminisces over her dear friend, Oscar Wilde. As the story of Wilde unravels, so does Emma’s past. What really happened to her husband?
She’s taken back to her days in Singapore on the eve of World War One. To her disappointing marriage to a British export agent, her struggle to fit into colonial life and the need to hide her true identity. Emma is caught up in history, the highs, the lows, the adventures. A deadly mutiny, terrifying rice riots and a confrontation with the Ku Klux Klan bring home, for all migrants, the fragility of belonging.
When a book has the power to take a reader across continents and time as easily as ‘Emma’s Tapestry’ did me, it proves that Isobel Blackthorn in this instance is a master at her craft. Emma is a woman who has experienced a sometimes troubled and yet full life. She has moved from London to Singapore then on to Japan. We see her struggle to fit into foreign communities and we are virtually taken to Singapore on the eve of the First World War and all over the world. Isobel’s writing is such a quality it feels like we are a part of these events with Emma.
The title of this book ‘Emma’s Tapestry’ is a fitting and perfect one. Emma’s life is a colourful one, marked by small imperfections as a tapestry undoubtedly would be. The author is skilled enough to shine a light on Emma’s personality as well as show us her loneliness while attempting to make friends on her journeys through her life while seeing all these famous historical events that are happening.
A very well researched historical fiction story with an amazingly strong and resourceful woman who keeps all the strands together as much as she has been able to in life. I found this book a compelling read, so compelling I wanted to learn all about Emma there and then.
Thanks to Rachel’s
Random Resources and Isobel Blackthorn for my copy of this book.
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