Sonia Velton

Set in 18th century London, this story transports you immediately to the world of the Huguenot silk weavers. The descriptions are vivid from the underbelly of London's whore houses to the upper middle class homes of the silk merchants. This novel revolves around two women, Sara Kemp, a prostitute and Esther Thorel, the wife of a very well-respected silk merchant. And although Sara and Esther have very different social stations in life, as women, their choices are dictated by the men around show more them. I loved this story - great pacing, complex characters and such a compelling story. show less

Inspired by true events, with elements of Gothic fiction, murder mystery, fantasy and magical realism woven into an immersive narrative, The Nightingale's Castle by Sonia Velton is a fascinating reimagining of the story of Erzsébet Báthory, the “Blood Countess", a sixteenth-century Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer who along with four of her servants were accused of torturing and murdering hundreds of young women.

Set in Hungary, in 1610, the narrative is shared from multiple show more perspectives including Erzsébet, her trusted servants János Ficzkó Újváry, Ilona Jó Nagy, Dorottya Szentes and Katalin Beneczky who also stood trial for their role in the murders as well as Borbála Boróka Libalány, a young girl who is brought into the Countess’s castle to serve her. Erzsébet takes a liking to Boróka, even allowing her to attend the sessions in the Gynaeceum. Boróka, raised by her adoptive father, never knew of her origins but discovers a mysterious rosewood box that offers not only clues that may lead her to her truth but much more. The narrative follows these characters through the events leading up to the allegations and subsequent trial.

I was captivated by the author’s exquisite writing, masterful storytelling and great attention to detail. The vivid imagery of the castle enables us to visualize the dark and eerie setting of the story and feel the evil lurking in the corners. With complex characters, dark and Gothic vibes and an atmospheric setting, this was a gripping read that kept me hooked until the very last page. The author presents the Countess as a woman with a traumatic past with a legacy of loss that she keeps buried, as a mother who has seen her daughters married and settled, as a lonely widow who devotes time instructing young girls from other noble families on etiquette and as a powerful woman whose wealth and power might have posed a threat to her male counterparts. Yes, the young servant girls working in the castle were treated harshly and yes, the episodes describing girls being treated for their ailments are difficult to read but the author compels us to ponder over the allegations brought against the Countess and question the legitimacy of these claims and the evidence presented against the Countess. Was she truly a depraved killer guilty of these heinous crimes or was she the victim of a conspiracy strategically designed to strip a widowed noblewoman of her wealth and power?

Do read the richly detailed Author’s Note where she discusses the characters and events that inspired this meticulously researched, thought-provoking and absorbing novel.

This was my first time reading Sonia Velton and I can’t wait to explore more of her work.

Many thanks to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. show less

Many thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Sonia Velton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

This story is inspired from the real life of Anna Maria Garthwaite, a prominent designer of Spitalfields silks in the mid-eighteenth century. This story tells the tale of two characters, Esther and Sara who come from very different worlds. Esther is married to a Hugenot master silk weaver and although she is show more kept busy doing charity work and running the household, she craves something more. She loves to paint but what she really wants to do is design silks. But these are not times when women should want things and Esther has not done her most important job, which is to bear children, especially a son. Only a son can inherit his father’s trade and making silks has been in the Thorel family for generations. Sara, on the other hand, has been sent by her mother to London to try and make a better life for herself. She is quickly taken advantage of and before she even knows what is happening to her becomes a prostitute. Sara also yearns for more and doesn’t see why she shouldn’t have a good life. One day Esther takes notice of Sara and reaches out to help her. Sara goes to work for the Thorels and before long becomes Esther’s lady maid. This is not the life Sara envisioned for herself, emptying her lady’s chamber pot and doesn’t understand why, because of birth, she is relegated to a life of servitude. Esther is so ignorant of Sara’s life, yet she also wants to break out of the chains set upon her by the world. Esther dares to take up with Lambert, who is using Mr. Thorel’s loom to create his masterpiece and hopefully one day become a master weaver. Slowly he teaches Esther how to create a pattern and weave silk. Both woman yearn for a different life, but can they make it happen?

This one caught me by surprise. I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for but boy was I surprised. Then, to find out that it was inspired by real events - really incredible. This story is beautifully laid out, really exploring both women’s desires and the many sides there are to women. Velton stays true to their characters and never do they fall into some neat package, behaving as you would expect. You have the class struggle between Sara and Esther. Esther feels Sara should be so grateful to her for “rescuing” her, but Sara has a different perspective. Both women are pushing back against the narrow role of women in that century and have forward thinking views. The men in their lives, sadly, don’t care to see them for anything other than what they should be. So you have all of these different things at play and as a backdrop you have a volatile story of the weavers revolting against the masters. There is a strict hierarchy of weavers, similar to class structure and Lambert is striving to be something more. Then the master weavers are trying to keep their trade alive amongst the influx of new fabrics from India and China. I loved learning about the silk trade and never does the story become convoluted. There is a clear pace that accelerates with the heightened fervour of the tradesmen with time running out for both Sara and Esther. I enjoyed this read so much and was very engrossed in the story. Strong writing kept this story intact and I couldn’t put it down. show less

‘Blackberry and Wild Rose’, the debut novel of Sonia Velton, is entrancing. So many novels are hyped prior to publication but disappoint on reading. This does not. Carefully imagined and cleverly plotted, it kept me reading until the end. It reminded me of Tracy Chevalier’s early novels in which the reader is immersed in a historical world down to the smallest detail.
‘Blackberry and Wild Rose’ tells the story of two women in eighteenth century Spitalfields, London, where the houses show more are full of weavers and looms clatter every hour of daylight, set alongside the everyday noise, bustle and smells of market stalls, shops, inns and bawdy houses. In 1768, Sara Kemp arrives in Spitalfields from the country, sent away from home by her mother for something she does not understand. Obviously alone and lost, she is taken up by Mrs Swann and put to work in her brothel. Esther Thorel is an Englishwoman married to a Huguenot master of silk. Dissatisfied with her life with a husband obsessed by his business, Esther paints naturalistic flowers which she longs to see reproduced in silk. Dismissed by her husband, instead she fulfils the role expected by her husband and does good works with other Huguenot wives. When the paths of the two women cross one day outside the Wig and Feathers tavern, the lives of many people change. Sara, trying to escape Mrs Swann, must pay an unaffordable sum of money for her freedom. Esther pays the debt and employs her as maidservant in her household. Esther’s husband Elias is unaware of Sara’s background. Both women are blind to each other’s plight. Esther sees Sara as a charitable case, simply helped; Sara despises Esther’s inability to see the truth in front of her nose. It is apparent that there is one set of rules for men, another for women. Though so different, Sara and Esther are essentially trapped by their sex and by their roles, and dependent on the prosperity of the Thorel silk business.
Eighteenth century silk weaving was a highly competitive business, threatened by the import of light, cheap printed cottons imported by the East India Company. As the margins of the masters, including Thorel, are cut, the wages of their journeymen weavers are cut too. The weavers gather together in ‘combinations’, early trade unions, to press their case. Some are militant, issuing ultimatums. Some are violent. As this instability threatens the Thorel livelihood, Esther and Sara individually set off on paths which lead them into a conflict which ends in death. Both must make decisions; to tell the truth and suffer, or to lie and survive.
The woman are credible, contradictory, selfish, generous, often peevish and unlikeable. They are not modern women, with the morals and expectations of modern life, placed into a historical setting. Although both are independent and often wilful, they are eighteenth century women and so may not be to the taste of some readers. The men are similarly selfish, ambitious, deceitful and nasty – with one or two exceptions – and utterly believable. These are not stereotypes, there are characters which redeem faith in human nature, but this is not a novel in which the role of women is enhanced from the factual truth of the time. The story ends with a trial at which the judge says, ‘I understand that all this is difficult for you – a servant and a woman – to understand…’ But the men in this story underestimate the women at their peril.
The story of Esther, silk designer, is loosely based on the real Anna Maria Garthwaite, whose patterns and silks can be seen in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. The title of the novel is one of Esther’s designs. Excellent.
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