The Sewing Room Girl by Susanna Bavin

"She examined fabrics, making notes on colour, texture, weight and width. She used a few precious coins to purchase samples of ribbon, braid, piping and lace trim. She drew a selection of buttons, then went into Ladies' Accessories to make more notes. She already had one costume pretty well complete inside her head. Before she left the shop, she bought some offcuts so she could start work on new samples".

The Sewing Room Girl by Susanna Bavin is a compelling story, a powerful portrayal of the women's lot in the late 19C - early 20C. It brings to light the struggles which women faced during not such a distant past.
It is deeply moving and perfectly paced.

We first meet Juliet Harper in 1892, at her Pop's funeral. Juliet and her mother Agnes are left to fend for themselves. Having heard of Agnes's reputation with a needle, Lady Drysdale offers her a job of a personal seamstress, a live-in position. Juliet moves with her mother to Moorside.
There she is immediately accosted by one of the maids who's got a chip on her shoulder, begrudging Juliet's position in the manor house's hierarchy.

Agnes is torn between feeling proud of her new position as a personal seamstress and resenting her cramped room which she has to share with her daughter.
The villagers are half-expecting her to move back to Manchester to her estranged family, but Agnes knows that her mother - who happens to be a factory owner - would never let her go back.

All her married life she's been malcontent with her lot, as she sees her marriage as a mésalliance.
"The life I could have had, the career Mother planned for me, is going to happen, in a different sort of way, of course, but it feels as if I yearned for it for so long that I've made it come true. But what a price to pay".

There is a difficult dynamics between the mother and daughter. Juliet is showing a great talent in drawing, and is taking lessons to improve her artistic skills. Agnes is jealous of her daughter's success, and takes credit for her work.

In the meantime Juliet meets Hal Price, the head gardener's grandson, whose dream is to become a garden designer.

Tragically Agnes is dying of cancer, leaving Juliet to fend for herself. She's young and pretty, and a fair game for the local predators. His Lordship's agent, Mr Nugent, is relentless in his pursuit. Juliet is aghast but endures his advances for the sake of her mother. When her mother dies, she is totally defenceless.

Hal is not there to help, he pursues his dream, working on the garden designs elsewhere.
There is an immediate bond forged between the two, but now Agnes hides a dark secret. As they grow closer, a sequence of harrowing and traumatic events brings them apart.
(Having reached this point in the novel, I stopped reading for several days, as I found it quite hard to read. I needed a pause to get back to it. This is a testament to the power of writing, and not a criticism).

Agnes flees to Manchester, hoping to find her grandmother and aunt and seeking their support. The grandmother is a cruel, bullying termagant, who is prepared to "provide a stable background" for Juliet, suffocating her psychologically and keeping her as a slave.

Her grandmother would stop at nothing to crush Juliet's spirit, bend her to do her bidding and keep Juliet and Hal apart.

Juliet is a great protagonist, she is intelligent, creative and strong, we watch her personality develop from a vulnerable child to an accomplished businesswoman. Her dressmaking business is growing into a success, despite all the difficulties thrown at her.
Her best friend and confidante Cecily - who used to work in the same manor house, as young Juliet - is another woman of great courage.

This is a great period drama which depicts the challenges of life for women at the beginning of the 20C.
The historical background is well-researched and gives a great insight into the times, social division and rigid mores. I enjoyed all the details and setting of the dressmaking business, from drafting a future piece on paper to choosing fabrics and accessories.

The Sewing Room Girl is a gripping tale of a young woman's plight to overcome her social circumstances and obstacles to make a career and find love. It's one of those stories which stays in your memory long after you finished the last page.

Potential triggers: rape/sexual abuse, death from cancer, forced adoption.

Many thanks to Susanna Bavin for my copy of the book!

P.S. The embroidered sachet in the photos was a gift from my late friend Anne, who worked on it when she was about 12 years old, so before WWII. The yellowed silk handkerchief is a gift from her as well, and goes back to the Victorian times.