Customer Reviews

Figures in Silk CD

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

Vanora Bennett's fascinating historical novel, "Figures in Silk," opens in mid-fifteenth century England. After a long dynastic civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, peace finally appears to be at hand and Edward Plantagenet of York is now King of England. His right-hand man is his youngest brother, Richard of Gloucester. The handsome, charismatic Edward is finally restoring order to a land ravaged by years of continuous warfare. And, as life begins to improve, business once again thrives, especially amongst the merchants of London.

One such merchant, John Lambert, a silk trader, has two daughters - the stunningly beautiful Jane, and the lovely but plainer Isabel, who possesses the brains in the family. Lambert arranges marriages for both young women. Isabel is to marry the gawky, boorish Thomas Claver to cement relationships between Lambert and the wealthy widow Alice Claver, a respected silkwoman known as a "force of nature" in the business. Jane, with her white blonde hair and emerald eyes, is to wed shy Will Shore.

About one hundred years earlier, the "Black Death" killed 30-40% of England's population, almost 2 million men, women and children. With the population so low, there were not enough people to work the land. As a result, many girls, who would never find husbands, were encouraged to train in the guilds. Thus, women such as Alice Claver had an opportunity to apprentice at a trade and rise in the business world. She became a silkwoman, "a spinster of silk," and a success - independent in her own right - in the 15th century!!.

Isabel, for all her intelligence, is miserable because she is a romantic at heart and had imagined a marriage based on love, not on business. Jane is more practical and doesn't mind her arranged marriage. Isabel's and Jane's fortunes are to change, with their new civil status, much more than they ever dreamed.

King Edward, as a boon to John Lambert, attends the new brides' joint wedding feast. Lambert, a strong supporter of the Yorkist cause, in bad times and good, had loaned Edward money when he was impoverished and in exile. To Edward, these deeds merit his attendance. The king also is not adverse to demonstrating to Londoners how he values loyalty. It is here that Edward IV sees Jane Lambert Shore for the first time. She will soon become his "merry mistress" for the rest of his life. Isabel also has a chance meeting of her own, with a dark and brooding stranger. Unbeknownst to her, he is Richard, Duke of Gloucester. She is asked to call him "Dickon," and is not to learn his true identity until years later, They too begin an affair which will last his lifetime.

Widowed shortly after her marriage, Isabel asks her mother-in-law to allow her to apprentice in the silk trade rather than return to her father's house and be married-off again. Isabel begins at the bottom of the ladder, ruining her once lovely white hands. She works with the poorest girls whose job it is to throw and twist silk and turn seams from dawn to dusk. She learns to love the glorious, exotic fabric from Italy, Persia, Spain, and places far beyond.

While Jane spends her life at court with the king, Isabel becomes adept at her job, and within a few years immerses herself, with Alice Claver and various associates, in the ruthless battle for the world's silk trade. Originally, through Jane's court connections, later through her own, Isabel has access to the king and is able to petition him on matters of business. She will eventually attempt to subvert the Venetian silk monopoly. She wants to establish silk making as an English trade. The English merchants bitterly resent the Italians, who control the trade secrets of weaving silk and are able to charge what they like. This anti-Italian bitterness is fueled by the Lombards, who reside in London and act as both silk cloth salesmen and bankers to London mercers. One Italian who is able to pass on the secrets of the trade is Geoffredo D'Amico, a man who figures largely in the novel's plot.

As an historical novel about Edward IV's court with it's political intrigues, sexual lasciviousness, etc., I would judge this a mediocre book. This same history, of Edward, Elizabeth Woodville, etc., has been written about as fiction over and over again, and better. In the author's favor, however, Edward's story only serves as a backdrop for more interesting plots and subplots. Vanora Bennett's take on Richard III is a bit more original. However, what makes "Figures in Silk " so interesting is the author's account of the silk trade in all its wonderful detail. Her descriptions of the weaving of silk, fabric design, the making of braids, ribbons, girdles, and trimmings, are absolutely absorbing - really fascinating - as is her take on the business side of politics between the Lombards and the Londoner's. Recommended, especially for historical fiction fans.

Jana Perskie

I really enjoyed this book. I found the style easy to read and very descriptive without being distracting and overly dull. There were many different plot twists and turns and you really weren't sure how it was going to end up until the last page -- I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. on Easter to finish it.

Historically, I was interested to read the author's background information. Most of the characters (Jane Shore, Alice Claver, "Anne" (Alice Pratt), etc) are actually part of the historical record. Isabel appears to be a composite of several women of that period and where the author is able to take the most license.

I also appreciated the fact that this was not a thinly disguised bodice ripper like so many of the new historical fiction books dealing with the Tudor era. I did find the descriptions of Isabel's relationship with the Duke to be a bit tedious after awhile but overall, it was a very worthwhile read and has me interested in reading more about the War of the Roses. I'm also now interested in reading Vanora Bennett's first novel and hope it as enjoyable as this one was.

Vanora Bennett introduces the historical fiction reader to an exciting new world in `Figures in Silk,' a novel of the textile trade in fifteenth century London. It is the story of Jane Shore, known in history footnotes as King Edward IV's `merry mistress,' and her younger sister, Isabel, who marries the heir to a textile dynasty. Both girls are the daughters of a noted London cloth merchant and, as the novel opens, are being married off to men of their father's choosing. While Jane's life is certainly dramatic - she meets King Edward at her wedding feast and both are 'fool struck' - it is the soon widowed Isabel and her gritty determination to master the textile trade that centers the novel.

Isabel is an intriguing character - she is ambitious, dedicated, both shrewd and naive, but most of all, she is willing to learn and to work hard. The merchants and artisans of the City of London provide an interesting background; Bennett creates real, solid, distinct characters who live in the city - we see the plight of women in the cloth trade - as laws and customs keep them from competing with men on an equal footing. And we also see Isabel in love with the mysterious and unattainable soldier that she meets at the book's onset.

Bennett does a craftsman's job of weaving all the threads together in her tapestry. The focus remains on Isabel and her attempt to bring the manufacture of silk to London. Jane's meteoric rise and fall at court provides further historical perspective.

I greatly enjoyed reading 'Figures in Silk.' The novel's strong points are the choice of subject - the Shore girls and the cloth trade - it's nice to read about commoners for once, the arresting portrait of the City of London and its merchants and artisans, and the strong characterizations. These became people that I really liked and cared about. The major flaw, for me, is that the novel's last quarter felt a bit rushed.

I'm Sorry But I Have To Be Honest, I thought this book was just horrid. I can not believe that Vanora Bennett wrote this. I read and loved 'Portrait of an Unknown Woman' and would recommend that book, I can't recommend this to anyone.

I have so many criticisms that I'm going to have to stay focused. I thought the writing itself was awkward, stumbling and difficult. The characters were not at all developed even the main character Isabel. The emotions and the events that unfold do not ring true and there is an all over lack of period detail.

There were many strange references to Isabel's father as John Lambert. For example, 'As for the younger brother, the Duke of Gloucester (an eighteen year old veteran whom Isabel remembered John Lambert describing with awestruck reverence after seeing him at King Edward's mass in April), in Anne Pratte's view he was an out-and-out thief.'

Generally when a character recalls what her father told her you would expect him to be described as 'her father' same goes for her sister. But that was not the case in this book and I found it strange and awkward.

I also found an inordinate number of semicolons and commas. Here's an example 'Trying to imagine what it would be like for your father to die, all that came to her mind was sounds: the snuffles of women weeping; the banging of her hammer, nailing down a coffin lid, nailing shut the door of her home; the chilly quiet of Cheapside by night, for those with nowhere to go; the scuttling of rats.' Which got me wondering, where was the editor; where was the English teacher?

There was also a theme of contradiction. The author would describe one state of being only to contradict it almost immediately with something completely opposite. Here's just one example, 'All she had energy to do was to curl up alone on her grand empty marriage bed, stretching out her cramped muscles, whispering to Thomas as she rubbed warmth back into her blue-white fingers.' Is she curling up or stretching out?

I have read quite a few books set during this period of time and there were so many actual betrayals and reversals of fortune that there is hardly the need to concoct ridiculous and unbelievable events to further a story set during this period in time. I found the author guilty of just that. Her character Isabel's actions failed to follow logic again and again. And the coincidences that worked in her favor were similarly difficult to believe.

I can honestly recommend any other book I've read set during this time period. If you want to read something really wonderful about the War of the Roses try Sharon Kay Penman's 'The Sunne In Slendour'.

If the author had thrown this in the trash bin and started over with a story that focused on the silk trade she might have had something half way interesting to read. As it is the silk story was a weak thread woven into a poorly fabricated story.

*.*.*. SPOILER ALERT .*.*.*

Things that I found completely ridiculous:

Isabel couldn't trust Alice to meet with Will Hastings because she would take all the credit for the silk weaving deal with the king. It was Alice who put the idea in her head in the first place. It made no sense.

Were we really supposed to believe that all the little silk women were a match for Thomas Howard and his men-at-arms when they came to arrest Jane Shore?

And when suddenly Isabel saves Dorset because she just couldn't leave him? He made her skin crawl but now she and all of her friends are going to save him and smuggle him to safety out of the country? Please!

*.*.*.END of SPOILERS .*.*.*

If you are dying to read this I suggest you borrow it from the library and save your money for 'Portrait of an Unknown Woman' by Vanora Bennett or 'The Sunne In Splendour' by Sharon Kay Penman.

I had my doubts when I purchased this novel, having read some negative thoughts on it and having hated Anne Easter Smith's version of the War of the Roses. This suprised me, however, at almost every turn. Isabel and Jane are sisters who are married off to strangers while Edward is taking control of England's kingship. Isabel is widowed quickly and takes to her mother in law's silk business against her own father's wishes. Jane gets a divorce from her husband and becomes a harlot for the king and the king's men. While Isabel becomes a working woman and starts a lucrative silk industry right there at Westminster, Jane lives a frivolous life of luxury and sex. During all this, Isabel falls in love with Richard, whom she does not realize will one day be king. There are many surprising twists and turns and Isabel realizes that the man she loves is not so kind and wonderful after all as he fights "dirty" to attain the crown for himself. Can she continue to love and cherish a man that kills his best friend, imprisons her sister, disowns his own brothers, shames his mother, and plans to marry his own niece?

I would have preferred Jane to have more depth. I thought she was almost an irrelevant addition to the novel. On the other hand, Isabel is an unforgettable character. There were times in her moral struggles over Richard (Dickon, I should say) that I lost respect for her, but she gained it back in the end. The choices and dilemmas she faces are not easy to solve.

Little too much detail sometimes about materials and cloth. It is, however, a novel of the silk trade as well as war and love tho.

I like historical fictions so I had high hopes for this novel. I possess little knowledge of this period in English history so I can't comment on the level of accuracy. I can say for me this book did a good job of creating the atmosphere of late 15th century London. The main character, Isabel, is spirited and free minded. She's very real, and it was exciting to see her interact with the business world of this time period.

For me the book kept getting better! When I stared the novel I picked up the book when I could, by the time I was half way through I was making sure the book was always at hand so whenever I could spare a minute it was available. Near the end I could not put the book down. I found that the novel had no truly good or bad characters. For example, characters that you think are going to make life hard for Isabel at the start of the novel end up being her good friends by the end. The opposite is also true.

Figures in Silk is the story of Jane and Isabel two sisters who are from a wealthy merchant family. The novel takes place during the War of the Roses, which is a time I haven't read a lot about.

When I read the summary I thought it would be a tale about two sisters. Well, two sisters were in the book, but I really didn't feel as if the story focused on them enough. The reader gets a very good understanding of Isabel, the brilliant silk woman who makes a name for herself after her husband's death (which was predictable). Then we have Jane who seems to smile and giggle a lot and becomes the mistress of the king. That's pretty much it, and I wanted more.

As I was reading this story it felt as if I was missing something. I didn't feel as if the sister's relationships was compelling enough. They didn't feel like sisters to me and I wish there had been more interaction between them.

The story dragged at times and was a little predictable. Also I found the passages where the author was trying to explain the members of the royal family seemed convoluted at times. The historical detail on the silk industry was very interesting, but it wasn't enough to make this a great novel.

Overall, a good effort but not the greatest.

I honestly can't even think of a worse book at this time. I'm only giving one star to "Figures in Silk." Usually, I can find at least something I like about a book, but I honestly couldn't say a single good thing about this one. Not only were the characters, plot, and writing all horrid, but the book was so drawn-out and long... I've never felt so robbed of time as I did when I finally put this dud of a book down. Oh why oh why did I even finish it? I kept hoping it would actually get to a point and possibly get interesting. No such luck.

To keep this short, here are the main reasons I hated this book:

1. I knew picking up this book that a part of the story would be the silk trade. However, I had no idea that quite possibly every single detail of the 15th century London silk trade business the author could dig up would be in the book. It would go on for pages and pages. I would actually "zone out" for a good portion of the book and even skim over when the author started going on about the silk trade (I've never actually done that before).

2. The synopsis states that it is about two sisters, Isabel and Jane, which is not true. Almost the entire story centers on Isabel and the whole silk weaving/trade she has going on. Jane, who in my opinion is a lot more interesting and likable, barely makes an appearance in the book. Her story about being the mistress to the king would have made the story much more interesting (but the author is such a bad writer I'm sure she would have botched that too). However, her being a mistress is basically just mentioned in the book. Jane, while having a more interesting story, is still a flat character (like everyone else) and at best a ditz.

3. Since a good 90-98% of the book focused on Isabel, I will explain why I couldn't stand this character. Now at first, I liked her. Tragedy befalls her, and instead of taking the easy way out, she asserts her independence and shows great spirit by going into the silk trade business. She becomes a driven (to a fault), intelligent business woman and "sets up shop." Then the story gets ridiculous... she meets a man named Dickon, whom she basically just becomes his mistress, meeting him sporadically at an Inn for a roll in the hay... and at one point a boat ride... for a roll in the dingy, I suppose. She apparently falls madly in love with him and looses all her common sense and dignity. Dickon does something totally cruel and evil and yet she easily looks past it all and still clings onto him. She is completely ridiculous and by the end of the book I had absolutely no respect for her. The author didn't even develop the character well enough or let us into her thoughts to explain her actions, which was frustrating. Oh goodness, the ending made me so frustrated I couldn't even describe it. She basically doesn't learn a lesson at all and continues in all her horrible selfishness.

4. The writing in general is just bad. The writing itself is awkward and it seems like there was no editor (run on sentences, over use of semi-colons and repetition galore). The writing is non-descriptive unless of course, she's talking about the darn silk again. The plot is boring, flimsy, and much of the book ask you to suspend way too much belief. The characters are not well developed and do not provide any insight whatsoever.

*****BEGINNING OF SPOILER ALERT****** :

I absolutely couldn't believe how stupid Isabel is. She's Dickon's mistress for 10+ years and she never once had a spark of common sense or thought about this? Hello, girl, you're this guy's booty call! Dickon kills innocent people, including children. Worse yet (for Isabel) he kills his sister's love and imprisons her! Yet Isabel doesn't even stand up for her poor sis... I'm guessing perhaps the author doesn't have a sister? The author makes a poor attempt by having Isabel throw a little foot stomping tantrum about it, then just melting into his evil arms again. Hello! Your sister is in jail after her lover was murdered!

I hated her from this point on, and this is supposed to be the main character who you are supposed to cheer on! I actually wanted something bad to happen to her just so she could learn a lesson. Yet worse still, at the end, she ends up with the Italian guy. Her line of thinking was basically, "oh he's nice and he'll treat me well... marrying him would improve my business and I could make more money." After ALL that and she's still insanely selfish and didn't learn a darn thing?! I almost started running around screaming like a madwoman from the frustration of it all!!!!

****END OF SPOILER ALERT*******

Please, please, please do not waste your time. I read quite a lot of books and am a fan of historical fiction, especially of ones in this setting. I was at first very excited to read a pre-Tudor London novel. A friend lent this book to me without telling me anything about it. When I returned it, I said, "I have to be honest-I hated it." She agreed with me! I don't know why she didn't warn me, so now I always ask her opinion before I read one of her borrowed books! haha But if I can save at least someone from reading this trash, I might feel a little better.

I received an advanced proof of this book, and let me just tell you, it was well done ~ it was very smooth in the storyline, and very gripping: I ended up reading the book the entire day long, because I just didn't want to put it down! This great story revolves around two sisters, the main one, Isabel, and her sister, Jane, who are brought up well-to-do daughters of a successful silk merchant, both who eventually get embroiled in the court politics & uncertainty of early court life in England: The author wrote about a few 'encounters', but kept them more general & not too specific, so the content of the story is mature, but not graphic, which I appreciated.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read a good, gripping story, especially those who are interested in historically based fiction like this ~ very gripping, I just couldn't put it down until I reached the end!!