A Silken Thread

A Silken Thread by Kim Vogel Sawyer   352 pages

I loved Kim Vogel Sawyer’s “Bringing Maggie Home,” and I jumped at the chance to review her latest book, “A Silken Thread.” This historical novel takes place in Atlanta and during the Atlanta Cotton Exposition of 1895.

When the story opens, eighteen-year-old Laurel Millard has a surprise visit from her six older siblings. They are concerned about their sixty-year-old mother. They feel that Laurel must give up her dreams of a husband, a home and a family to take care of Mama in her dotage. I admit that I laughed out loud at that. Sixty isn’t old, well by today’s standards. But in the late nineteenth century, that was considered elderly. Still it was a great laugh.

Laurel, wanting to please her much older siblings, stunned by their demand, neither agrees nor disagrees, but below the surface she fumes. How dare they ask her to abandon her dream! Although, she is recovering from a broken heart, she understands that she can still find a man. Oh that sound so quaint, but that’s the way it was back then.

Laurel and her mother don’t have a lot of money. Papa’s death didn’t leave then destitute, but they weave rugs and other items that they sell for extra income. Laurel changes her reasoning, feeling she must set her sights on a wealthy man, one who would be willing to take Mama into his household.

In order to meet these types of men, Laurel gets a job in the Silk Room at the Exposition. There she weaves the raw silk into cloth while her co-workers enlighten visitors with how silk is produced.

Across town, the wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Rochester give their son, Langdon, an ultimatum: find a wife or lose his inheritance. Langdon finds that special someone, someone who is pretty and obedient, when he spots Laurel on the fairgrounds.

An unlikely romance begins to take shape, until Laurel meets another man, one of the fair’s security guards, Willie Sharp. She and Willie become friends, but Langdon isn’t convinced. As the romance plays out, reads get to see various aspects of the Exposition, which are quite interesting and made me want to know about this event.

Against the backdrop of the Exposition, author Vogel Sawyer tackle racism in all its ugly forms. Willie’s best friend is Quincy, a hot-headed young African American man. 

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It seemed that dragged a bit in the middle. I felt as if the same scenes were being replayed over several times, in various ways.  Therefore,  “A Silken Thread” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.