This is an absolutely stunning character driven historical fiction novel about Juliet, a single 38 year old woman in the 1930s. Set in the UK, Juliet is one of many women still affected by the Great War. WW I took her fiancé and her brother. She’s been unsuccessful in finding a husband but is determined to find a way to make meaning in her life. 

Juliet works as a typist, not something she is passionate about, but a job available to women and it helps her to barely make ends meet. She decides to take up embroidery with the local cathedral in hopes of making something to outlast her life. 

Embroidery takes her on a journey, learning stitches, meeting other women, and eventually meeting a man twenty years her senior named Arthur. 

This story is so incredibly rich and engaging but it is a very slow build to the eventful last fourth of the book. If you can settle in to enjoy the slow and rich set up, the end is well worth the wait.