After her brother and fiancé are killed in the Great War, Violet Speedwell dreads staying home with her grief-wasted mother and moves to Winchester, England, where she finds companionship among the broderers—women who embroider the kneelers for the town's great cathedral, continuing a centuries-old tradition. Alas, the sense of self she discovers is threatened by social forces and a looming second war.

Violet Speedwell is a 38-year-old surplus woman, a term used to describe women who had lost their husbands or fiancés as a result of the Great War. Having tended to her elderly and unpleasant mother, who never recovered from her own losses, Violet leaves her dull life in Southampton, England, and starts anew in the nearby town of Winchester, where she takes a low-paying job as a typist at an insurance company. In Winchester, Violet stumbles upon a group of women, the broderers, who embroider kneeling pads for parishioners at Winchester Cathedral. Their devout artistry helps shape our heroine's future in more ways than expected. Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) excels when describing the events and organizations of the time as well as the nuanced craftsmanship of needlepoint. Readers may find themselves more interested in Violet's craft than the story of how her life unfolds. VERDICT For fans of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, or readers looking to immerse themselves in the past and enjoy a tale rich in details about an overlooked art. [See Prepub Alert, 2/24/19.]—Cassandra Walsh, South Cty. Lib., Bellport, NY

Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) celebrates the embroiderers of Winchester Cathedral in this appealing story of a 38-year-old spinster who learns needlecraft from real-life embroidery pioneer Louisa Pesel. In 1932, Violet Speedwell is what newspapers of the day call a surplus woman: unmarried and likely to remain so. Working as a typist in Winchester, Violet visits the cathedral, where she admires the intricate canvas embroidery on the kneelers, cushions, and other accessories. She joins the Winchester Cathedral Broderers Group and, after an unpromising start, becomes proficient under the mentorship of group founder Louisa Pesel. A fellow embroiderer introduces Violet to Arthur Knight, a 60-year-old married bell-ringer who, like Violet, has suffered the death of a loved one. Arthur protects Violet from a stalker and takes her to the bell tower to show her the ropes. Violet's confidence grows as she learns to handle a needle, her mother, and her own desires. Chevalier excels at detailing the creative process, humanizing historical figures and capturing everyday life. With its bittersweet romance and gentle pace, Chevalier's latest may be less powerful than her best novels, but it vividly and meticulously shows how vision, teamwork, and persistence raise needlecraft from routine stitching to an inspirational and liberating art. (Sept.)