A Tapestry of Light

 

Kimberly Duffy writes historical fiction that grabs her readers and makes them think.  A Tapestry of Light is no exception to that.  Most of the time I won't take the time to read the author's notes, because I am more interested in the story being told.  This time I did take the time to read it and I find that Kimberly has opened up her inner self in the notes and put herself into the book.  

Ottilie is the orphaned daughter of a British scientist and an Indian woman, and she also is the guardian of her little brother, Thaddeus.  Just a few short months after her mother dies, someone comes looking for her brother to take him back to England to inherit his title. Because of her parentage and her looks, she is not accepted in the English world or in the Indian world.  The only place she feels she belongs is with her brother and her grandmother. Now this interloper named Everett has upset the calm order of Ottilie's world. When her grandmother dies from the sudden onset of cholera, Ottilie decides that she will go back to England with her brother because there is nothing left in India for her. 

When Ottilie finally arrives in England, she finds just how unaccepted she is in her own family's home. Because of her coloring and her resemblance to her mother, she is looked down upon as less than.  When her father's mother and her aunt decide to send Thaddeus to school, she decides to go to London to be nearer to her brother and find work as an embroiderer for a modiste.  Ottilie's talent lies in using beetle wings in her embroidery and it is becoming quite the rage in London.  She is the only one with a source and the talent to use the wings. 

With the unrest among the races that is current in today's world, Kimberly has brought out the unrest that has been prevalent for generations.  She has also brought out the struggle to make faith something personal and something worth pursuing.  This is one of those books that won't be forgotten soon.  The other thing Kimberly does and does well is her descriptive settings that come alive in the reader's mind. If books could share the sights and scents of a setting, this one certainly could. 

This is a five-star book with two thumbs up and a beautifully embroidered dress for your next ball. 

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.