(Silver Sampler Series, Book #3)
By Nancy Jardine
An engrossing Victorian Scotland Saga (Silver Sampler Series Book 3)
Escape In Paradise Evasion
1870 Scotland
Fleeing from Peterhead, Margaret Law makes Aberdeen her refuge. Menial jobs keep her and her toddler son fed– till an unusual tutoring task boosts her finances, and self-worth. Letters to best friend Jessie contain the absolute truth, especially when Johnny Fraser re-enters her life. Is he the man for Margaret to grow old with? When better employment emerges in St. Andrews, Margaret is torn. Will the move mean losing Johnny?
When Johnny follows Margaret to St. Andrews, their life together is idyllic. But when menacing secrets unfold, will Johnny’s past indiscretions be their undoing? Will he lose the cherished family he is establishing with Margaret?
A new city promises a new beginning, but Margaret Law has learnt the hard way that security can be fleeting. With her husband dead and Peterhead firmly behind her, Margaret arrives in Aberdeen with her young son, Jamie, and the pressing need to find work. There is no fortune tucked away to support them and no certainty that the decisions she makes will be the right ones. Margaret has only her own determination, the skills she has acquired over the years, and the hope that somewhere in this unfamiliar city she can find a place for herself and her son.
Work is not something Margaret is afraid of. Sewing provides one avenue of employment, while domestic work offers another, but it is teaching that truly captures her interest. Margaret is an intelligent woman who was denied the opportunity to continue her own education, and her desire to learn has never left her. When opportunities arise for her to use that intelligence rather than simply the practical skills of her needle, another future begins to emerge — one in which Margaret may finally be able to do more than merely earn enough money to survive.
Fraying Skeins: A Continuing Scottish Saga by Nancy Jardine is a wonderfully immersive tale of a woman determined to take control of her future in a society where independence is not always easily achieved. From the busy streets of Aberdeen to St Andrews, Margaret's search for security is accompanied by friendship, romance and the possibility of fulfilling ambitions that once seemed beyond her reach.
Margaret is a wonderfully compelling protagonist. She is incredibly resourceful, but her independence is not portrayed as effortless. Every decision has practical consequences, and money is something she cannot afford to ignore. Having a child to support means that a romantic notion of simply following one's dreams is impossible. Margaret may long to teach, but sewing puts food on the table, and the realities of rent, childcare and regular employment must come before personal fulfilment. Her determination to make the most of every opportunity that comes her way is admirable, particularly because she refuses to view hard work as something beneath her.
The opportunity to tutor Clara Berrige gives Margaret a chance to demonstrate exactly how capable she is. Clara is bright, outspoken and thoroughly unimpressed by the prospect of spending her days learning the accomplishments deemed suitable for a young lady. Margaret quickly recognises that Clara needs to be challenged rather than subdued. There is something rather wonderful about watching these two characters find their rhythm together. Margaret knows what it is to desperately want an education and be denied one, while Clara has access to learning but is frustrated by the expectations placed upon her because she is a girl. Margaret's own education may have been cut short, but years of reading and self-study have ensured that her curiosity never disappeared.
There is a quiet frustration running beneath this part of the story, for Margaret is clearly intelligent enough to have achieved far more academically had she been given the opportunity. The same restrictions are visible in Clara's life, despite the differences in their social circumstances. Books, languages, mathematics and natural history all excite enquiring minds, yet what a woman is permitted to learn, where she is permitted to learn it and what she might subsequently do with that knowledge remain very different questions.
Margaret's abilities with a needle also lead her into the rather unexpected world of women's golf. When a customer requires alterations to make her clothing suitable for playing, Margaret needs to discover exactly what those alterations should be. Finding the answer proves more complicated than expected, not least because women are hardly being welcomed onto golf courses with open arms. The difficulties surrounding suitable clothing are fascinating. A dress may be perfectly fashionable while standing in a drawing room, but attempting to swing a golf club while encumbered by restrictive sleeves and layers of fabric is another matter entirely. It is a delightful piece of history to encounter and one that fits naturally with Margaret's practical approach to problems.
Then Johnny Fraser walks back into Margaret's life.
Johnny is difficult not to like. A journeyman tailor accustomed to travelling wherever work takes him, he has an easy charm and a mischievous sense of humour. He is also rather fond of women, and permanence does not initially appear very high on his list of priorities. Yet there is considerably more to Johnny than a flirtatious smile. His childhood has left its marks, employment is never guaranteed, and beneath his cheerful exterior is someone who knows what it means to have very little certainty about what comes next.
Margaret and Johnny have a natural chemistry, but it is their friendship that makes their relationship so endearing. There is laughter between them and an ease that never feels manufactured. Johnny does not expect Margaret to make herself smaller to accommodate him, while Margaret is certainly not looking for a man to rescue her. Perhaps even more charming is Johnny's relationship with Jamie. Games of tiddlywinks, stories and ordinary moments spent together gradually create a genuine affection between the two. Jamie is not treated as an inconvenience that must be accepted if Johnny wants Margaret; Johnny enjoys the little boy's company, and the warmth between them is delightful.
However, happiness has not always proved particularly dependable for Margaret. Past experiences have taught her the damage that secrets can cause, and the difference between an outright lie and a carefully avoided truth is not always as great as one might hope. There are moments when the reader desperately wants these characters to simply say what needs to be said, particularly when the alternative is allowing uncertainty to grow. Johnny may be charming, but charm does not automatically make someone an open book.
Margaret's friendship with Jessie offers another kind of love entirely. Although distance means that much of their relationship is conducted through letters, their closeness is unmistakable. Jessie can tease, encourage and chastise Margaret in equal measure, and Margaret's letters to her provide some wonderfully personal moments. Their correspondence also reinforces just how important letters were for maintaining relationships across distance. News cannot be shared instantly, and by the time a reply arrives circumstances may already have changed.
The details of everyday nineteenth-century life give this novel a wonderfully tangible setting. Lodging houses, sewing work, wages, childcare arrangements, coal fires, communal water supplies, trains, ferries and telegrams all become part of Margaret's routine. Jardine does not need to repeatedly remind the reader that this is historical fiction because the period is present in the way her characters live. Even establishing a modest home requires time, money and ingenuity, while employment can determine not only what a person earns but where they are able to live.
Although Fraying Skeins is the third novel in the Silver Sampler Series, there is enough context for a reader unfamiliar with the previous books to understand Margaret's circumstances. Her past is clearly important, and there are relationships and memories that will inevitably carry greater significance for readers who have followed her from the beginning, but Margaret's present situation provides a strong story in its own right.
Fraying Skeins: A Continuing Scottish Saga by Nancy Jardine is a warm and engaging tale of new beginnings, uncertain futures and the courage it takes to build something for yourself when very little is guaranteed. Margaret is a protagonist whose intelligence and determination make her immensely easy to champion, while Johnny's humour and Jamie's youthful enthusiasm bring plenty of warmth to the story. Yet the past has a habit of tugging at threads that one might have hoped were safely tied off, and not everything can remain neatly stitched together forever.
With wonderfully drawn characters and a fascinating portrayal of women's work, education and independence in nineteenth-century Scotland, Fraying Skeins is an absorbing historical novel that leaves the reader eager to discover what awaits Margaret next.
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Thank you, Ellie. That is a fantastic review with many insightful comments. I'm so glad you see my characters as I intend them to be. It's very heartwarming for me that you are enjoying the Silver Sampler Series. I'm also desperate to complete the next part of Margaret Law's life because there are many more circumstances - difficult and rewarding - for her to overcome.
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