Tracy Chevalier's newest novel is A Single Thread.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: Why did you decide to set your new novel in early 1930s Winchester, England, and how did you come up with the idea for your character Violet?--Marshal Zeringue
A: It started with the idea of setting a novel in a cathedral. Then I had to choose one, and headed to Winchester Cathedral as it has so many delicious stories attached to it – including Jane Austen being buried there.
As I looked around I came across a set of cushions and kneelers/hassocks that had been embroidered by a group of women in the 1930s, and knew right away I wanted to write about them. So that is how the early 1930s came about.
I thought I would write a gentle satire about the petty politics of a volunteer group, and all the “types” you get – the bossy one, the one drunk with power, the person who always arrives late, the one who gets bullied, the one who never says anything. So I created my heroine Violet Speedwell and dropped her into the group to see what would happen.
Very quickly, though...[read on]