Black Silk and Sympathy
Challinor, Deborah
A dazzling new series from bestselling historical fiction author Deborah Challinor, exploring the fascinating world of Victorian funeral customs and featuring Sydney's first female undertaker. 'Men have been undertakers for hundreds of years. Not women, men. You don't belong.' Sydney, 1865. Seventeen-year-old Tatiana Caldwell travels from London to make a new life. Her path leads her to Crowe Funeral Services, where she apprentices under the tutelage of Titus Crowe, the enigmatic owner. Tatty finds herself drawn to the fascinating conventions of the funeral trade - plumed horses and processions, mutes and mortuary trains, flowers and finery - as well as the more visceral new practice of embalming. Soon she marries, and after the sudden death of her husband, Titus, she becomes Sydney's first female undertaker. Her hard-won stability is shattered when Elias Nuttall, a ruthless rival in the funeral trade, accuses Tatty of murdering her husband. Facing public scorn and legal peril, Tatty gathers an unlikely band of allies in a battle to clear her name. Harper Collins. Taken from book blurb.
Comments from BDS Reviewers
"Gripping, fast, easy read."
"Includes some interesting information regarding the business of undertaking."
"Fans of Deborah Challinor will enjoy this novel. Her meticulous research meant I was hooked into Tatty Crowe's world from the very first page."
"1860s Sydney is well-depicted. I particularly enjoyed the lengthy author notes in which she describes beautifully the setting for this book."
"At its core it is a novel about the indomitable human spirit and the unquestionable strength of a young woman finding her place in the world."
"The characterisation is not as impressive as the research."
384
2024