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The Mallow Years #1
Shining Threads
This book continues the story of the family who dominated The Mallow Years. Set in the Lancashire hills at a time of war abroad and searing poverty at home, this is the story of a headstrong girl and the men who love her.
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
8 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Audrey Howard
63 books51 followersAudrey Howard was born on 1929 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK, and grew up in St Annes on Sea, Lancashire, where she lives in her childhood home.
Before she began to write she had a variety of jobs, among them hairdresser, model, shop assistant, cleaner and civil servant. In 1981, while living in Australia, she wrote the first of her bestselling novels published since 1984. In 1988, her novel The Juniper Bush won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Before she began to write she had a variety of jobs, among them hairdresser, model, shop assistant, cleaner and civil servant. In 1981, while living in Australia, she wrote the first of her bestselling novels published since 1984. In 1988, her novel The Juniper Bush won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 14, 2021
I actually ended up enjoying Shining Threads. At the start I hated Tessa Greenwood and her two cousins. They were shallow, self-absorbed, entitled and obnoxious. In fact, the whole book reminded me of Gone with the Wind, both novels being epic family sagas with a sweeping love story; a conceited, unlikeable female protagonist, fortunes lost, devastation and interesting secondary characters. While I never totally warmed to Scarlett O'Hara, I did with Tess. She grew from a spoilt, materialistic teenage brat who deliberately used her female charms to get her own way, to a woman of strength and compassion. When Tessa was reduced to nothing with the death of her husband and the loss of the cotton trade, she started to rebuild from the ashes with determination, intelligence and strength of character. Like Scarlett, she was a survivor
All the characters in Shining Threads were vivid and I couldn't get them out of my head despite disliking many of them. However, my favourite was Will Broadbent. He did annoy me on occasion but he was swarthy, hard working and dashing, and swept young Tessa off her feet. Like Scarlett and Rhett, Tessa and Will's relationship was turbulent and addictive. He knew Tessa for who she really was, and still love her.
The pictures of the cotton mills and the moors where Tessa and her cousins loved to ride were lush and vibrant. However, there were times where the descriptions were lengthy and it would have been better had the author used fewer words.
Despite the slow start, and nearly 600 pages, I found Shining Threads very entertaining and by the midway point I was totally captivated in the lives of Tessa, Will and the others.
All the characters in Shining Threads were vivid and I couldn't get them out of my head despite disliking many of them. However, my favourite was Will Broadbent. He did annoy me on occasion but he was swarthy, hard working and dashing, and swept young Tessa off her feet. Like Scarlett and Rhett, Tessa and Will's relationship was turbulent and addictive. He knew Tessa for who she really was, and still love her.
The pictures of the cotton mills and the moors where Tessa and her cousins loved to ride were lush and vibrant. However, there were times where the descriptions were lengthy and it would have been better had the author used fewer words.
Despite the slow start, and nearly 600 pages, I found Shining Threads very entertaining and by the midway point I was totally captivated in the lives of Tessa, Will and the others.
July 31, 2022
The book is about Tessa, who together with her cousins were heirs of cotton milling industrialists in Lancashire. She was a pretty, impudent, supercilious teen whose ambition was to “climb up” in society and live a good, easy life.
At first, I disliked Tessa for her utter disregard for responsibility, the elder’s hard work, the peril and challenges of the workers.
As fate would have it, Tessa could not live “happily ever after”. Life gave her BIG crooked twists and turns. Whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. 😔😖
What I loved about Tessa, was how she overcome the challenges. How she found her sense of purpose, how she rose stronger and wiser, like a phoenix.
The book was set in the 1800s (before the American Civil War) and long before women were accepted to think, express their opinions and work in a business setting.
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“Gentlemen have told us for so long that we are not made as they are, that our minds are not as theirs, that we are inferior to them in all but one thing, that our brains are incapable of dealing with anything more complicated than a menu, but you know that is not true dear. - Kit Greenwood
At first, I disliked Tessa for her utter disregard for responsibility, the elder’s hard work, the peril and challenges of the workers.
As fate would have it, Tessa could not live “happily ever after”. Life gave her BIG crooked twists and turns. Whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. 😔😖
What I loved about Tessa, was how she overcome the challenges. How she found her sense of purpose, how she rose stronger and wiser, like a phoenix.
The book was set in the 1800s (before the American Civil War) and long before women were accepted to think, express their opinions and work in a business setting.
*******************************************************
“Gentlemen have told us for so long that we are not made as they are, that our minds are not as theirs, that we are inferior to them in all but one thing, that our brains are incapable of dealing with anything more complicated than a menu, but you know that is not true dear. - Kit Greenwood
October 10, 2019
This was definitely easy to read, but it's a love story that's been told and retold many times. I kept thinking of Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind). Willful girl sets sights on one man who isn't right for her or available to her and continues to shun other man who she can't figure out why she keeps thinking about him. Marries another while on the rebound from the first unattainable one, someone she knows well just because it seems like a good idea at the time...I'm not going to say any more in case you aren't familiar with the formula I don't want to give up the ending. The main reason I read it though was because it was about the cotton industry in Lancashire where a good # of my relatives worked. I am glad I read it. I do feel more informed about the history and toils and tribulations of the workers in the mills which sound horrific.
August 31, 2021
Good read
Truly riveting read as good as Mallow years quite sad in parts wish there was a follow up to it
Truly riveting read as good as Mallow years quite sad in parts wish there was a follow up to it
April 3, 2017
After I finished the Mallow Years, I have the privilege of starting this book. OK, completely tongue in cheek. I had thought this one had more potential than the previous one but it was not to be. In fact, I enjoyed the previous volume slightly more. Issues included main character motives just completely disappearing as well as loose ends that are never resolved. Oh, perhaps there is a third volume??
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews