The Black Velvet Gown

by Catherine Cookson

There would be times when Riah Millican came to regret that her husband had learned to read and write, and then shared his knowledge with her and their children. For this was Durham in the 1830's, when employers tended to regard the spread of education with suspicion. But now Seth Millican was dead and she was a widow with the need to find a home and a living for herself and her children.The chance of becoming a housekeeper didn't work out, but it led to Moor House and a scholarly recluse obsessed with that very book learning that could open so many doors and yet create so many problems; especially with her daughter, Biddy, who was not only bright, but witful...THE BLACK VELVET GOWN is the story of a mother and daughter, often at odds with each other, facing the need to challenge and fight the prejudice of an age--a narrative of great power and diversity that is one of Catherine Cookson's major achievements.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Historical, British Literature, Historical Romance, Classics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, who Catherine believed was her older sister. Catherine began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master.

Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary woman novelist. She received an OBE in 1985, was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993, and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997.

For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Reviews

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up thinking that Catherine Cookson was sort of a lightweight romance author, and thus I never really bothered with her. Imagine my surprise when I picked up The Black Velvet Gown, and found it to be more intricate than I expected, and written in an intelligent, sometimes stark fashion.

Riah is a young 1830s widow who finds that the fact she's been taught to read and write is more of a hindrance than a help. Her children encounter the same prejudices. Her daughter Biddy, especially, finds life quite difficult for a smart girl. Having a mind of one's own is not to be desired in the world of 19th century service.

Through a series of fortuitous circumstances, Riah ends up as a housekeeper for an educated recluse, and from this point a ball starts rolling that involves her children and everyone she loves. Whenever I thought I had a bead on how the story was going to go, it surprised me, and the twists were far more clever than I expected them to be. I am thrilled with Ms. Cookson for not taking the easy way out in her narrative - it made for a much more entertaining read from my perspective, and taught me a very important lesson regarding dismissing authors out of hand without giving them a try for myself.

[Stella Coulson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Riah is given a job at Moor House, she feels her prayers are answered. She has not only found a home, a job, her and the Master of the House develop a friendship. Mr Miller her employer tells Riah that he wishes to teach her children. Riah feels blessed by his seeming kindness but learns that the kindness has a cost and horrifying cost. I notice that many people miss a important story arch in this book. It relates to the 'Black Velvet Gown' given to Riah by Miller. She believes he is to bed her, but to her horror discovers that he has a disturbing interest in her eldest son Davey. The Black velvet gown was his payment for her son. it's so subtly done, many miss it, but once you realise Miller's motives, much of the previous dialogue and odd things he says suddenly become alarmingly clear. The revelation comes to light when Davey's reward for being a 'good pupil'(grooming him for his silence) isn't presented and begins to paw at the frightened boy who realises that the man's affection is anything but Fatherly. The sudden realisation of what had happened during his 'lessons' causes a mental break and begins to attack his abuser. Riah tells Miller that she is going to take the children away from him. He blackmails her by saying that he'll tell the Police of Davey's attack on him. In those times, position and wealth helped nefarious creatures get away with all kinds of terrors. Poor Riah is trapped with having to look after the injured Miler. Davey leaves home and finds work safely away from Moor House. She keeps her youngest sons away by keeping a watchful eye. Since Riah's daughter is blissfully unaware of the sorrowful events and sees Miller as a fatherly figure, a mentor. Her naivety makes her assume that Davey is nothing but a thug and a lout. This is another sick act Miller inflicts on the innocent family - By tearing a Mother and daughter apart. Riah's need to protect her daughter Biddy from the horrors of the house,drives a wedge between the pair. All biddy sees though her innocent eyes is that her mentor was attacked by her angry brother and that her mother fathers Davey above her. The sad truth being that Riah just wants to protect Biddy from the heartbreak on discovering that her father figure is a child abuser. Biddy grows up and becomes a accomplished heard working young woman. With her mentor who taught her French and Latin now dead, she leaves home to become a laundry servant in a grand Manor. Her kindness, intelligence draw much attention, much negative die to it being considered vulgar for the lower classes to develop airs and education. She teaches several of the other maids how to read and write. Davey also works at the Manor as a 'Stable lad'. In contrast to Davey who hides his education to fit in, Biddy defiantly flaunts it. This leads to a dreadful attack by two of the houses young Lady and Master, who string her up and beat her. She is thankfully rescued by Lawrence who has also noticed Biddy but in a more positive way. Definitely one of Cookson's strongest literary pieces. This gripping read features focuses on the difficulty in being a 'educated working class'. Cookson was often given the label of a 'Romance writer' - A term she detested due to its condescension and the fact she saw her work as 'Historical fiction'. I'd agree in the case of this book. Although Biddy finds romance within her story arch, the stark and thoughtful style gives this novel this some depth.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, and I really didn't expect to. Based on the cover and various descriptions of it and its author, I really expected another shallow, crappy 'historical fiction' (really a romance in pseudo-intellectual clothes). This, to my mind, was nothing of the sort. No, nothing sweeping or epic happens--none of the characters change the world. But they do change their worlds, and that alone was enjoyable enough to read. It really gave you a sense of the conditions of the time period.

The real draw for me was the characters, though. I loved how deeply drawn they were--no major characters here are one-dimensional. The jerks had softer, gentler sides, the kind ones had mean streaks and were capable of resentment and bitterness. People like the wrong people and dismiss the good ones mistakenly, they make mistakes. Biddy, the arguable main character, gets herself into trouble because she's got a temper and doesn't hold her tongue when that temper is high. Mr Miller is deeply, deeply complex, and I went through different shades with him. By the end of the book, I still wasn't quite sure what to make of him. They felt like real people with real struggles, and for that I adore this book.

No earth-shattering plots or anything like that here, but if you want a genuine human drama, this is for you. I highly recommend it.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many Catherine Cookson novels over the years. This writer is exceptionally prolific, and it's difficult to categorize her style; they are certainly historical, with a bit of a Gothic flair; however, many deal with deprivation and great sadness; this is one that I really love. It is about a woman who falls on hard times and seeks menial employment to survive; however, she finds a white light among the ashes of disparity and great joy. I enjoyed this book very much.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am forever buying books to get home to find I have already read the book I just purchased. It's so disappointing to sit down ready for a new story to find you have bought the book more than once.
I can only think that it was such a good story that when I read the intro on the back of the book I had to have the book in question.
So I have decided to make a list of the books I have read that I loved and this is one such book.
Was quite a few years ago that I first read this story when I was on a camping trip and it made my holiday so much better having a good book to lose myself in.
When the rain was lashing down and the wind was howling round my tent it really added to the story as I felt that I was on those cobbled streets.
If you haven't already read any books by Catherine Cookson you really should as her stories where absolutely brilliant and this book was no exception.
Some of her books where adapted for television and when I watched those the characters where just as I imagined.
A very gifted author who I dearly miss and I often re-read her stories.
I would give more than five stars if I could. Storytelling at it's best.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize that the education of the "lower" ranking classes in the late 1800s was such a controversial issue till I picked up this book. For a Cookson novel, it was a tad disappointing.. I have come to expect a bit more out of her. It had an interesting enough start beginning with a woman named Maria and her four children. Her husband has just passed away of Cholera, leaving her with two sons, two daughters, and a small bag of money in a mining town that wishes to kick them out. After being turned aside by her own family, Maria takes a journey that leads her to a manor house with a peculiar master. The master provides a roof over her and her children's heads in exchange for her housekeeping skills. He also takes it upon himself to educate her children. This is not without its price, however.

At this point, it gets interesting.. The master has an inappropriate attraction to Maria's older son. There are some scandalous occurences and the famly is split apart as blackmail enters the picture.

The last half of the novel is about Maria's daughter, Biddy, who at this point is educated and according to the "gentry" and their servants, doesn't know her "place." As she enters the laundry service at a larger estate up the road, readers see how badly educated lower class people were treated. Biddy makes a stand tho and begins teaching others to read. At this point, it is a war between upper and lower class and educated versus uneducated. Can Biddy survive the struggle at the big house? Will Maria find happiness despite the restrictions her "master" has put upon her?

Interesting but not one of Cookson's best.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just arrived from USA trough BM.

Page 165:
Books, books, books, I'd like to burn the lot. People are right, the gentry are right, the working class shouldn't be allowed to handle them, the're disturbers, trouble makers.

Page 218:
"In the main, ye happy, because they are satisfied with their lot; but teach them to hold a pen and to read from a page, then you are dropping seeds of discontent into their otherwise content lives.

This is the story of Riah Millican and their children, specially her daughter, Biddy, who has a natural gift for learning and reading.

When her husband dies, Riah found shelter for her family in Moor House where the master, Percival Miller, a reclusive former teacher, who will teach their children to read and write. Biddy became his favorite since she learned to love books through her dead father.

But then Riah sent Biddy to work in a laundry of a great house where she continues her passion for books which will bring her a lot of pain and troubles.

This is another magnificent book by Dame Cookson with has a TV movie based on this story The Black Velvet Gown (1991).

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a great fan of Catherine Cookson and read most of her books.In the 1830's in northern England, Riah Millican, a widow with three children, takes a job as housekeeper to a reclusive former teacher, Percival Miller. Miller makes Riah the gift of a black velvet gown, and even educates her children. But when Riah discovers the reason behind Miller's gifts, she vows to leave his house, but Miller has a hold on her, even after his death, when he leaves his house to her on the condition that she never marry. Riah's daughter, Biddy, grows up and becomes a laundress in a large house where her education keeps her from fitting in and makes her a target. But it also catches the eye of a son of the house, and with Miller's legacies, Biddy may yet find her way to happiness.

[Cathy]

First time I have read Catherine Cookson. Excellent writer. This book is about rising above your social standing. If you are poor you should not rise to greater heights and you should not learn to read or write, no good will come of that. Mind you, it is 1830's we're in, in Durham county, England when children went out to eke out a living young as 7 or so. Main character Biddy does rise above her station and it is that journey that is so well written in The Black Velvet Gown, the ironies, the family dramas upstairs and down that move this book to a shocking if not totally appropriate ending. I shall certainly enjoy another Cookson book soon.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and have read it at least 5 times.
I love the last line, "it just showed you that people should be careful before they do a kindness."
just got done reading it again :) 7/9/15

[Marcia Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely book by Catherine Cookson. This one is set in the 1840s and provides a vivid insight of how harsh life was for the poor. The stark contrast between the life they led and that of the landed gentry is highlighted well. When Riah's husband dies she is homeless with four children to feed. In desperation she seeks help from her mother, but is turned away. The family spend the night in a barn and, in the morning, a passing couple tell Riah of a position for a housekeeper and this opens a new chapter in their lives. As with all Cookson novels, this book kept my attention right from page one and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Ivy Myla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this book was a whole lot! Haha Reading the mothers story was exhausting by the end, learning about Percival Miller’s life with all the sadness, loneliness and misunderstandings that could have been avoided! Also… was anyone else trying to figure out if he was gay or not?? I loved Bitty she was amazing!! seemed like the only one with sense! and her ability to love and forgive. I also liked how you would switch perspectives to learn how the other characters saw the situations. In the end I really liked it!

[Brianna Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very rich, layered, detailed, historical novel. It begins in 1830's England. The basic plot is that a young woman named Riah is widowed at the age of 26 with four children to take care of. Her husband was a coal miner, and now that he is dead and none of her children work in the mines, she has to move. The company won't allow them to live in their cottage anymore. Their neighbors are for the most part less than sympathetic. Seth Millican, the husband, knew how to read and write and do basic arithmetic, and his fellow miners and their families felt that he was a troublemaker because of it. He also didn't want his children working in the mines. They were working, at a very young age, but his son worked in the fields and his 10 year old daughter Biddy was hired as a kitchen helper.
This novel really captures the mind-set of the times. People were supposed to know their place and be happy with the station they were born into. Riah decides to take her children and go back to where she grew up, just until she can find a place to live. Fortunately, Seth had saved up a few pounds so she isn't completely destitute. But when she gets back to her people, fishermen and fishwives, she finds out there's been a strike and things are even harder than they were, and her mother can't take her in, even for a night, because her sister and her children are already there. But, things work out for Riah in a strange way. A "scholastic recluse", as he calls himself---Percival Miller---hires Riah as a housekeeper and takes the entire family in. The dramatic conflict for the rest of the novel is set up when Percival decides to educate the children, tutoring them for a couple hours a day. Biddy takes to all this learning, but her older brother is not academically inclined. The characters are very psychologically developed. They are consistent and complex. Percival is in general a kind man, but now and then he can be thoughtless and cruel to Riah, making comments, for instance, that she can't understand how a man of reason thinks because "her class" doesn't have the ability to think profound thoughts like he does. Catherine Cookson wrote a lot of novels, and this book is considered to be her best, or one of her best. The characters will stay with you.

[Feathzzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read while in jail. Actual rating : 3.5

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta novela ha despertado en mí sentimientos muy profundos. Pero sin duda es una de las mejores novelas de ficción histórica que he leído. Las palabras del papel realmente te transportan a aquel lugar de la Inglaterra del siglo XIX.
Es una historia que te revela las más horripilantes verdades. Aquellas que la gente menos afortunada, o afortunada, tenía que vivir; y nada comparado con lo que las actuales series de época te quieren vender. La realidad es dura. Así como la vida de todos los personajes.

Es la historia de dos mujeres, que se han hecho fuertes por las circunstancias que les han tocado vivir. Porque han tenido que luchar contra la marea para llegar a tierra firme. Para sobrevivir en un mundo que te despelleja a la mínima oportunidad.
Ria Millican, viuda de un minero y con cuatro hijos a cargo, dos niños (Davey y Johnny) y dos niñas (Biddy y Maggie). Al principio de la novela se nos muestra a una Ria cariñosa con sus hijos pero que se irá transformando a medida que su situación cambia. Son expulsados de la aldea minera al morir Seth (el marido) puesto que ninguno de los progenitores querían que sus retoños bajasen al pozo. Tanto Seth como Ria conocían las terribles circunstancias de trabajar en la mina y se negaban a que sus hijos pasasen las mismas penurias.
Casi por obra divina, y gracias a la ayuda de una anciana severa pero a la vez bondadosa, los Millican logran establecerse en una casa de campo. Ria es contratada como ama de llaves en la Casa Mor.
El nuevo amo y señor resulta ser un erudito ermitaño (Percival Miller), que se encierra en la biblioteca desde que sale el sol hasta que se esconde y que además no quiere a los niños. Pero con el paso de los meses y la bondad de los chiquillos, incluso desde la distancia, logra salir de su escondite. Estableciendo una ligera amistad con su ama de llaves y ofreciéndose a instruir a los cuatro niños. Pero ese acercamiento es peligroso porque el señor esconde un secreto que acaba perjudicando a uno de los niños y alejarlo, así, de su querida madre.
Ria se encuentra atrapada entre un amor correspondido pero fuera de tiempo y la lealtad a su amo. Y eso causa que su corazón se resienta. No entra en una depresión como tal, pero el aislamiento que se sufre viviendo en aquella casa le pasa factura a lo largo de todo el libro.

El otro personaje indiscutible es la adoraba Biddy Millican, la hija mayor. Es audaz, hábil y demasiado inteligente para el mundo de pobre en el que le tocó nacer. Sin duda es una chica de principios, y de razonamiento rápido. Ha sido instruida hasta los quince años, algo impensable para esa época y sobre todo siendo de clase baja. Pero lo que queda claro es que Biddy está destinada a algo más que a ser simplemente una criada. Ella es una fuerza de la naturaleza, una fuera de serie, desde la niñez. Biddy y sus hermanos sabían leer y escribir gracias a su padre, que les había enseñado desde bien pequeños. Y también estaba instruida en poesía, historia, latín y francés por el señor Miller. A lo largo de toda la historia son muchas las personas que la envidian por ser tan especial, el primero de ellos su hermano Davey.
Al morir su señor y profesor, Biddy es enviada por su madre a la casa de los señores rurales, pues para mantener la casa del señor Miller necesitan dinero. Biddy entra como lavandera, pero destaca sobre el resto del personal e incluso sobre los nuevos amos. Se mete en problemas porque tiene mal genio y no se muerde la lengua. La joven Biddy sufre la ira de todos, o casi todos, los que la rodean.
La vida de Biddy es todo un torbellino de emociones y situaciones inimaginables para una chica de su clase, pero logra sobreponerse sobre todos los perjuicios y desgracias que sufre hasta encontrar su camino en la vida.

No es un libro en el que uno de los personajes cambia el rumbo del mundo, no hay un cambio radical ni épico, pero sí que logran un cambio en sus mundos. El superar los prejuicios de los demás, y sobre todo vencer a los demonios internos es, sin duda, un logro enorme.

En definitiva para mi es un libro que sí merece la pena leerlo. Durante todo el libro sentía que yo estaba viviendo con los personajes, caminando con ellos por el camino embarrado por las lluvias, chapoteando en la ribera del río, estudiando en la biblioteca,etc, porque se sentían como personas reales. Personas que sufren y que aman. Que son despóticos, arrogantes y malcriados. Que son buenos con los suyos y terroríficos con aquellos que osan cuestionar su autoridad. Son humanos en un mundo terrible.

Ahora mismo doy gracias por el mundo en el que me ha tocado vivir, porque sin duda no es comparable. En pleno siglo XXI, en la Europa Occidental, vivimos en un remanso de paz y tranquilidad. Contamos con una red de seguridad en caso de caer. Y sobre todo somos libres para razonar, hacer y deshacer.

[Ann L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's so different than the kind of stories you read nowadays. I love the older stories that are at least 30 plus years old. Takes you back to a totally different time, no technology, etc. It tells you how hard life was back then (physically speaking), but on the other hand how different in its own way of life too.

What I really enjoyed was reading about how reading and writing was a no no in this day and time (1800s). If you were a lower class citizen (poor, etc), it was frowned upon to even be educated. Imagine that! It didn't matter what color you were, it was frowned upon and you were made fun of, and even treated like crap if you did learn stuff when it came to books.

Times have changed! We've come a long ways. So, it was a most interesting read in the way the characters talked to each other, the way of living, and just how life was back then.

The movie to this story is missing a lot of important and exciting details. I recommend the book over the movie by far. I think a mini series could be made where it would do this story way more justice than the old one that was done. I would surely watch it!

[Laurie]

I saw a made for TV movie based on this romance novel, and it interested me in the background of the author. Like the Riah's daughter, Cookson grew up in a mining town and worked for awhile in a laundry before becoming a millionaire author. Unlike Rich, she did not inherit a house, but saved to buy one which she used as a boarding house. One of the boarders became her husband. The novel tells a realistic tail of the British class system and an unrealistic tale of romance. As in the American slave system, some masters forbid their workers and servants to learn to read and write, rightly perceiving that knowledge is power.

[Sharon Ryder Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the best Catherine Cookson novels that i have read.... But it was okay. The characters are alright just the plot a little flaky, feel that there is more than one tale to tell then there should be. Some one sinister also with the young master acting aggressive and then fleeing the household. But we all know why.. How dare the lower class learn to read and write? such snobbery in one novel.

[Nicole Dyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked: What I liked was that one of Marias children Bridget is very bright and loves to read and learn and doesn't let her station stop her from doing these things.

What I didn't like: Well there's not much I can say I didn't like without giving stuff away. Although there is an attempted rape scene in the book. And some of the characters did annoy me with thier views on lower class people reading and writing.

[Terry Proffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't give five stars because I didn't like being jerked out of Maria's story and into Biddy's. The speeches about education got a little didactic and tiresome. Also, there were a lot of angry, stereotypical, name-calling speeches that were over dramatic.

Cookson drew me in immediately, however, and I searched my shelves for more of her books when I found myself enjoying the first pages of this one. She's a storyteller, for sure.

[Alaknanda k · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the midst of medieval England, the novel boldly enhances the difference in the high and low classes, how the poor repeatedly were in search of jobs and the new beginning of equality with the emergence of educating both women and men. The novel sure is a historical masterpiece, also reflects the troubles, strengths and powers of a woman in her household.

[📚Linda Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine Cookson mastered historical fiction a long the ago. The Black Velvet Gown reminds us that humility and hard work helps people arise from poverty and ignorance. These have become old fashioned values, so it was refreshing to read an intricate and well developed story with strong rounded characters. Yet, in the tradition of historical romances the book gives us a satisfying ending.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written, of course, but I didn't enjoy the story as much as The Dwelling. There wasn't much romance in it. Characters were complex and well developed. I wish a little more attention had been given to Tol and Laurence. It was good - I liked it enough to finish it, and that's saying something. Wouldn't re-read, probably.

[Chantelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not often that a character alone puts me off reading a book, especially so early on! But the character of Percival Miller riled me so much that I didn't want to know anymore. Miserable old sod with ideals for others that he never finished himself! I'd have left him to rot in that house!

[Moira Stranack · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual I was crying and laughing

I have always liked Catherine cookson the will be my third time of reading this book it has always been a lovely story sad and funny but story telling at its best

[Hayley Jones-Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a young teen. I think I learned social history from Catherine Cookson & her descriptions of poverty as much as the school text books. The fiction brought the fact to life using unchallenging language.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderfully written book. Story takes place in England in the 1830s. It's a story of the common person and what happens when they get above their station in life because they can read and write. Some twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Book was published in 1984.

[Alison Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this novel by Catherine Cookson after watching the television mini series on holiday. I had ancestors who worked in domestic service and as laundresses in Victorian times and so I wanted to read the book, which I enjoyed.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, can't beat a bit of Catherine Cookson. Her story's always pull me in and I don't want to put the book down.

[Rowena Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Catherine Cookson is one of my favorites author. I collect most of her books.