The Thread Collectors: A Novel

by Shaunna J. Edwards, Alyson Richman

Overview

“An unforgettable story of female strength, hope and friendship. This collaborative work is magnificent—a true revelation!” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star

“A brilliant story brimming with unexpected friendships and family ties. Historically sound and beautifully stitched, The Thread Collectors will stay with you long after the last page is turned.” —Sadeqa Johnson, international bestselling author of Yellow Wife

1863: In a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her clandestine activities, Stella has to hide not only her efforts but her love for William, a Black soldier and a brilliant musician.

Meanwhile, in New York City, a Jewish woman stitches a quilt for her husband, who is stationed in Louisiana with the Union Army. Between abolitionist meetings, Lily rolls bandages and crafts quilts with her sewing circle for other soldiers, too, hoping for their safe return home. But when months go by without word from her husband, Lily resolves to make the perilous journey South to search for him.

As these two women risk everything for love and freedom during the brutal Civil War, their paths converge in New Orleans, where an unexpected encounter leads them to discover that even the most delicate threads have the capacity to save us. Loosely inspired by the authors' family histories, this stunning novel will stay with readers for a long time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525899782
Publisher:	Graydon House Books
Publication date:	08/30/2022
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	72,258
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

SHAUNNA J. EDWARDS has a BA in literature from Harvard College and a JD from NYU School of Law. A former corporate lawyer, she now works in diversity, equity and inclusion. She is a native Louisianian, raised in New Orleans, and currently lives in Harlem with her husband. The Thread Collectors is her first novel. Find her on Instagram, @shaunnajedwards.

Alyson Richman is the #1 international bestselling author of several historical novels, including The Velvet Hours, The Garden of Letters, and The Lost Wife, which is currently in development for a major motion picture. Her novels have been published in twenty-five languages. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and lives on Long Island with her husband and two children. Find her on Instagram, @alysonrichman.

Editorial Reviews

Advance Praise for The Thread Collectors

“The Thread Collectors by Shaunna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman is the original story of a Black woman in New Orleans and a Jewish woman in New York, both of whom are fighting for the cause of freedom and Union victory through their needlework during the Civil War. Their lives converge in unexpected ways in an unforgettable story of female strength, hope and friendship. This collaborative work is magnificent—a true revelation!”
—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star

“The Thread Collectors is a brilliant story brimming with unexpected friendships and family ties that fed my soul. Historically sound and beautifully stitched, it is a story that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.”
—Sadeqa Johnson, international bestselling author of Yellow Wife

“The Thread Collectors is a gift—not only for lovers of historical fiction, but for readers everywhere who search for hidden truths behind the facts we think we know. Like the fearless, sensitive, and resourceful women they write about, Edwards and Richman have stitched together a glorious tapestry of resilience, survival, friendship, and love. This is a Civil War story unlike any other—a story readers will treasure from the very first page.”
—Lynda Cohen Loigman, USA Today bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters

“In their transfixing novel, Edwards and Richman offer a vibrant tapestry of characters whose lives have been shattered by slavery and Civil War, yet find a tenuous connection in scraps of fabric that symbolize hope, love, even escape. Both heartbreaking and thrilling, I dare you to put this novel down as it hurtles toward its riveting conclusion.”
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

“The Thread Collectors pushes back against simple Civil War narratives and spotlights historical realities, including the abysmal treatment of Black Union soldiers, Southern antisemitism, and Northern racism…..This book, with its distinct prose, quick chapters, and dynamic characters, provides a stirring narrative and much-needed perspective in Civil War fiction.”
—Booklist

“The authors have penned an engrossing story, and they use it to expose many of the cruelties experienced by enslaved people, prejudice against Jewish people, military incompetence, and the devastation of the land by both armies. This they accomplish with grace and nuance, educating as they entertain…. This novel pulls the heartstrings of love and loss, terrors and joys.”
—Historical Novel Society, Editors’ Choice

From the Publisher

2022-05-25
This collaboration by longtime friends Edwards and Richman draws on the authors’ Black and Jewish family histories to build an expressly uplifting Civil War fiction.

The novel begins in 1863 New Orleans, showcasing the forbidden but abiding love between musically gifted William, a classically trained flutist who’s enslaved, and Stella, who lives technically free as the kept woman of William’s current owner. With Stella’s aid, William escapes to join the Union Army as a member of the Louisiana Native Guard. Meanwhile, in New York, trombonist and composer Jacob has been inspired by his wife, Lily, a suffragette and abolitionist, to join the Union forces on moral grounds. The novel balances three intertwining narratives: Pregnant with a child who could be William’s or his master’s, Stella struggles to survive in Union-controlled New Orleans, where food is scarce and Confederate insurrection a constant threat; William and Jacob experience wartime atrocities while their unlikely friendship deepens through their music connection; and in New York, Lily devotes herself to the Union cause with genteel moral certainty until she ventures South in search of Jacob and faces her naïveté about the war’s cost. Given that African Americans in the South had everything to gain or lose in this war, it is no surprise that Stella’s and William’s segments are the most compelling; the writing about New Orleans also creates a sensual, specific sense of place missing elsewhere. Lily reads like a mouthpiece for enlightened concepts, even in her love letters. There is no romantic chemistry between her and Jacob, who remains an undeveloped cipher. What should be an interesting twist, his discomfort as a Jewish outsider in the Union ranks, barely resonates, while his bonding with William comes too easily. All four protagonists are more noble symbols than characters, and key plot points—including Stella’s stitched maps and Jacob’s estrangement from his Confederate brother—border on Civil War story clichés.

Well-intentioned but overly familiar.

Kirkus Reviews

Robin Miles gives a mesmerizing performance of this extraordinarily powerful Civil War novel, cowritten and inspired by the family histories of authors Shaunna Edwards, who is Black, and Alyson Richman, who is white and Jewish. With her perfect pacing, Miles transports listeners to this fraught landscape and holds their rapt attention until the last moment. Heartbreaking period details on racial violence and prejudice, including anti-Semitism, are seamlessly woven into the narrative. Miles's character portrayals breathe with vitality, emotional expression, and tension, and her accents are impeccable. Every character sounds alive in listeners' ears, and the dual settings of Louisiana and New York City are raw and unsettlingly evoked. This audiobook will stir, terrify, and educate listeners. Miles's flawless narration creates a must-listen. M.J. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

Robin Miles gives a mesmerizing performance of this extraordinarily powerful Civil War novel, cowritten and inspired by the family histories of authors Shaunna Edwards, who is Black, and Alyson Richman, who is white and Jewish. With her perfect pacing, Miles transports listeners to this fraught landscape and holds their rapt attention until the last moment. Heartbreaking period details on racial violence and prejudice, including anti-Semitism, are seamlessly woven into the narrative. Miles's character portrayals breathe with vitality, emotional expression, and tension, and her accents are impeccable. Every character sounds alive in listeners' ears, and the dual settings of Louisiana and New York City are raw and unsettlingly evoked. This audiobook will stir, terrify, and educate listeners. Miles's flawless narration creates a must-listen. M.J. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile