Fabric

'Subtle, compendious and rich' - James McConnachie, The Sunday Times'Dazzling ... Finlay's adventures, vividly recounted, make enthralling reading ... This book is equally an inspiration and an education' - Bel Mooney, Daily Mail'A gorgeous adventure through the history of cloth' - StylistThe Sunday Times best paperbacks of 2022Bestselling author Victoria Finlay spins us round the globe in a vibrant exploration of cloth through the ages. She beats the inner bark of trees into cloth in Papua New Guinea, fails to handspin cotton in Guatemala, visits tweed weavers at their homes in Harris, and has lessons in patchwork-making in Gee's Bend, Alabama. And through it all she uncovers the hidden histories of fabric: how and why people have made it, worn it, invented it and made symbols of itInterlaced with Victoria's own story of grief and recovery, Fabric is a lush patchwork of travel, history, memoir and culture - an unforgettable look into how we have made fabric, and how it has made us.

Subtle, compendious and rich ... an emotive and serious work of what you might call history on the distaff side, Enthralling and sumptuously spun narrative history of how and why people around the world have made, used and worn different kinds of fabric. Beginning her research shortly after the death of her parents, Finlay finds her own story of love and grief entwined in the threads too, making for a fine blend indeed, Equally an inspiration and an education, At a moment when alarming statistics regarding textile waste have triggered calls for sustainability within the fashion industry, Finlay takes the reader on a journey of personal discovery that spans the breadth of the globe over the course of centuries ... with deft cultural consciousness. Part historical survey, part memoir and part travelogue, "Fabric" follows Finlay as she discovers the secrets behind each material's history with such wonderment - such reverence - that one cannot help believing in the "hidden magic" she insists is spun into each fibre. Like a skilled weaver, she takes many disparate threads and constructs a compelling narrative as informative as it is emotionally engaging. These moments - where fabric is given life through worn experience are ... fascinating [and] Victoria Finlay gives them their due, Poetically profound

Victoria Finlay is the critically acclaimed author of Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox. She studied social anthropology at the University of St Andrews, Later, as well as working as arts editor of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and researching her four books, she also spent many years working for an international environment charity. She lives near Bath.