The Sisterhood of the Bayeux Tapestry

Summary

For fans of Tracy Chevalier’s A Single Thread, this medieval historical fiction reimagines the lives of the women who created the world’s most famous work of art, The Bayeux Tapestry.

In the years after William the Norman King has conquered the throne of England in 1066, his supporters are making their presence felt for any who try to cross them. 

When Headda’s village is razed to the ground, her mother urges her to flee to save herself and to seek refuge with her sister, an embroiderer at St. Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury. There she finds sanctuary, and the warm embrace of a new family and a sisterhood of widely acclaimed and talented embroiderers.  

But their supreme talent is no protection against the treacherous monks of the Abbey, who are not happy to have women in their midst. When revelations of Headda’s true parentage are revealed, she draws the attention of powerful people which puts her and her new family at risk. 

But there is a glimmer of salvation. Can the commission for an enormous tapestry—a gift from the old Queen to the new King—save her and the sisterhood? Or will it bring them closer to the seat of power and more danger than ever before?