Why a Booktrail?
1892: A story of how one girl tries to escape the life set out for her by her family
The Sewing Room Girl
What you need to know before your trail
Born into service, sixteen-year-old Juliet Harper has always idolised her mother, Agnes. But Agnes is haunted by what could have been, and the glamorous life she might have lived if she stayed in Manchester rather than settling down in the Lancashire moorland with her husband. Life takes another unexpected turn when Juliet’s father suddenly dies. Agnes’s reputation as a seamstress leads to her being taken on by local landowners the Drysdales, where she is proud to work. But it will be a bumpy road for both of them as they settle in to their new lives. Will Juliet ever be able to choose her own path? And what will become of them when Agnes falls ill?
Locations
Reset- England - Lancashire
- A: Love Clough
- B: Lancashire Moorlands
- England- Manchester
- C: Chorlton cum Hardy
- D: Wilton Rd
- E: People's History Museum
- F: Moorside stores
Travel Guide
BookTrail Travel to Lancashire and Manchester with The Sewing Room Girl
Life in Lancashire in the late 1800s was tricky for many people, women especially. Young, unmarried women had it the worst. Poor Juliet’s father has just died and then as she tries to move away from a life of drudgery, her mother seems to be jealous and want to pull her back.
Life goes from bad to worse. Life moves to Manchester. Juliet is a talented seamstress and so her creative skills and passion for hard work is what is going to see her through. Juliet secures a position in a dressmaking shop, Naseby’s. Life working in the stores and shops of Manchester is well documented and this novel shows the everyday grit and grim of the stresses of these kinds of jobs. The city which has always been a symbol of hard work and the industrial revolution is seen as a grid of brick houses and smart, up and coming stores. The salt of the earth people who live in the communities here mostly look out for each other. The poverty of the city is rife and this novel is a glimpse of just one girl’s attempt to better herself.
There’s plenty to enjoy here and to learn about the lives of those who sewed for a living, worked as servants or staff of some kind in posh houses. Work was hard and laborious and badly paid. Women, especially unmarried, found it hard to escape from their lives.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Sewing Room Girl
Destination: Lancashire, Manchester Author/Guide: Susanna Bavin Departure Time: 1892
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