Velvet by Mary Hooper
Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9780747599210.
(Age : 13+) Recommended. I am a fan of Mary Hooper's historical
novels, so I eagerly picked up Velvet, the tale of a young
orphan girl who works in a Victorian steam laundry. The work is back
breaking and after Velvet has fainted twice from the extreme heat,
the manager, Mrs Sloane warns her that she could be dismissed. She
pleads for a second chance and is allowed to do the painstaking work
of caring for the clothes of rich individuals. She is noticed by one
of her clients, Madame Sayoya who is a famous medium, and goes to
work for her. At first she is beguiled by Madame and her helper the
handsome George. She finds it wonderful to live with a generous
employer, with work that she enjoys. She believes that she is making
a new life for herself and is not interested in the attentions of
Charlie, a young man from her past. However she begins to realise
that all is not as it seems with Madame Sayoya.
Hooper's description of life in 1900 for young girls who have no
family and are penniless is poignant. They have little chance of
lucrative employment, and are lucky if they manage to get a job in a
laundry or as a servant. Many scavenge on the street for scraps and
turn to prostitution to stay alive. Life is terrible for girls who
have illegitimate children and they are forced to send their infants
to baby farms where they have little chance of survival. So it is
not surprising that Velvet, who has suffered from an abusive father
and lives in a dilapidated room, wants to believe the best of
Madame. However, Velvet is a girl with a conscience and gradually
begins to question the ethics of the mediums who were so popular in
those times.
Hooper's chapters where she describes what happens in a private
meeting with Madame Sayoya, give an in-depth picture of how grieving
people were taken in by unscrupulous spiritualists. Spiritualism was
very popular in the late 19th and early 20th century and the
addition of figures like Conan Doyle to the spiritualist's meetings
gave an extra historical dimension. Notes at the back of the book
about how spiritualists manoeuvred spectral appearances and seemed
able to accurately describe what has happened to people also gives
interesting information.
This was a book that I read in a couple of sittings and I loved it
for the historical information that I gained so effortlessly through
Hooper's vivid writing. A book
trailer is available.
Pat Pledger