**'A brilliant achievement'SCOTSMAN'A charmed feat of imagination and learning'HILARY MANTELIn sixteenth-century Europe women's voices were suppressed and silenced., and despite her royal position Mary, Queen of Scots was no exception. But, in an age when textiles expressed power, Mary exploited them to emphasise her female agency. From her lavishly embroidered gowns as the prospecti...

An alternative biography of Mary, Queen of Scots through the textiles of her life from the author of Sunday Times bestseller Threads of Life.I felt that Mary was there, pulling at my sleeve, willing me to appreciate the artistry, wanting me to understand the dazzle of the material world that shaped her.At her execution Mary, Queen of Scots wore red. Widely known as the colour of strength and passion, it was in fact worn by Mary as...

A globe-spanning history of sewing, embroidery, and the people who have used a needle and thread to make their voices heard.From the political propaganda of the Bayeux Tapestry, World War I soldiers coping with PTSD, and the maps sewn by schoolgirls in the New World, to the AIDS quilt, Hmong story clothes, and pink pussyhats, women and men have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances.Threads of...