Author: Olivia Atwater
Published: 2020
Target audience: Adults (appropriate 13+)
Fairytale magic meets Regency England in a charming novel from American author Olivia Atwood. Blending whimsey and romance, ‘Ten Thousand Stitches’ is a Cinderella-inspired tale in which housemaid Effie Reeves acquires a Faerie Godfather. Unfortunately, he has no idea what he’s doing.
Effie has fallen in love with the dashing Mr Ashbrooke. There's one problem however; Effie is a lowly housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke's heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favourite jacket. Effie has heard rumours about what happens to those who make deals with faeries, but life as a maid is so awful that she is willing to risk everything for a chance at something better.. if Lord Blackthorn’s good intentions don’t accidentally wreck everything first.
Sparkling with heart and charm, ‘Ten Thousand Stitches’ is both a love story and, incongruously, a spotlight on the uncertain, dehumanising experiences of the working class. As a maid stuck working for the self-centred Lord and Lady Culver, anger and powerlessness are everyday experiences for Effie. Like the other servants, she is treated as invisible and interchangeable - playthings in the ruling classes’ petty competitions and fashions. When Lady Culver’s friends boast of having French maids, Effie and other other maids are ordered to change their names to French ones and affect accents. In comparison, Effie meets faeries who try on different lives and roles on a whim, like playing pretend - one day being a servant, the next something entirely different. While faeries can be cruel or mercurial, they have autonomy over their choices. In the rigid class system of Regency England, humans don’t have such freedom or security.
So when the peculiar faerie Lord Blackthorn offers Effie a chance at a different life, she leaps at it. After all, Mr Ashbrooke is much nicer than his parents, Lord and Lady Culver. But is this truly what Effie wants? In an unjust society, it’s all too easy for the absence of a malicious or inconsiderate act from a superior to be misconstrued as kindness. And while the voice of one lowly maid is easy to ignore, anger and discontent are catching…
‘Ten Thousand Stitches’ is a delightful historical fantasy novel of fairytale romance and the power of collective action. A perfect comfort read and light-hearted romp, I certainly recommended it!
