This rich narrative shows how needlework has carried stories of resistance, love, and memory across centuries.

“An astonishing feat, this patchwork of history, culture, and politics . . . takes us from Saxon England to colonized African tribes, Palestinian villages, rural China and the cramped homes of American slaves.” ―Sunday Times (London)

Threads of Life is a chronicle of identity, protest, memory, power, and politics told through the stories of needlework. It’s human history told from a new, surprising perspective.

This is 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 to the pink pussyhats of the Women’s March, women and men have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances.

Topics covered include:

Clare Hunter, master of the craft, threads her own narrative as she takes us over centuries and across continents—from medieval France to contemporary Mexico and the United States, and from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland—to celebrate the age-old, universal, and underexplored beauty and power of sewing. This is a thoughtful work of history and craft, full of little-known stories, and an evocative and moving book about the need we have to tell our story.

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** **RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK** ''An astonishing feat''Christina Patterson, Sunday Times''An inspiring and moving sideways look at history''Eithne Farry, Sunday Express An eloquent blend of history and memoir, Threads of Life is an evocative and moving book about the need we all have to tell our story.From political propaganda in medieval France to secret treason in Tudor England, from the mothers of the desaparecidos in Argentina to First World War soldiers with PTSD, from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland, Threads of Life is a global chronicle of identity, protest, memory and politics. Banner-maker, community textile artist and textile curator Clare Hunter chronicles the stories of the men and women, over centuries and across continents, who have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances.''A beautifully considered book... Clare Hunter has managed to mix the personal with the political with moving results.'' TRACY CHEVALIER

This rich narrative shows how needlework has carried stories of resistance, love, and memory across centuries.

“An astonishing feat, this patchwork of history, culture, and politics . . . takes us from Saxon England to colonized African tribes, Palestinian villages, rural China and the cramped homes of American slaves.” ―Sunday Times (London)

Threads of Life is a chronicle of identity, protest, memory, power, and politics told through the stories of needlework. It’s human history told from a new, surprising perspective.

This is 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 to the pink pussyhats of the Women’s March, women and men have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances.

Topics covered include:

Clare Hunter, master of the craft, threads her own narrative as she takes us over centuries and across continents—from medieval France to contemporary Mexico and the United States, and from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland—to celebrate the age-old, universal, and underexplored beauty and power of sewing. This is a thoughtful work of history and craft, full of little-known stories, and an evocative and moving book about the need we have to tell our story.

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** **RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK** ''An astonishing feat''Christina Patterson, Sunday Times''An inspiring and moving sideways look at history''Eithne Farry, Sunday Express An eloquent blend of history and memoir, Threads of Life is an evocative and moving book about the need we all have to tell our story.From political propaganda in medieval France to secret treason in Tudor England, from the mothers of the desaparecidos in Argentina to First World War soldiers with PTSD, from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland, Threads of Life is a global chronicle of identity, protest, memory and politics. Banner-maker, community textile artist and textile curator Clare Hunter chronicles the stories of the men and women, over centuries and across continents, who have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances.''A beautifully considered book... Clare Hunter has managed to mix the personal with the political with moving results.'' TRACY CHEVALIER