The Tapestry of Time
In June 1944, Kit Sharp is shocked to get a glimpse of her younger sister Ivy on Rue de Clichy. Ivy is supposed to be back in England. How could she be here, in Paris, Kit wonders? Then again maybe it was mistake, a trick of the mind, or a warning. The Sharp family, after all, have long experienced illusory visions, premonitions, periods of clairvoyance. The girls’ Great Aunt Kathleen called it the Second Sight, and their father, an expert in the history of the Bayeux Tapestry, believed the sections of cloth carried messages to the sensitive about the past and predicted the future.
The Tapestry of Time is the latest in best-selling author Heartfield’s works of historical fantasy. The book illuminates the roles of women in the 1940s, highlighting the work done in support of the war effort, such as the rigorous vetting and training of female covert operatives by the Special Operations Executive, as well as the study of medieval artifacts by female archaeological researchers. It provides fine time and place details about wartime Europe as well as some of the mysteries surrounding the tapestry itself.
However, the story does not unfold smoothly. Perspective abruptly shifts between the two female characters over two points in time. Reminiscences and digressions distract from the overall plotline. Paranormal experiences tend to be incidental and do little to drive the drama. Minor characters and descriptions of ordinary life pop in and out and add little perspective or atmosphere. Overall, the sections of this tapestry of words just don’t come together across time.
