In Conversation With Tracy Chevalier

Novelist Tracy Chevalier talks to Zoe West about the ‘surplus’ women of the First World War, why she loves cathedrals, and what it’s like to meet Mr Darcy

Top-selling author Tracy Chevalier is best known for her globally acclaimed novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and was made into a successful film starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. Her tenth novel, A Single Thread, follows Violet – a woman regarded as ‘surplus’ after the First World War. As Violet resolves to make her way in the world, she is drawn into a society of borderers at a time of great social change. Tracy lives in London with her husband and son.

A Single Thread is the story of an unmarried woman crafting her own life. The First World War is over but Violet is still mourning the deaths of her fiancé and brother. The expectation at the time was that a woman would get married, and if she didn’t she was made to feel guilty, as if it were her fault.

This idea of the ‘surplus woman’ surprised me. Following the census in 1921, it became apparent there were nearly two million more women than men, whom the press referred to as ‘surplus women’.There was a lot of pity and condescension towards them. It was suggested that if you were a good, attractive woman, you should be able to find a husband because there were still some men left. The ladies who didn’t marry were seen as damaged goods, which I found appalling.