If you enjoy historical fiction set in Scotland and stories with working class backgrounds then you will enjoy this novel. Set in the mid-Victorian period, It is about a young woman’s battle to get herself an education and to move up in life.

The novel begins when Margaret is a child and follows her from a small town to Edinburgh over the course of the novel. The cadence of the language and uniqueness of Scottish dialect is reflected in the writing.  I was impressed with the level of detail that the author used in her depiction of the locations, and by the finely-drawn relationship between Margaret and her young friend Jessie, who plays a part later in the book. I also enjoyed the fact that every generation was present, including the grandparents, and that these seemed to jump off the page like real people. Care is taken to explore the community’s relationship with the ‘Kirk’ and how religion plays a part in every day lives.

Once she is at school, Margaret is desperate to learn as much as she can, and at one point vows she will learn ‘every single word in the world.’

Nancy Jardine manages the protagonist’s transition into adulthood with aplomb. When Margaret arrives at the Duncan household as a tutor to the disabled daughter, Rachel, the reader senses the tensions in the household immediately, with the cold imperious welcome she receives from Mistress Duncan, and the discovery that all her correspondence will be read and that her duties are not just tutoring, but also housework.

The relationship between Margaret and Rachel is a pivotal part of the book, and unearths secrets about Jessie that I shan’t reveal here!

This is the first in a series of books, and Margaret is a character who is easy to love. Novice Threads will appeal to lovers of family sagas and Scottish history, and anyone who enjoys a slice of working class life.