Unwoven

Coventry, England, 1831. Thousands of silk ribbon weavers are close to starving and the arrival of the town's first steam engine threatens to destroy what little work remains. Tensions are rising. Then, on a grey November day, violence erupts.

Young ribbon weaver Thomas Burbury is swept into the chaos. In a split-second decision, he intervenes, setting in motion a chain of events that will change the course of his life. Separated from those he loves and caught in a struggle far greater than himself, Tom's life is at the mercy of powerful men, their agenda skewed by the fear of civil uprisings and the need to find a convenient scapegoat.

Closely based on the true story of Thomas Burbury, Unwoven is a gripping historical novel about the human cost of industrial change and the precarious lives of working people in nineteenth-century England. It brings to life Coventry's silk ribbon weavers, Thomas's dramatic court case and the relentless community campaign that followed to save his life, all playing out within the political intrigue surrounding the Great Reform Act.

At the heart of the novel is a remarkable courtroom drama. Thomas's trial brings together lawyers, witnesses, the judge and members of the local community, each with their own perspective on what happened during the November violence. As the evidence is tested and competing arguments unfold, the case becomes about far more than the actions of one young weaver. It exposes the tensions between working people and those who hold power, and the profound consequences that can follow when the law is applied in a time of social and political upheaval.

Beyond the courtroom, Thomas's fate becomes a cause for those who believe he deserves another chance. His pastor rallies an unlikely group of supporters in a determined campaign for mercy, revealing the strength of the bonds within a community and the extraordinary lengths ordinary people will go to when one of their own is threatened.

Drawing on original historical sources, including contemporary records, correspondence and maps, Unwoven explores a little-known episode of British social and industrial history. Within the moving personal story of Tom and his family, it offers a vivid portrait of England at a moment when traditional ways of life were being challenged by new technology, economic hardship and political change.

For readers of historical fiction, historical dramas, courtroom stories and novels based on true events, Unwoven is a compelling story of injustice, courage, loyalty and the human cost of a society on the cusp of profound change.

Unwoven is Book One of the Thomas Burbury series.