The Weavers Daughter, by Sarah Ladd

Henry's loyalty is to his family and to the family business. But after going to war and seeing death and destruction he comes back a changed man. He isn't interested in making money for the sake of making money. He is more interested in helping people make a living.

Kate's loyalty is to her family and to the weavers whom she lives and works among. But being a woman she is relegated to the task of the dye house and working with the material. She is not allowed to participate in the discussions and business end of things that the men are.

In a twist of fate Henry and Kate are thrown together by chance in a way that speaks of Romeo and Juliet, or Darcy and Elizabeth. They come from two different worlds. They come from opposite sides of an age old rivalry. Throw in the fact that this is in a time in England when women are not allowed to have opinions and you face some real tension.

But Henry falls in love with Kate, but how will he win her heart. Kate's father is in turmoil with Henry and his father and pretty much demands his daughter remain loyal to him and the weavers and thus stay away from Henry and the millers.

The story is very well developed. The historical and cultural aspects of the story are well researched and written in a way to help you see both sides of the issue and actually appreciate both sides, even while seeing the tensions.

Will love win out? Will weavers and millers learn to work with each other to further each vocations livelihood?

Will the beginnings of the industrial revolution cause a community to flounder into poverty?

I trust you will enjoy this book as much as I did.