At the beginning of the book is a photograph of the 1503 painting, ‘The Visitation’. The art and its subjects are a springboard into the narrative. In the painting, expectant mothers, Elisabeth and Mary – carrying John the Baptist and Jesus respectively – greet each other. Colin-James has divided this narrative into three parts. Three very different timeframes and locations alternate chapters within each part: Judea at the time of Herod’s rule; Florence in the late 1400s to early 1500s; and Adelaide in 2018.

There are overt biblical allusions (such as these ‘trinities’). Three female protagonists narrate their own stories. Dr Reed is an art conservator at a museum in SA, working to repair a piece of embroidery which she thinks reflects the referenced painting. Antonia lives in Renaissance Florence and marries Otto – the painter credited with ‘The Visitation’. Elisheva lives in Judea and is the character depicted greeting Mary. (Colin-James uses their Aramaic, Italianised and Anglicised names in each appropriate timeframe: Elisheva/Elisabetta/ Elisabeth and Maryam/Maria/Mary.)

The three protagonists are creative, and each face gendered and familial conflict. Elisheva’s expected role is to marry early and produce sons. While waiting to conceive, she learns the art of glassblowing. Antonia is a gifted colourist, chasing the elusive ‘perfect white’, but she has an abusive father and dissolute husband. Dr Reed’s creativity is around thread. Her son and husband have died and her new partner is abusive. All have disapproving mothers.

The trio overcome multiple obstacles. Each narrative strand is crafted masterfully so that the denouement is neatly interwoven. This is a story of love – both its presence and absence – but above all, it gives agency to its female protagonists. Extensively researched; expertly written.

Reviewed by Bob Moore

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Following a globally successful corporate career in communications and event management, Sally Colin-James returned to creative writing. She gained an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) scholarship to complete a Doctor of Philosophy in professional writing.

Her novel One Illumined Thread won the 2020 HNSA Colleen McCullough Residency Award, the 2020 Varuna PIP Fellowship Award, the Byron Bay Writers Festival Mentorship Award, and a placement with the Australian Writers Mentoring program. Her work was shortlisted from over 2000 entries across 54 countries for the international 2021 First Pages Prize.