(Exclusive foreword from the Author): When I was writing Fabric, I found myself pushing back the planning of the silk chapter until almost the end. With barkcloth and sackcloth and linen and cotton and the others, there were clear and burning questions in my mind that I was excited to find the answers to. With silk, I was initially less interested in it because it was so obviously luxurious, and having lived in Asia for more than a decade, I had a vague (and as it turned out totally unfounded) feeling that I probably already knew much of what I needed to know.
But then I went to Lyon, historical centre of France’s silk industry, and I met a silk moth for the first time. It looked like a fluffy white rabbit and like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, it was the moth itself that would be my guide into the rabbit hole of research into, and discovery of, the extraordinary fabric that is silk. In the end it was a journey full of unexpected turns and discoveries. And it was a journey that began where it needed to begin, with a sharp sense of compassion for all the creatures that die to give us silk.
Fabric is the third in what’s turned out to be a trilogy of books about the histories of small, bright and (usually) lovely materials. And when I was researching each of the books I found doors opening into worlds of history and struggle and beauty and symbolism, and every time it was a surprise.
(Begin excerpt):
I look at the moths on the table. They're balancing on wooden rods sticking up from what looks like a cribbage board. One has its wings spread and the other has them upright. And they're adorable. That's not a technical term, but the wings are huge and fluffy, like white rabbit ears or toy donkey ears, and their antennae are like oversized lashes fringed with dark threads. Their forelegs are strong and furry: teddy bear legs. Their eyes are black buttons, and their plump bodies are covered with soft hair. It’s as if a puppy has somehow got muddled in the evolutionary mix with a fat white hummingbird.
I hadn't expected to love the silk moth so much.
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