The Kashmir Shawl: a sweeping, epic historical WW2 romance novel from the bestselling author of Iris and Ruby

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In the 14th century AD, the industry was energised by the enthusiastic patronage of Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir. The fine fleece used for the shawls is that which grows under the rough, woolly, outer coat of the animal; that from the under-belly, which is shed on the approach of hot weather. The Kashmir shawl that evolved from this expertise in its heyday had greater fame than any other Indian textile.

Kashmir shawl - Wikipedia

Today, shahtoosh shawls are no longer made because of a ban on the trade of products made from the Tibetan antelope. In the mid-eighteenth century, they became popular after their use by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Empress Joséphine of France.

The Do-shala, as the name designates ("two-shawl"), are always sold in pairs, there being many varieties of them. Although woolen shawls were mentioned in writings of the 3rd century bc and the 11th century ad, it is only in the 16th century that the first specific references to Kashmir work appeared. The Kashmir shawl has since become a toponym for the Kashmir region itself (cashmere, named after Kashmir), inspiring mass-produced imitation industries in India and Europe, and popularising the buta motif, today known as the Paisley motif after the factories in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland that sought to replicate it.

THE KASHMIR SHAWL | Kirkus Reviews

The cashmere shawls suited the French well, providing the needed warmth, while adding visual interest to white French gowns through the traditional teardrop buta pattern and discreet floral motifs.But Ridge can’t hide his feelings for Sydney long—and they face their dilemma with refreshing emotional honesty. I could not decide if this was “women’s” fiction, historical fiction, romance, and finally decided literary fiction was the most accurate. The Chinar leaf ( plane tree leaf), apple and cherry blossoms, the rose and tulip, the almond and pear, the nightingale—these are done in deep mellow tones of maroon, dark red, gold yellow and browns. In the West, depending on the fashion of the moment, the Kashmir shawl represented different types of commodities, originally worn by men, but thereafter by women and then as decorative items in interior design.

shawls (article) | 1500–1857 C.E. | Khan Academy Cashmere shawls (article) | 1500–1857 C.E. | Khan Academy

The prosperous but labor-intensive cottage industry of Kani shawls began, before WWII, to lose out to factory-made imitations, impoverishing the true practitioners. In India, the shawl was worn by men, with the fineness of the shawl indicating nobility or royal favour. Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.In the late 18th century and 19th century, the paisley became an important motif in a wide range of Indian textiles, perhaps because it was associated with the Mughal court.

The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas | Waterstones

Rosie Thomas is the author of numerous celebrated novels including the bestsellers Sun at Midnight, Iris and Ruby, and Constance. In the late 18th century, it arrived in Britain, and then in France, where its use by Queen Victoria and Empress Joséphine popularised it as a symbol of exotic luxury and status. The shawls made in Kashmir occupy a pre-eminent place among textile products; and it is to them and to their imitations from Western looms that specific importance attaches. In nineteenth-century English writing, despite the fact that shawls were worn by men, Kashmiri shawls became coded as women's luxuries. Always the free spirit, Mair decides to travel to India to piece together the story of the shawl and how it might have come into her grandmother’s possession.

Valentine's Day is one of the BIGGEST opportunities to tell your sweetheart how much you really love her. French magazines were attentive to her dress styles and reinterpreted in fashion plates, giving the shawl widespread influence. Here, in the heart of romantic Kashmir, the colonists dance, flirt, and gossip as if there is no war. In the 19th century Kashmir shawls were also exported to England and France — it is said that Napoleon Bonaparte gifted Kashmir shawls to both his wives.