Threads of Empire is a captivating and layman accessible monograph by Dr. Dorothy Armstrong about the geopolitical history entwined with textiles (carpets), their history and development from ancient to modern times. Due out 17th June 2025 from Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 368 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.
The author is a specialist scholar and curator with expertise in textiles writing deeply and well about her own specialty. She does a good job of illustrating the dichotomy between the powerful ruling classes throughout the ages and the lengths to which they would go to acquire these carpets which were the products of mostly poorer/illiterate/often female weavers.
It's written quite accessibly and in language which won't present many problems for laymen, but it's meticulously annotated throughout and the chapter notes and bibliography/references are likely worth the price of the book alone. The stories behind 12 particular historical carpets, curated by Dr. Armstrong, are fascinating and well told.
It's a niche book, but will definitely be on the radar for readers/fans of textile history, cultural history, political history, and allied subjects.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 48 minutes and is narrated by Alix Dunmoore. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Four stars. It would be an excellent choice for public or university/post-secondary library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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