'Subtle, compendious and rich ... an emotive and serious work of what you might call history on the distaff side' - James McConnachie, The Sunday Times'Dazzling ... Finlay's adventures, vividly recounted, make enthralling reading ... This book is equally an inspiration and an education' - Bel Mooney, Daily Mail'I am wildly impressed by the depth of her research and the stories she finds' - Alexandra Shulman, author of Clothes... And Other Things That MatterHow is a handmade fabric helping save an ancient forest?Why is a famous fabric pattern from India best known by the name of a Scottish town?How is a Chinese dragon robe a diagram of the whole universe?What is the difference between how the Greek Fates and the Viking Norns used threads to tell our destiny?In Fabric, bestselling author Victoria Finlay spins us round the globe, weaving stories of our relationship with cloth and asking how and why people through the ages have made it, worn it, invented it and made symbols out of it. And