A Curse Dark as Gold

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, 2009 Arthur A. Levine Books

     Charolotte Miller is the older daughter of the Miller of Stirwaters. When her father dies suddenly, Charolotte and her sister take over the workings of their wool-mill. Things have never gone perfectly according to plan for the Stirwaters Woolen Mill, but when there is no longer a male heir to run the mill things begin to go haywire. There is something at work on the mill, the workers believe in its moods and some accidents are just impossible, even with bad luck. Talk of a curse begins to circulate in the town, talk Charolotte can no longer discount or dismiss.
     Charolotte and Rosie have some hope of making a good season and helping their workers make it through the winter. Everything is going well: the mill is producing some of the best cloth Stirwaters has ever seen and the people are flourishing. However, soon enough, the spirit of the mill starts to work against them; an entire run is destroyed, their "jack-of-all-trades" handyman breaks his leg in an impossible fall, and the world itself seems to be against the two young women. With the cloth moguls circling, Charolotte doesn't know what to do.
     But a strange little man appears on the scene. He comes and goes as needed, and requests only small things in return: a worthless ring from Charolotte's mother, a brooch from her love. He then proceeds to spin straw into gold. When the strange little man asks for something Charolotte is unwilling to give, she must find a way to fight for her family and the mill that keeps her community alive.
     Charolotte's character begins as any other female heroine in a patriarchal society: alone, without resources, and without the confidence to pursue her desires. But when she only faces adversity in the cloth industry, she transforms into a pillar. Her tendency to keep bottle up her troubles only causes more of them, but in the end she manages to overcome the fears that make her keep her problems to herself. She transforms from a somewhat stock character into a realistic young woman with the problems and fears of any young adult.
     Bunce has managed to blend the myths of Rumpelstiltskin into the historical landscape of the textile industry. While their world features technology of today, its society is drawn up around realistic and historical lines in an understandable blend of technological and general language. This historical fantasy takes the superstitions of the time and plays out what would have happened if they weren't only superstitions.