Torn is a detailed political fantasy which makes women's lives & work its core. Sophie, a seamstress with a talent for magic, has spent her life building a fashionable dressmaking business from scratch. This is no mean feat considering her outsider status as a Pellian in Galitha , her gender, her social status, and the competitive nature of Galitha's trading laws. Her brother, busy orchestrating the beginnings of a popular movement to improve worker's rights, can't see how revolutionary Sophie's own life is, but it's clear to the reader that Sophie is engaged in her own struggle for dignity, independence, and agency. Rowenna Miller has constructed her heroine's life from the social history of actual working-class women who were required to work to feed themselves or their families. And this allows her to write a book which presents a lesser-seen slant on what constitutes freedom and agency for women. So many stories present heroines who have to reject traditional femininity as they search for freedom. It is exceptionally exciting to read a fantasy novel where the heroine's quest for independence revolves around work traditionally done by women, and where the magic is also linked to that work. Miller also injects other practical concerns drawn from history, such as Sophie's concerns about having to give up her work, and hand over her business if she marries. Taking these historical details and using them to craft a fantasy world makes for a story which approaches typical issues for a woman in a fantasy story, like the twin desire for romance and independence, in a different, interesting way. It's also exciting to see Torn deal with the way labour movements often historically ignored women's labour, and concerns, in their pursuit of justice "for all". While Sophie is written as deliberately wary of the revolution because it could affect her business, it's also made clear that there is little to personally draw her into the revolution. The movement doesn't address women's concerns, or make much of an effort to bring them into the fold of the revolution. Even her own brother doesn't try to understand what her business means to her, and is uninterested in sharing the domestic labour of their own house. It's implicit that women like Sophie are expected to enter into the movement due to an impulse which prompts them to care for the working-class men in their lives, and streets. There are certainly points in the novel where it's frustrating to see Sophie continue to relate more to her noble clientele than to her own class, and to exhibit so much caution in the face of injustice. Miller says in the extras at the back of the book that Sophie is written as a 'neutral' person, and that's another interesting, different tack that this novel takes. However, it is odd that all the nobles in this book are genuinely nice, although obviously many are stuck in their ways. The revolutionary forces are painted with more light and shade, in a way which avoids demonising the entire movement. But the aristocracy are universally nice, and most are trying to develop their thinking. Perhaps this is an unavoidable consequence of Sophie mixing mostly with guests at a liberal salon, but it's a factor that threw me out of the story occasionally. Overall though, Torn is a smart novel with a fascinating approach to fantasy. I can't wait to read the sequel.