- Paperback: 287 pages
- Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (1 Oct. 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1542005132
- ISBN-13: 978-1542005135
Synopsis
Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets. War-scarred Mireille is fighting with the Resistance; Claire has been seduced by a German officer; and Vivienne’s involvement is something she can’t reveal to either of them.
Two generations later, Claire’s English granddaughter Harriet arrives in Paris, rootless and adrift, desperate to find a connection with her past. Living and working in the same building on the Rue Cardinale, she learns the truth about her grandmother – and herself – and unravels a family history that is darker and more painful than she ever imagined.
In wartime, the three seamstresses face impossible choices when their secret activities put them in grave danger. Brought together by loyalty, threatened by betrayal, can they survive history’s darkest era without being torn apart?
Review
Paris and fashion, two things that I love, so I knew I had to read The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy. Set in 2017 and early 1940’s this book follows Harriet, in the present, who goes to Paris as an intern at a Fashion Public Relations Company. Whilst there she decides to look into her grandmother’s past and her life as a seamstress in Paris. Full of historical detail, this books mixes fact and fiction beautifully as we learn how three woman risked their lives during the war and how their story can help Harriet overcome her feeling of being lost and the grief surrounding the death of her mother.
The Dressmaker’s Gift is in itself a gift of a book to read. The beautiful setting of Paris is the backdrop to the atrocities of the War in the 1940’s and in the present day the Bataclan theatre massacre, nearly seventy five years apart. Both show the resilience of the Paris citizens, their refusal to give in to their attackers, and to fight back. The 1940’s follows the stories of Mireille, Vivienne and Harriet’s grandmother Claire who are seamstresses for the famous Delavigne Couturier, but in an evening they all have their secrets, working for France’s greater good, and putting their lives in danger. Their resilience and courage shine through in this book, and it is this courage and tenacity that helps Harriet in the present day.
Harriet has just finished University and seems a bit lost. After her mother’s death she was sent to boarding school whilst her father remarried and had another family, one Harriet isn’t sure she fits into. It is wonderful to see Harriet gain confidence throughout the book, she feels she can be someone new in Paris as no one knows her history. The more she learns of her grandmother’s story, the stronger she gets is able to finally deal with the grief and aftermath of her mother’s death.
The Dressmaker’s Gift is a beautifully written book with four interesting and inspiring women at its core. The historical detail is seamless and brings the experiences of the War to life in shocking detail, and the dangers these women were willing to face. I absolutely adored reading this book with its gripping plot that evokes Paris in the past and present, it’s enduring beauty, and those citizens who love their city. A stunning read!
