Fiona Valpy's "The Dressmaker's Gift": A Novel About the Power of Sewing and Crafting

JenniP: A brilliant read, really enjoyed it. Didn't want it to end but couldn't put the book down.

United Kingdom on Nov 05, 2023

Karen Sharpe: (One small spoiler!) I was attracted to this book because I have recently read a number of stories about women living through the Second World War. I knew that the French Resistance were exceptionally brave people, but I had no idea what happened to those who were captured by the Nazis - I was certainly educated by this story. The Dressmaker’s Gift is beautifully written, in a dual timeline style that I really enjoyed. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and stories of inspirational women.

United Kingdom on Nov 01, 2023

Karen Montgomery: I loved how this book weaves the present and past together and love the surprise ending that I don’t want to spoil for anyone! I like reading actual books, but still love the format like you are reading a real book! I would recommend this book to all my friends especially if you love historical fiction of events that aren’t common knowledge!

United States on Oct 10, 2023

JacqueF: The two stories told in the book, jump between WWII and the present although, more time is spent about WWII. They both take place in Paris, for the most part.

Valpy is so good at describing the places and events in her books that I feel like I'm right there. Her characters are well developed. I could feel like I was a part of their lives.

United States on Oct 09, 2023

P. West: Maybe 4.5 stars! A quick read that was hard to put down, I wanted to know how things would turn out in both stories - the one in WW2 and the one in current day. I’m not especially interested in fashion but still found it compelling in terms of how it was used even during WW2 for bigger things. And the personal relationships were special.

United States on Oct 07, 2023

Mrs. J. Richmond: I'm always amazed when writers manage to find a new aspect of WW2 to write about. I have just read a book about female war correspondents, now this one about high couture seamstresses working undercover in the Resistance. Despite the subject matter I'm sure male readers will enjoy this book.

The main protagonist, Harriett finds herself a job in Paris working in a building which housed a fashion house in WW2. Her grandmother was one of the dressmakers, along with two other women whom she befriended.

Working in modern day Paris with Harriett is a granddaughter of one of the other women. Her grandmother details the lives of the three dressmakers for the young women, bringing their stories to life.

It is a fascinating work which bridges time. The main story is about the three dressmakers and their risky lives. Harriett's life is also complex as she struggles to come to terms with the fallout from her mother's premature death.

Until her sojourn in Paris Harriett has no idea of her grandmother's past. Once she learns of the trauma her grandmother endured she wonders if this has impacted her own mother, and herself. Epigenetics is very topical; how events...

Australia on Aug 25, 2023

Kindle Customer: The book is a wonderful historical fiction dealing with the lives of three young women living and working in Paris during the German occupation during World War II. One is in the French Resistance, one is dating a Nazi officer, and one will not even tell them about her life.

A young woman is still dealing with her Mother's suicide years afterwards. She finds a picture of three young women outside of a fashion house in Paris. She learns the picture is her Grandmother and her two friends. She learns her love of fashion must come from her grandmother. Harriet applies to a fashion house in Paris and is on her way to her dream internship.

Once she arrives she is working in the fashion building her grandmother did. Her internship gives her a room above the fashion house, which she discovers is the same room her grandmother lived during World War II. Her roommate is the granddaughter of one of the women in the picture. Harriet knows little about her grandmother. Her roommate , Simone, is able to fill in some basic information about the three women.
Simone's grandmother sends letters telling the story of the three women, Vivi, Claire's grandmother, and Mirelle, Simone's...

United States on Jul 27, 2023

Marta Mendoza: Está bien escrito y muy bien acabado.
Se lo recomiendo a cualquiera que aprecie la historia dramatizada.
La historia te transporta a otra época.

Spain on Dec 17, 2022

Ellesse: Once I had come to terms with the massive coincidence that forms the basis of this book, I really loved the story. The two time periods which alternate in the book do not jar, in fact they meld together in a very satisfying way. Some of the story is hard to read because of the horrific cruelty involved but we must not shy away nor ever forget one of the most dreadful periods in human - or really inhuman - history.

France on Oct 14, 2022

Bonnye Reed Fry: We are in Paris, the 1940s, the city under German rule. We meet three young ladies who are seamstresses for a fairly small couture house, working on the ground floor of the building at 12 Rue Cardinale, Paris, and live in rooms at the top, the fifth floor of that building. Claire, Vivienne, and Mireille are young women trying to make a difference in their own ways, improve life for those living under German rule through that time.

67 years later, in 2017, Harriet Shaw is the American granddaughter of Clair. Harriet has had a very rough life. When she was quite young her parents divorced. Her father re-married too soon and started a new family. Harriet's French mother, Felicity, can't seem to pull herself out of a massive depression, and when Harriet is in her early teens, Felicity commits suicide. Harriet has to go and live with her father and his new family, feeling unwelcome and somehow guilty. That feeling is intensified when her Dad quickly sends her off to boarding school. On her senior trip to Paris, she brings the photo of those three girls standing in front of 12 Rue Cardinale and finds the building, not much changed in appearance but currently housing 'Agence...

United States on Mar 02, 2021