In 1947 Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin are embroiderers at the famous fashion house of Norman Hartnell. The two friends are thrilled when they are chosen to be part of the team tasked with creating the future Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding gown. Britain is still recovering from the war and an especially harsh winter, but the upcoming royal wedding gives everyone something to look forward to. Years later, in 2016, Heather Mackenzie sets out to find out why her grandmother, who never spoke of her previous life in Britain, left her a set of embroidered flowers that closely resemble the embroidery on the gown worn by the future queen at her wedding.
You guys, I have to be honest and say that this book was not what I was expecting which was a bit of a letdown. I thought this book would be a non-fiction, biography style book about how Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress was made and the history behind it and any other fascinating stories about what was going on at the time. Especially because the cover of the book is a picture of the then Princess Elizabeth at her wedding. But nope. What we got was a historical fictional story, although based on real events and real people, about two women who worked on the dress. So, if you are looking for something of a non-fiction or documentary style, don’t go here.
That being said, once I got over my disappointment I liked the story.
The story is told from the three main character’s points of view – Ann, one of the top embroiderers at Mr. Hartnell’s shop, Miriam, a French immigrant who becomes Ann’s co-worker and housemate, and Heather, Ann’s granddaughter who embarks on a search for more information about Ann and her life in Britain.
I especially enjoyed the stories of Ann and Miriam and loved reading about the descriptions of the fabric and the embroidery and the work that went into creating each dress design. I felt that Heather’s story was not as compelling as the other two – Heather is a journalist who, coincidentally, is downsized from her job just when she finds out her grandmother had a whole other life in Britain that she could research and then write a story about, thus reviving her writing career (cue my eye roll here).
As well as delving into sewing and embroidery, this book deals with a lot of somber issues. It touches on what life was like in London after the war, when rationing was still in effect and re-building was occurring. There is also talk of the Holocaust, rape, and PTSD. It’s clear that this book is well-researched and there was even a Q&A at the end with the author where she talks about how she was able to interview one of the seamstresses who actually worked on the dress.
This was a good historical fiction novel, but again, although it is based on real people and real events, a lot of it is fiction.
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“(cue my eye roll here)” – Haha! I genuinely enjoyed reading this review and happy I read it before trying to get this book at the library. I would have felt the same way about reading a fictional novel and not something based of royal facts. Keep reviewing!! I love reading these. 🙂