The Dressmaker's Gift Pdf

ISBN: B07P2VZ6ZL
Title: The Dressmaker's Gift Pdf

From the bestselling author of The Beekeeper’s Promise comes a gripping story of three young women faced with impossible choices. How will history – and their families – judge them?

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?

Stunning, heartbreaking and inspirational all at the same time, make “The Dressmaker’s Gift” a rare jewel of historical fiction. Fiona Valpy draws the reader completely into this world of couture, family and friendship by way of her ability to write extraordinary prose. There are too many examples to single out just one. I just spent 30 minutes trying!Each chapter is titled with a heading that denotes either a date during WWll or Harriet. This technique of alternating between two time periods is deftly handled with the current leading way to the historical to solve the mystery. I’ll admit that very early on there’s a scene where a consequence was so convenient I tho’t this story might be a contrived farce but it nothing could be further from that erroneous conclusion!All of the women in this story are magnificent. They have strength, character and heart as well as a purpose, for which they will go to any length to see accomplishment. How the relationships are woven together and the friendships build throughout the course of the pages is beautiful.There are no warnings needed for language or sexual content. Because a fair portion of the story takes place at interment camps, there are difficult chapters to read. None of that writing is gratuitous, in fact it honors the women and focuses on their relationship.The theme of couture and sewing does play a role that runs thru the story, a thread, if you will, helping to make “The Dressmaker’s Gift” a literary gift to all📚~~French Resistance WW II/Harriet 2017~~ A few months ago, I read multiple books/novels about the French Resistance in WW II. And, all of them were about women that were members of the Special Operations Executives (SOE). These females were agents and truly did remarkable 'jobs' in the face of the enemy within their native France.This novel describes....and in rich descriptive language, the stories of three such women....Mireille, Claire and Vivienne who were employed as dressmakers in Paris. These three young women came from diverse backgrounds but ended up being valued members of the Resistance.Fast forward to the year 2017 and Harriet, a young lady is on a quest to find out more about the three young women in a photograph taken during WW II in Paris. The photo belonged to Harriet's mother, Felicity. And, so her quest for more information begins.Anyone who has ever visited Paris will recognize all of the familiar landmarks ..the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Metro and its familiar stops, and many other locations. Loved all of them...The story of the three women and their involvement in the French Resistance is indeed a harrowing and horrific one. It brings home the fact that ordinary people must do something in times of war. And, they did. I was not expecting such descriptive language involving daily life in Paris at that time. Curfew was on, food was scarce, the populace was cold as fuel was so scarce, even the description of the coffee..'roasted chicory and dandelion toots' was mentioned. The readers of this novel will experience Paris during WW II.And, I was not expecting the suicide of a loved one in this novel to affect me so deeply. The idea that perhaps trauma may be inherited is most intriguing. The author does discuss this more at the conclusion of her novel. (And, yes, I lost my brother in 1996 so that is the reason this affected me). As Harriet said 'life can be so very tenuous at times, perhaps that fragility is why we treasure it.'In her quest for the truth about the 3 young women in the picture, she also came to realize that attacks against humanity are still happening with the terrorist bombings. And, so the cycle continues albeit in a different form...Outstanding novel which included a multi-layered plot, characters richly defined and intense action, of some form. included on the pages.Most highly recommended.