I'll be forever grateful to my friend, Karen Johnson, for introducing me to the author Jennifer Robson. Jennifer Robson is Karen's sister in law's sister and we got to speak with her for a book club meeting when we read one of her other books. It was so wonderful to hear her passion for history and all that went into creating the story. I also got to go listen to Jennifer Robson at Wordfest when she spoke about The Gown. (Here is an interview with her in Calgary). That was really a fun night! The person who interviews Jennifer Robson wore her wedding gown and many people in the audience were dressed in proper England tea-party type dresses. If only I thought of those kinds of things ahead of time!
I can't remember the story exactly or if this is a real sample from the Queen's gown, but they passed this around at the event for everyone to see:
When she was doing her research, Jennifer Robson met a woman named Betty who really did work on the dress and was a big source of inspiration for the book. She talks about her at the back of the book as well.
Some of her other books that I've read are: Moonlight Over Paris, Somewhere in France, and After the War is Over. I also own Goodnight From London and I don't think I've read that one. Time to do that! Actually, reading The Gown has made me want to go back and re-read all of Robson's books.
This book is a special blend of family history research, historical fiction, mystery and romance. I was raised by a mom who sews, who was raised by a mom who sewed and so I have a bit of a passion for that as well. This book made me want to learn to do beadwork, for sure! As far as the royal family goes, I thought it was appropriate that Jennifer Robson should have a character who kind of looked at everyone's love for the princess with a bit of disdain at first. She does seem to come around though and mostly have good to say about princess Elizabeth. I woke up in the middle of the night to watch Diana and Charles' wedding and also loved the stories around Kate and William's wedding...and I love Harry and Meghan too despite all the bad press they get. All in all, I guess I'm a bit of a royal family fan.
I thought this book was well written and came together nicely in the end.I love historical fiction and this book does not disappoint. We're going to discuss this book for my book club in June and I'm quite looking forward to it!
I thought this book was well written and came together nicely in the end.I love historical fiction and this book does not disappoint. We're going to discuss this book for my book club in June and I'm quite looking forward to it!
Goodreads says:
“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.”—Sir Winston Churchill on the news of Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?
With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?
With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.
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