The Gown The Gown

The Gown

A Novel of the Royal Wedding

    • 4.5 • 574 Ratings
    • $12.99
    • $12.99

Publisher Description

One of the most anticipated reads from InStyle, HelloGiggles, Hypable, Bookbub, and Bookriot!

One of Real Simple's Best Historical Fiction novels of the year!

“The Gown is marvelous and moving, a vivid portrait of female self-reliance in a world racked by the cost of war.”--Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network

From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.

“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.

GENRE
Romance
RELEASED
2018
December 31
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
400
Pages
PUBLISHER
William Morrow Paperbacks
SELLER
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
SIZE
3
MB

Customer Reviews

Hankanon ,

Interesting premise

The Gown in question is Queen Elizabeth II wedding gown and its creation not from the point of view of the designer but from that of the women that actually did the work of construction and embellishment. Set in the cold grey London of 1947 the wedding provided a distraction from the post war shortages. The stories of the women are perhaps a smidge predictable but the book is a nicely written quick read.

Mari of Linden ,

Will Not Disappoint!

If you loved The Crown you will not be disappointed by The Gown! Loved the characters and the peek into the imagery of what life was like for these ladies who never seek credit, yet are due so much more than their daily wages.

Jab300 ,

Awesome

Read this in just a few sittings. Lovely fictionalized story of two women who worked on the queen’s wedding gown. Goes from the past to present with grandchildren of the ladies. Easy to read but quite smartly written.

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