The Gown

Starred review from October 8, 2018
Robson (Moonlight over Paris) delivers a satisfying multigenerational epic linked by the intricate embroidery used on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. In 1947 London, Ann Hughes works as an embroiderer at Hartnell, an exclusive clothing designer whose designs have been worn by the royals. Ann lost her brother during the Blitz and now lives with her widowed sister-in-law Milly. When French émigré Miriam Dassin starts working as an embroiderer at Hartnell, she and Ann become friends, and she moves in with Ann after Milly leaves England to live in Canada with her brothers. After Hartnell is chosen as the designer for Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress, Ann and Miriam work on the dress’s embroidery. The story jumps forward to 2016 Canada when journalist Heather Mackenzie’s grandmother dies and leaves her a box with beautifully embroidered fabric. She had disclosed little of her life in England before emigrating to Canada, and Heather travels to London to uncover the secrets of her grandmother’s life in London and her friendship with Miriam, now a celebrated artist. Robson’s meticulous attention to historical details—notably the intricacies of the embroidery work—is a wonderful complement to the memorable stories of Ann and Milly, making for a winning, heartwarming tale.

September 15, 2018

Ann Hughes has worked for Normand Hartnell, famed dressmaker for the queen and royal family, since she was 14. After her roommate immigrates to Canada, Ann, having survived the Blitz, her brother's death, and a horrible winter, is now faced with losing her home. Luckily, Miriam Dassin, a fellow embroiderer and recent refugee from France, is looking for better lodgings. The new roommates form a friendship and Ann learns the horrible story about what happened to Miriam and her family during the war. Seventy years later, Ann has recently died and her heartbroken granddaughter Heather is cleaning out Ann's possessions. She finds a box filled with intricate embroidered fabrics. Heather knew her grandmother was a crocheter and knitter, but after a little sleuthing, she discovers that Ann worked on then Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. VERDICT Alternating time lines between 1947 Britain and 2016 Canada, Robson (Goodnight from London) vividly brings to life these three women's struggles. Historical details about fabric, embroidery, and the royal family are well incorporated into their stories, with light romance rounding out this charming work of historical fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 7/30/18.]--Lynnanne Pearson, Skokie P.L., IL

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2018
Distraught over her grandmother's death, Heather Mackenzie discovers that her beloved Nan--a woman who never sewed a stitch in her life--has left her a peculiar gift: a box of exquisitely embroidered, pearl-encrusted flowers. In her quest to discover her grandmother's secrets, Heather will find much more than she had bargained for.Robson's (Goodnight from London, 2017) novel shifts deftly between Heather's world, as she travels from Toronto to London in 2016, and Nan's world, giving meticulous attention to the historical detail of post-World War II London. With everything from sugar and tea to heat and light strictly rationed, Ann Hughes, Heather's grandmother, has done her best to make her drab house happy, but it's tough going. A talented embroiderer and dressmaker to the royal family, Ann's work for Norman Hartnell, the premier dressmaker in England, offers an elegant respite from grim reality. Luckily, Miriam Dassin has decided to immigrate to London from Paris, where she, too, has worked as a superb embroiderer at the house of Christian Dior. Although haunted by her memories of Nazi persecution and imprisonment at Ravensbrück, Miriam secures a job at Hartnell House, befriends Ann, and moves into her house. As Princess Elizabeth and Lt. Mountbatten's nuptials approach, the women of Hartnell House cut, stitch, and embellish her gorgeous wedding gown. Fortune seems to finally smile on the women, as Ann meets the dashing Jeremy Brackett-Milne and Miriam captures the eye of journalist Walter Kaczmarek. Yet they must avoid the snares of spies eager to steal and publish the designer's patterns before the wedding. Untangling the threads of these remarkable women's lives, Heather, too, just may find love.A fascinating glimpse into the world of design, the healing power of art, and the importance of women's friendships.

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Starred review from November 15, 2018
The announcement of Princess Elizabeth's wedding is a balm to the austerity of postwar London. It is even more to Ann Hughes, an embroiderer at the fashion house of Norman Hartnell, who is charged with the delicate embellishment of the gown. Working alongside her is Miriam Dassin, a recent French �migr� who doesn't speak much about her past. In 2016 Canada, Heather mourns the death of her Nan, who similarly never spoke about her life before moving to Toronto. Nan left Heather a sample of beautifully embroidered fabric, and Heather heads to London to uncover its meaning. Ann's, Miriam's, and Heather's narratives mingle in an orderly but artful fashion, piecing together the full story of how the samples?and Nan?ended up in Canada. Robson (Goodnight from London?, 2017) deftly weaves issues of class, trauma, romance, and female friendship with satisfying details of Ann and Miriam's craft. This unique take on the royal wedding will be an easy sell to fans of Netflix's The Crown and a sure bet for readers of women-centered historical fiction by Kate Morton, Kate Quinn, or Susanna Kearsley.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)