Book Summary and Reviews of The Gown by Jennifer Robson

Reader Reviews

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Cathryn Conroy

A Novel So Good, So Compelling, So Delightful That You'll Be Reading Long Past Your Bedtime!
Warning! This book is so good, so compelling, so delightful that you won't be able to stop reading. It is the perfect ChickLit with a gripping, multilayered plot that will keep you turning the pages long past your bedtime.

Written by Jennifer Robson, this novel is a deeply affecting story about the power of friendship, the pain of betrayal, and the pleasure of redemption.

On the surface, the story of the embroiderers who helped make Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown for her November 20, 1947 nuptials to Philip Mountbatten seems rather, well, benign and possibly boring. It is the opposite! The tale is told through three fictional characters:
• Ann Hughes, a longtime employee of Norman Hartnell, the gown's designer. She is a loving and good young woman, but she's lonely.
• Miriam Dassin, a psychologically damaged young Jew who has emigrated to England from France and is guarding deep, tragic secrets.
• Heather Mackenzie, the granddaughter of Ann Hughes, who lives in Toronto.

Ann and Miriam keep the story going through 1947, while Heather's story takes place in 2016 as she tries to piece together the confusing mystery of her grandmother's deepest life secrets. The juxtaposition of the two time periods works seamlessly without being jarring as sometimes happens with this plot device.

World War II and the incessant bombing of London are over in early 1947, but there is severe rationing and shortages. It's a very cold winter, and everyone is shivering because there isn't enough coal or tea. It's a difficult time for everyone. In addition to their challenging jobs at Hartnell's, both Ann and Miriam each begin dating, but one of the men is a scoundrel who commits two heinous acts, setting in motion a series of events that forever changes one of their lives.

The novel is exquisitely written in such a way to transport readers into this slice of time with lots of historical details about everything from the gown's fabric to the rooms of Buckingham Palace. You're guaranteed to crave a cuppa!

An aside: Do Google photos of Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown to better appreciate the grandeur and intricacies of the embroidery.

MaryAnn Economos

Wonderful story
I loved this book.

Becky H

Rich details make this book come alive
The intimate details of every day life in 1947 England, still suffering from the austerity required by the devastation of WWII, are clearly rendered in the lives of two embroiderers working on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. One woman will become world famous, the other will be lost in obscurity when she emigrates to Canada.

Richly detailed scenes in ordinary home life (rationed, food, clothing, housing), education, and the workplace make this tale of historical fiction come to life. The reader comes to care about Ann and Miriam as they toil day after day on the peculiarities of embroidered flowers and motifs at Hartnell, a haute couture house of fashion.

Robson has done the research. She ably and seamlessly weaves real events and real people into her story. Book groups and history buffs will both find much to love and discuss in this tale.

Betty Taylor

Fit for a Princess
If you like books about strong female friendships and/or British royalty (especially an interest in the wedding gowns worn by Diana, Kate, and Meghan) this is the book for you.

It is 1947 and Princess Elizabeth is to marry Prince Philip. Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin are embroiderers for Norman Hartnell, designer for the royal family. Ann is alone after her brother is killed in the war and her sister-in-law moves to Canada. Ann becomes friends with Miriam, the mysterious new French girl at work and invites her to be her roommate. Miriam Dassin eventually reveals that she is Jewish and was imprisoned at Ravensbruck.

Toronto, 2016 – Heather Mackenzie is saddened over the death of her grandmother “Nan”. While going through her grandmother’s effects a box marked “To Heather” is found. Inside are three lovely embroidered pieces and a photo of some women gathered around a sewing frame. Heather realizes that neither she nor her mother know anything about Nan’s life before she came to Canada. They uncover a few more photos that reveal that Nan had apparently been friends with the well-known embroiderer Miriam Dassin. Thus begins Heather’s quest to learn about Nan and her secretive past.

I thoroughly loved this book. The characters emerged from the written page and came to life as I read. While being eager to get to each new chapter I also was compelled to set aside the book to look up elements from the story – close up photos of the actual wedding gown, other dresses designed by Norman Hartnell, the Chulily sculpture mentioned in the book. I could envision myself there in Hartnell’s workroom with the drawings and sketches pinned to the walls and fabric everywhere. The book has romance, it has villainy and glamour, but above all it has an amazing bond between two women. The premise of the book is well stated in a paraphrase from Heather: The story is about the gown and what it was like to create a wedding gown for a princess – and how it felt to receive no acknowledgement of their work.

This book filled me with a warmth and a sense of completion – a feeling of “this is how it should be”. There is so much more I would love to write about this book but I don’t want to give away too much of a story that you just must read for yourself.