I have read so much WWII historical fiction it’s nice to come across more post-WWII historical fiction. Recently I have read a couple of novels set during this time period in New York but just yesterday I finished The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson. I want to thank Aunt Jean for the recommendation; her book club was reading it!
As the title suggests, this book is set in 1947 as Great Britain anticipates the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth) to Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten.
The story is told from three perspectives, two from 1947 and one from modern day. The characters are:
Ann Hughes: a working class English girl who embroiders for famous fashion designer Normann Hartnell, chosen to create the gown for the upcoming wedding.
Miriam Dassin: Another talented embroider who works at Hartnell but is a recent emigrant from France who survived the Nazis.
Heather Mackenzie: Living in Toronto, she is trying to find out more about her late grandmother who left her hand-stitched flowers that match those on the royal wedding gown, which is on display decades later.
Although the book centers on “the gown,” through these women’s stories we get a sense of England as the impending wedding captures interest and lifts spirits after the difficult war. It also reads as a family mystery as Heather figures out who her grandmother was and what she was hiding.
I especially enjoyed the book because I have been watching “The Crown” on Netflix, a drama about Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
The author has another book I plan to check out: Goodnight from London: A Novel.
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