Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Currently Reading: The Dressmaker


I just finished reading The Dressmaker, by Kate Alcott. It's definitely my new favorite book. It's a historical novel written about the Titanic sinking, but what was most interesting is that the ship sinks within the first two chapters and the bulk of the book focuses on what happens after the Titanic sinks and how it effects the survivors.

The main characters are a young maid who wants to grow beyond her lower class and become a seamstress, Tess, and British nobility and fashion designer, Lady Duff, who employees Tess on the voyage on the Titanic. The Duffs' and Tess all survive the sinking and go on to deal with the effects of the tragedy on their lives and struggling to move beyond it. A senator from Washington begins a trial to find blame for the tragedy and it becomes almost like a witch hunt trying to blame people and survivors for the disaster. Tess also begins a relationship with two of the survivors whom she met while on board the Titanic. She must choose between a handsome artist/sailor and a wealthy man who can give her all of her dreams.

The novel focuses on class struggles and the politics of the era, fashion and designers, and a historical account of the events. It was all of my favorite topics rolled into one incredible book.

Has anyone else read The Dressmaker? What did you think?

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like such a good book! I'm a huge fan of the movie titanic.. it would be great to read a story that actually takes place after the sinking. I will definitely be giving this one a read!

    Much love,
    Lauren xoxo

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  2. Thank you so much for telling me! I've heard of the book but didn't know what it was about. I will definitely be reading it this summer at the beach. I finally will have time to read :) xoxo

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  3. I hope you both like it!! Let me know what you think after you read it :-)

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