The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy is a historical fiction novel set in nazi occupied Paris during WW II. It is the story of three young women who work as seamstresses for a designer. They live together in a small apartment on the 5th floor of the building that houses the designer’s workshop. While on the surface the three are going about their lives as best as they can in the difficult times but in actuality, all three have secrets as some are working for the Resistance and one is dating a German officer.

The author does an admirable job in her descriptions of 1940s occupied Paris and the plot although rather familiar in feel, is gripping. As with many historical novels today, we follow two timelines, one set in the 1940s and one set in modern times. In this book, I thought the double timeline worked quite well as a way to recount the past, as a granddaughter traces her family history through her grandmother’s war time activities. On the other hand I felt the book got a little clunky in the telling of the modern story as the author tried to make parallels between the two stories that just didn’t work.

Nevertheless, I thought The Dressmaker’s Gift was interesting and certainly held my attention with the details about the French fashion industry and the war-time conditions in Paris. Overall the book was a well-told account of survival and friendship. ( )

The lives of 3 young seamstresses in Paris' fashion industry merge during WWII amid Germany's occupation. In the shocking brutality, violence and deprivation that follow these women risk everything to save lives, forging bonds of friendship that last for generations.

Vivacious, smart and beautiful Vivienne, Claire,and Mireille are excited to work in the atelier of Delavigne Couture catering to a wealthy & stylish clientele. Living in the apartments above the sewing workshop they quickly become friends.

Each day they witness abusive attacks and round-ups of Jewish men, women and children who are driven off and rarely seen again. Each woman decides on her own to join and help the resistance.

The Dressmaker's Gift is a moving story of making courageous decisions despite fear to protect innocents and the future.

Quick, engaging read.

This was a quick and fun read about three women who participated in the resistance during WW2. These women served as seamstresses in Paris in 1940 and became involved in secret missions (at times, even unbeknownst among themselves).
Claire (granddaughter to one of the women), comes to Paris seeking to learn more about her family's past. It so happens that her flat-mate is also a granddaughter to one of the women (a bit of a stretch in my opinion) and so Claire is able to learn more history than could have hoped for!
I enjoyed getting to know all the characters and was definitely caught up in their stories! ( )

This was a free Kindle read in 2019. It's the story of 3 young women in Paris in 1939-1945 who are seamstresses under Nazi occupation. A few of the fashion-house names are dropped such as Dior, Ricci, and Chanel, but they are not integral to the story. As with much historical fiction written currently, the author felt the need for a dual timeline, which was a big failure. The timeline was achieved with the non-scientific theory of inherited trauma, two generations later. It didn't work. In fact, the 1970's chapters of the book were not even necessary. One could read the entire book and skip all the "Harriet" chapters and still get the most from the story. This was a quick read or I would not have finished. The Velodrome had a one sentence mention and Flossenburg had three pages. The writing was sophomoric and predictable. If you want to read about fashion and/or the Nazi occupation of Paris, there are many better books available. ( )

4.5 ⭐

Wow!! I have so many feelings about this book! I love this authors writing style. She made the characters come to life for me. I could feel their pain, sadness, happiness, joy... All their feelings. So much so that I would be crying and then laughing almost at the same time.

Fiona Valpy's research was just impeccable! I have read many non-fiction books about WW2 so I knew what to expect in that regard and she was dead on with her descriptions. This part made the book! I enjoyed the women being at the center of this story. She showed how they could not only hold down a job, but be a part of the resistance as well.

You know the story is well written when you get up early so you can read the book before you go to work!

Thank you Netgalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Fiona Valpy for giving me a copy of this book for my honest review! ( )