Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic comes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.
Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.
Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.
On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.
The Dressmaker
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The Most Famous Designer You’ve Never Heard Of
An Essay by Author Kate Alcott
Let me introduce you to the most famous designer you’ve never heard of—a fiery red-head named Lucile Duff Gordon, who in the early years of the twentieth century was the one of the top names in the fashion world. Lucile was famous for her diaphanous, floating fabrics in soft colors that freed women from the corsets of the nineteenth century. Her clothes were worn by royalty, high society women and glamorous movie stars alike. But Lucile, herself, was a very tough lady. When I first “met” Lady Duff Gordon in the course of researching The Dressmaker, I thought she was one of the most imperious and unlikeable women I had come upon in years. I wondered: do I really want to write about her? Is she too much of an obnoxious type? Nobody was allowed to stand in her way to success. The people who worked for her were indeed terrified half the time. “Madame” was mercurial and prone to fire anyone who did not do her bidding instantly. Rules and propriety were for other people. She thought nothing, so it is reported, of spitting her gum (which she chewed often and with relish) out of a window at her New York loft, ignoring the possibility that it might land on a passerby (which it did once, prompting an angry woman with gum in her hair to storm the loft and demand an apology. She didn’t get it.) I decided to leave that vignette out. My readers would hate Madame before the story got going. And yet the longer I thought about Lucile, the more I saw her as one of the more amazingly determined women of her time. (Maybe on a par with Elinor Glyn, her sister, who, in order to stay attractive in Hollywood, was daring enough to have one of the very first face lifts ever.) Lucile reigned supreme in the designing world at a time when few women had the savvy to propel a business to success. How ironic then that the most indelible image of her doesn’t stem from the fact that she was the most famous dress designer in the world, but from the fact that—as a passenger on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic, escaping in a boat that held only twelve people—she refused to allow the crew members to row back and save others. In addition, her husband offered money to those crew members. As a bribe or simply a thank you? Lucile’s boat was not the only one that didn’t go back, of course, but she made a plum target for the newspapers of the time. Nobody will ever know for sure what happened in Lifeboat One, but Lucile never quite escaped the shadow of the ensuing scandal. There were still some good years ahead – but her business began to weaken, made even more vulnerable when she lost a major legal battle involving a contract dispute. Her one piece of irrefutable good luck? Three years after the Titanic went down, Lucile made a last minute cancellation for her reservation on a ship due to become as notorious as the Titanic – the Lusitania. The ship was destroyed by a German torpedo and sank in 1915. Twelve hundred people died. Lucile died years later in 1935 at the age of 71, already forgotten, in an English nursing home. Her business went bankrupt in 1921. But, oh, the clothes! I pored over pictures of them: ethereal Edwardian gowns hinting at female sensuality; bolder costumes for her Hollywood clients. They were magical, the kind of clothes I used to imagine wearing as a child when I wrapped myself in curtain remnants from my father’s textile factory, pretending to be a princess. A few years ago, I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, hoping to see one of her gowns on display. I was disappointed to find that all they were showing was a dreary olive-drab, no-nonsense suit that Lucile designed for women during World War I. I stared at it, looking for some hint of the creativity of the woman I hoped to capture for my book, wondering what splendid examples might be locked away in the vaults of the museum. I wanted to see the billowy sleeves and scalloped hemlines; the layers of floating chiffon, mixing colors of blue and gold, silver and green. I wanted to see the laces, airy as a spider web, the satin ribbons – all of it. Lucile would be furious that her best work wasn’t being shown. I could easily imagine her stomping out of the place, ranting and raving as underlings scurried about to correct what she would see as massive injustice. But for all of her tantrums and scenes, she was a complicated and immensely talented woman. Yes, the designer you never heard of. And yes, I decided, I did want to write about her.
From Booklist
Alcott’s debut brims with engrossing storytelling, marred by occasionally clunky writing. Tess Collins is an ambitious young woman who dreams of stepping out of her 1912 class restrictions and becoming more than a maid. She wants the world to know her talent as a dressmaker. Her fate is forever altered when she encounters the mercurial, imperious designer, Lady Lucile Duff Gordon and becomes that lady’s personal assistant on the ocean liner Titanic. The actual sinking of the great ship is treated briefly (which may disappoint some Titanic buffs). Tess is willing to do almost anything to realize her designing dreams, even if it means bowing to the increasingly irrational, grandiose whims of her overprivileged employer. As Tess’ personal dramas unfold, the ugly aftermath of the ocean tragedy and the roles passengers and crew members played are revealed by the disturbing official investigation, which Alcott takes almost verbatim from the transcripts of the U.S. Senate hearings. For fans of Sarah Jio, Susanna Kearsley, and immigrant tales. --Julie Trevelyan
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 76 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Tess, of "The Dressmaker" is to the Titanic tragedy, what Winslet and DiCaprio of the film was. The human side of history. Kate Alcott's story is riveting. Hard...nay, impossible to set aside. The opening chapter weaves a gaze inside the glitzy new ship, gold deck A, & steerage. Chap two's accounts of bedlam & bustle that took place during the fast sinking are only the foundation. Then readers are taken on a voyage of the inner emotional depths of survivors.
Guilt, loss, elation, panic, love, shame, and so many other emotions were stitched into the lives of those who could not quickly put the sinking into their past. While trying to move on in life on the streets of NYC, a handful of individuals are given an in-depth presentation to the reader. Who will be held responsible? What made them react in the ways they did? What secrets are they hiding, hoping they will never resurface? Who's lying? Why did Lifeboat One hold only a dozen of its 50-60 capacity? Surviving is an emotional journey for several. Who cheated death? At what cost? And for Tess, it becomes a struggle to begin life anew, as well as face a future what has a potential of romance.
Those readers who love a good personal look at huge historic events will love this story, as I did. It's certainly deals with a lot of the immediate aftermath of the sinking, especially as it involves those connected to the Congressional investigation into the tragedy. The author uses documentation of real testimony to enlighten readers to some little known specifics. Enough drama for a sequel blockbuster film. Enough romance and dressmaking story to hem interest for women. Enough newspaper rag and political fallout to gather & satisfy men. History is sewn within every chapter. Even suffragettes will drool.
The Dressmaker measures up! Expect more from this author soon.
`
Guilt, loss, elation, panic, love, shame, and so many other emotions were stitched into the lives of those who could not quickly put the sinking into their past. While trying to move on in life on the streets of NYC, a handful of individuals are given an in-depth presentation to the reader. Who will be held responsible? What made them react in the ways they did? What secrets are they hiding, hoping they will never resurface? Who's lying? Why did Lifeboat One hold only a dozen of its 50-60 capacity? Surviving is an emotional journey for several. Who cheated death? At what cost? And for Tess, it becomes a struggle to begin life anew, as well as face a future what has a potential of romance.
Those readers who love a good personal look at huge historic events will love this story, as I did. It's certainly deals with a lot of the immediate aftermath of the sinking, especially as it involves those connected to the Congressional investigation into the tragedy. The author uses documentation of real testimony to enlighten readers to some little known specifics. Enough drama for a sequel blockbuster film. Enough romance and dressmaking story to hem interest for women. Enough newspaper rag and political fallout to gather & satisfy men. History is sewn within every chapter. Even suffragettes will drool.
The Dressmaker measures up! Expect more from this author soon.
`
35 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was wary going in to this book because I saw some negative reviews. While I try to stay away from reviews so that I can have an unbiased mind (and hopefully no spoilers), I am not always successful. Happily I loved most of the story, in particular the events that drew from the actual historical record. What I didn't like though was the romance, which was lackluster and rubbed against my personal biases in a bad way. But let's start with the good.
The hook for this book is that it is about the Titanic, its sinking, its survivors, and a trial investigating the disaster-perfect for fans of the film and those wanting to honor the centennial of the sinking. It's a great way to get readers started on the book and to reveal a new angle with the trials afterward. I was not familiar with them and I bet most people are familiar with the film and not so much with anything.
The primary focus is maid Tess who flees her awful position and manages to win a place with Lady Lucile Duff Gordon on the Titanic. Lucile is a dressmaker and as Tess is an aspiring seamstress, it seems ideal. Until the fatal iceberg when Lucile and her husband Cosmo seem to have acted with extreme cowardice and an eager US senator's trials test everyone. Newspaperwoman Pinky Wade's superb reporting on the scandal and a love triangle for Tess complete the plot lines.
I had complicated feelings about most of the characters, alternately loving and loathing them (merely pages apart). Lucile is selfish, capricious, and manipulating but also fearful of protecting her hard-earned position and capable of generosity at times. Tess has big dreams but sometimes a fearful personality that might slow her ascent. The other characters are also complicated, revealing their many facets.
As mentioned, there are two love interests for Tess. One is Jim, a sailor, who testifies against Lucile and who is searching for a better life in America. The other is Jack Bremerton, an older Chicago millionaire, in the middle of a divorce; despite his age, I far preferred Jack. For me, Jim was nothing and not because on the social scale, he is nothing. Because his personality was lame and I didn't find him to be hero material. In my opinion, the heroine of a story needs a deserving mate and while Jack is not particularly deserving, I thought he was more so than Jim. That conclusion really spoiled the book for me even as I could predict it was coming.
Overall: A rich historical novel with vibrant character depictions that just didn't quite please me.
The hook for this book is that it is about the Titanic, its sinking, its survivors, and a trial investigating the disaster-perfect for fans of the film and those wanting to honor the centennial of the sinking. It's a great way to get readers started on the book and to reveal a new angle with the trials afterward. I was not familiar with them and I bet most people are familiar with the film and not so much with anything.
The primary focus is maid Tess who flees her awful position and manages to win a place with Lady Lucile Duff Gordon on the Titanic. Lucile is a dressmaker and as Tess is an aspiring seamstress, it seems ideal. Until the fatal iceberg when Lucile and her husband Cosmo seem to have acted with extreme cowardice and an eager US senator's trials test everyone. Newspaperwoman Pinky Wade's superb reporting on the scandal and a love triangle for Tess complete the plot lines.
I had complicated feelings about most of the characters, alternately loving and loathing them (merely pages apart). Lucile is selfish, capricious, and manipulating but also fearful of protecting her hard-earned position and capable of generosity at times. Tess has big dreams but sometimes a fearful personality that might slow her ascent. The other characters are also complicated, revealing their many facets.
As mentioned, there are two love interests for Tess. One is Jim, a sailor, who testifies against Lucile and who is searching for a better life in America. The other is Jack Bremerton, an older Chicago millionaire, in the middle of a divorce; despite his age, I far preferred Jack. For me, Jim was nothing and not because on the social scale, he is nothing. Because his personality was lame and I didn't find him to be hero material. In my opinion, the heroine of a story needs a deserving mate and while Jack is not particularly deserving, I thought he was more so than Jim. That conclusion really spoiled the book for me even as I could predict it was coming.
Overall: A rich historical novel with vibrant character depictions that just didn't quite please me.
35 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Young Tess is sick to death of emptying chamber pots, cleaning linen, ducking the unwanted advances of a randy boy and the penny pinching cruelty of his mother. Rumors have spread of a huge ship taking its maiden voyage to America. Tess intends to ride her dreams of being a dressmaker all the way to NYC.
Fortuitously, Tess befriends a famous dressmaker(Lady Lucile Duff Gordon) who hires her aboard the Titanic as a maid, but learns quickly Tess's skills are vast as a seamstress. Madame Lucile moves Tess into first class to work on wardrobe for an upcoming gala fashion show in NYC. Feeling blessed beyond her dreams, while enjoying the cruise, Molly meets two men whom she deeply admires and who deeply admire her. Little does Tess or Lucile or these men realize their fates will change when an iceberg brings down the unsinkable Titanic.
As one of the survivors, Tess witnesses the ugly vulgarity of her employer, Madame Lucile, refusing to take more shipmates onto her lifeboat though it is nearly empty; Madama Duff Gordon fights off the drowning by paying the sailors to pass them by. Even Tess is denied room but she finds it in another boat saving two children with her. The famous "Molly Brown" is in her lifeboat; Tess and Molly row the inflatable's as the sailors have no training. They save all they can from aboard and those floating in icy cold water.
In the end there are less that 800 survivors. Reporters and a zealots senator, William Alden Smith, decry outrage and summons hearings immediately after the horrendous disaster. Lady Duff Gordon is stupid enough to draw all the attention to herself lying about how they survived. Reporters research and find she and her husband Sir Duff Gordon were villainous in their treatment of their shipmates.
Both of Tess's suitors survive and are most anxious to marry Tess. While attending all the gruesome hearings she befriend a suffragette newspaper author, Sarah(Pinky), and becomes aware of the many rights women should be awarded. It changes her feelings on having a man support and dictate her life.
I love that this book took a further look from the actual tragedy peering into the lives of those whom survived and what their future held. New angle. All the people aboard the Titanic and those included in hearings were all true life survivors. The press dubbed the Sir Gordon's Duff's life boat as "The Millionaire Boat" for only another rich couple was allowed in it.
Excessively readable with such interesting prose. Crisp, natural dialogue moves the story quickly along and before the reader knows it they are finished. I actually think this could be a series concentrating on others who survived, but that is up to this excellent novice author`s discretion.
A half star to grow on, Ms. Alcott, as you are on your way to a hit book here and hopefully many after.
Superb read!
Fortuitously, Tess befriends a famous dressmaker(Lady Lucile Duff Gordon) who hires her aboard the Titanic as a maid, but learns quickly Tess's skills are vast as a seamstress. Madame Lucile moves Tess into first class to work on wardrobe for an upcoming gala fashion show in NYC. Feeling blessed beyond her dreams, while enjoying the cruise, Molly meets two men whom she deeply admires and who deeply admire her. Little does Tess or Lucile or these men realize their fates will change when an iceberg brings down the unsinkable Titanic.
As one of the survivors, Tess witnesses the ugly vulgarity of her employer, Madame Lucile, refusing to take more shipmates onto her lifeboat though it is nearly empty; Madama Duff Gordon fights off the drowning by paying the sailors to pass them by. Even Tess is denied room but she finds it in another boat saving two children with her. The famous "Molly Brown" is in her lifeboat; Tess and Molly row the inflatable's as the sailors have no training. They save all they can from aboard and those floating in icy cold water.
In the end there are less that 800 survivors. Reporters and a zealots senator, William Alden Smith, decry outrage and summons hearings immediately after the horrendous disaster. Lady Duff Gordon is stupid enough to draw all the attention to herself lying about how they survived. Reporters research and find she and her husband Sir Duff Gordon were villainous in their treatment of their shipmates.
Both of Tess's suitors survive and are most anxious to marry Tess. While attending all the gruesome hearings she befriend a suffragette newspaper author, Sarah(Pinky), and becomes aware of the many rights women should be awarded. It changes her feelings on having a man support and dictate her life.
I love that this book took a further look from the actual tragedy peering into the lives of those whom survived and what their future held. New angle. All the people aboard the Titanic and those included in hearings were all true life survivors. The press dubbed the Sir Gordon's Duff's life boat as "The Millionaire Boat" for only another rich couple was allowed in it.
Excessively readable with such interesting prose. Crisp, natural dialogue moves the story quickly along and before the reader knows it they are finished. I actually think this could be a series concentrating on others who survived, but that is up to this excellent novice author`s discretion.
A half star to grow on, Ms. Alcott, as you are on your way to a hit book here and hopefully many after.
Superb read!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
very enjoyable
Don't think not another Titanic book. This novel is an easy read and completely enjoyable. Interesting characters. Makes me want to read more actual history on the Titanic.
Published 16 hours ago by S. Struhall
5.0 out of 5 stars
good book!
I'm totally fascinated with the Titanic and all history or stories that involve that fateful voyage and this book certainly fills a little of both. Read more
Published 19 hours ago by leslie pierce
3.0 out of 5 stars
Summer reading...your standard historical romance
The Titanic background was less than expected...could have come from the movie. The rest was a typical romance novel...light summer reading; nothing special
Published 1 day ago by Right Brained
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good reading a compelling story
I'm recommending this book to my friends and family. I stayed up late to read this one since it was hard to put down.
Published 1 day ago by callabash
4.0 out of 5 stars
fascinating read about those who survived the Titanic.
I liked the book. I was pleased to learn it was based on the actual hearing testimony. I learned a lot.
Published 1 day ago by s. losse
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Enjoyed
This book was recommended in my Ladies Home Journal. I was looking for something to read on my Kindle.
It was fun bringing in alittle history along with a good story. Read more
It was fun bringing in alittle history along with a good story. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Alecia
4.0 out of 5 stars
thoroughly enjoyed this book.
With making the disaster so real, the stories of each of the survivors were made so much more powerful. This was a good read. Read more
Published 3 days ago by David Allen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Titanic Revisited
Part truth, part fiction. An interesting view into the "life-after-survival" of various Titanic passengers. Ending not revealed until final paragraph.
Published 3 days ago by Dog Lover
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good, entertaining read.
I enjoyed this book. The tale is well written, and kept me intrigued. I enjoyed the factual references to Titanic, and the fiction of it as well.
Published 4 days ago by Shay Rogers
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good
This is a fact-based story about the Titanic. I would encourage anyone interested in the stories of the aftermath of the sinking to read this book.
Published 5 days ago by Sue Webb
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