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Wedding Dress [Library Binding]

V. Ellis (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)


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Library Binding, April 2003 --  
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Book Description

April 2003
“We began the dress on the last evening in October.” For three sisters, it will become a banner of hope, spun from delicate memories of genteel tradition and woven with threads of possibility. Through the desolate landscape of winter, it will act as a beacon of unexpected fortune and faith in a world void of promise. It will inspire the noble heart that lies dormant beneath layers of grief. Together, the stalwart ladies of Oak Creek, Virginia will fashion their impossible dreams into . . .

THE WEDDING DRESS

Virginia Renfro Ellis’s extraordinary work of historical fiction evokes the tattered essence of the post-Civil War South, where widows, children, and scarred veterans were left to reconstruct a country. There is little to wish for in the lives of the Atwater women. Julia and Victoria were barely brides before their husbands marched off with the doomed Confederate army. Now alone, with scarcely enough money to see them through until spring, they embark on an impetuous mission to bring a sparkle of joy back into their youngest sister’s eyes. Seventeen-year-old Claire has always wanted to be married. And though she has no intended groom, her sisters decide to sew her a wedding gown.

As the dress takes shape, the gates of their meager plantation home welcome the arrival of Sergeant Monroe Tacy. He has come to fulfill a dying man’s last request, but his presence begins a series of remarkable events that will transform the Atwater sisters forever.

The Wedding Dress is an unforgettable lesson in hope, written with the natural simplicity and beauty of a born storyteller.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in post-Civil War Virginia, Ellis's suspense-filled romance evokes the aftermath of war in a state that is dying by inches, economically ruined and devoid of an entire generation of young men. The three beautiful Atwater sisters two with dead or missing husbands, one whose chances for marriage have been blighted by the war cling to each other in the ruins of their family home, Oak Creek Plantation. In an effort to stave off despair, the widowed Julia makes a rash gesture: she announces that 17-year-old Claire, the youngest, will be married in the spring. With no funds and no groom in sight, Julia, Victoria (whose husband has gone missing in the war) and Claire dedicate their resources to making a wedding dress. Tested by events ranging from the supernatural (ghostly Southern soldiers) to the providential (lace and buttons appear through the generosity of friends and strangers), the sisters rely on their faith to see them through. With the arrival of Monroe Tacy, Julia's husband's old comrade, along with several surprise visitors, some joy may be salvaged from the ashes of their lives. Ellis spins an engaging story, though her Southern dialect can be stiff and some scenes wax overly sentimental. Her narrative warmly embraces its entire range of characters and keeps the reader guessing until the end. The author, who has written a dozen romance novels under the name of Lyn Ellis, is off to a good start in combining a historical perspective with generous portraits of appealing characters.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-In this light, heart-warming novel, sisters Julia and Victoria, widowed by the Civil War, show their true, optimistic nature. Determined that their youngest sister, Claire, will have a beautiful, happy wedding, they design and sew a dress without a groom in sight. Their genteel poverty means that they must sell possessions to get the necessary cloth, but neighbors donate trimmings. Sergeant Tacy, an aide to Julia's husband, arrives at their Virginia plantation to tell her of William's last battle and his last expressions of love for her. The officer stays to help as the women begin to try to farm and start life anew. Julia tells the story, and readers feel both her confidence and her insecurities as problems develop. As she misses William more and more she sees specters of soldiers waiting around the farm. Later she decides he sent them to comfort her. The historical details of daily life are woven skillfully into the simple plot, and subtle nuances are drawn between classes and races. Teens will delight in the touches of humor that involve a contrary mule, and they will also realize that from depressed times can come hope and happiness.
Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Library Binding
  • Publisher: San Val (April 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1417737697
  • ISBN-13: 978-1417737697
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,040,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Treasure, July 23, 2006
This review is from: The Wedding Dress (Paperback)
I loved this book. It's a romance that might be rated PG-13. Historical. A tad paranormal. Mostly a slice of life after the awful war that tore our country - the strength and love and human spirit that kept us going.

Three sisters, Victoria, Julia, and Claire, are trying to keep things going on their Virginia plantation after the War Between the States. Victoria and Julia lost husbands to the war. So many men died, the youngest sister, Claire, is afraid that she'll never get married and have a family. To raise their spirits, the sisters start to make Claire a wedding dress. As the three work on the dress, they bring hope to the community, and the world brings hope to them. They are visited by Monroe, who came to tell Julia about serving under her husband...

The book goes through about a year of ups and downs, laughs, growth, discovery, and contentment. Definitely a "keeper" you'll want to read again and again.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical Historical Novel, August 16, 2002
By 
Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Reminiscent of a nineteenth-century journal, Ms. Ellis' tale of three sisters in 1865 Virginia is a nostalgic novel of war's devastation and triumphs. Young war widows Julia Atwater Lovejoy and Victoria Atwater Whitmore are determined to elevate the spirits of their seventeen-year-old sister Claire. They decide to spend their fall and winter days at Oak Creek Plantation piecing together a wedding dress for Claire with the hope that by spring, she will find a beau.

The arrival of Sergeant Monroe Tacy, wartime friend of Julia's deceased husband, William, elevates the spirits of the elder Atwater women as they see in Monroe a potential husband for Claire or an escort to the women's Savannah cousins. But Monroe is more than the deliverer of a message from William as he helps the women of Oak Creek survive the winter with his hunting and repairing skills. As the approach of spring brings new surprises, the Atwater women prove that they are no simpering southern belles.

This lyrical first person account of Julia's post Civil War life is enlightening of the emotional and physical repercussions of war without subduing the read with gory details.
Ghostly images give an ethereal quality to this novel highlighting the value of family and friendships, proving that love can survive even amidst the most difficult of circumstances.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good summer reading for a light novel., June 28, 2002
This is a wonderful book. This was my introduction to this author and I found her to be very good. Her story line was good and it kept the readers interest. Her writing style just flows and once in awhile she would come up with sentences that just "float". I highly recommend this book for light reading, yet informativ reading.
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