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The Dressmaker: A Novel
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The Dressmaker: A Novel
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The Dressmaker: A Novel
Audiobook11 hours

The Dressmaker: A Novel

Written by Kate Alcott

Narrated by Susan Duerden

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The Dressmaker's a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the Titanic 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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 21, 2012
ISBN9780307970138
Unavailable
The Dressmaker: A Novel

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Reviews for The Dressmaker

Rating: 3.418848167539267 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tess Collins decides that life as a ladies maid is not for her, so she grabs her things and heads to the docks hoping to get a job on the Titanic that will take her to America . She wants to be a dress designer and so when she gets the opportunity to work for Lady Lucy Duff Gordon, ironically as a ladies maid, she believes that fate is in her favor. Duff Gordon is an American dress designer and Tess hopes that once she is in America she can get a job not as a ladies maid but in the dress industry.But then the sinking of the Titanic occurs and Tess, as well as the other survivors have to adapt to reality and wonder - could more have been saved?Interesting historical fiction surrounding a few of the fictional survivors of the Titanic
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an enjoyable and engrossing historical fiction book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an audiobook that I downloaded from my library's electronic media site. I thought the narrator, Susan Duerden, was quite good especially with the American voices. Her British accents seemed a little too high class for the actual characters. Tess Collins, a young English girl working as a maid in Cherbourg when the Titanic docks to take on passengers, decides that she is going to get on the boat. She hates working as a maid and what she really wants to do is design dresses. When she goes to the dock and recognizes the famous designer Lady Lucille Duff Gordon, who has just learned that her maid cannot accompany her, she offers herself for the position. Of course, everyone knows what happens to the Titanic in the mid-Atlantic. Tess survives as do the Duff Gordons but there is some secret about what occurred in the life boat in which the Duff Gordons spent the night before rescue. There were only about a dozen people in the life boat that could have held five times that number. Tess is friends with one of the seamen who was in the boat, Jim Bonnie, and she knows he holds the Duff Gordons in contempt. Once they reach New York City Tess is swept up in the magic of the life led by the Duff Gordons and especially by the excitement of getting ready for a showing of Lady Lucille's new collection. It seems like everything Tess has ever wished for is about to come true. However, reports in the newspapers and then testimony at the Senate hearings convened quickly after the sinking start to show the feet of clay of Lady Lucille. It is a tumultuous time in New York City. There are even scenes of suffragette marches. Tess has some difficult decision to make about her future.One of the best characters in this book is based on a person who did exist, the woman who came to be known as the Unsinkable Molly Brown. A wealthy woman from Colorado who never forgot her humble beginnings she calls a spade a spade and doesn't flinch from anything. I may have to look out for a book just about her.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I really wanted to like this book because the concept was so interesting, but the writing just wasn't there to support it. The story centers on Tess Collins, a young service woman from England desperate to start a new life as a dressmaker in America. Her ticket comes in the form of Lucile Duff Gordon, the famous clothing designer who hires her on as a maid and books her passage with her on the Titanic. Although they both survive the sinking, the real challenges begin when they land in America.Tess, along with her two love interests and best friend, are rather flat, with unclear motivations that make it hard to care about their choices. Tess keeps talking about how hard she'll work to make her dreams come true, but seems unwilling to put in even a day's work without complaining about how much she hates being ordered around. Sometimes she comes off as a milksop, others as priggish. This could have been a much better book if the characters had clear and consistent goals and motivations. As it is, everything is a bit muddled and stretched to fit the historical framework, which while interesting, isn't quite enough.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was wonderful. Sweeping, enthralling, and heart-breaking. It was a wonderful story. The author perfectly captures what had to have been a terrifying no-win situation. The will to survive and the inevitable fall-out for those who have to come to terms with the choices they made. This will take its place with some of my favorites.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I should first admit that I am not in the author's target audience for this book, as a lover of serious Victorian literature and histories. I picked it up on a whim at a local bookstore because I was looking for a light read and the cover spoke to my recent interest in Victorian/Edwardian fashion and dressmaking. The blurbs on the back promised a healthy dose of Titanic history and an exploration of the survivors' guilt that must have accompanied it, which sounded intriguing enough, so I dove in with cautious optimism. My expectations were immediately checked when the prose offended one of my pet peeves: period British characters with modern American dialect and attitudes. *Big sigh.* But the quick pace and readability kept me reading long enough to get over that disappointment, and I'm glad I did. The book follows several passengers on the Titanic through the brief voyage, sinking, rescue and the congressional hearings that followed. The focus is on the controversy surrounding "Lifeboat One", which carried famous fashion designer Lady Lucile Duff-Gordon, her husband and suspiciously few others considering the size of the vessel. The book's protagonist, Tess, is a working class girl with a talent for dressmaking who becomes Lucile's assistant in a series of fortuitous events(yes, she is ridiculously lucky despite the horrific disaster) that facilitate her beginning of a new life free from servitude.I respect the author's ambition to bring to life both the complicated character of Lucile and the fascinating questions that arose during the hearings investigating the disaster. She struck a good balance of employing artistic license to strengthen the story while staying true to the history. She included some of the juciest quotes from the hearing transcripts, which actually inspired me to continue to research the hearings, the lifeboats and, eventually pretty much everything Titanic-related on my own. Such inspiration seems to me like a sign of success in a work of historical fiction, and is the main reason I have rated the book favorably.Unfortunately the writing style and side plots left something to be desired. I did not find the main romantic plotline compelling, and Tess's other experiences seemed to happen so quickly that they were not believable. That said, the book is such a quick read that I think it is worth a look for the historical interest alone.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this read. The Titanic is one of those stories that kind of draws you in, even if you think you've heard everything about it. Although the portion of this book that actually takes place on the ship is a very short segment, with the majority of the book covering the post sinking period in New York and DC. I enjoyed the insight into the interviews, and found Tess, as well as Pinky, the reporter, to be fun characters.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A different story of the Titanic
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    WORST LOVE TRIANGLE EVER. This was just mediocre, honestly. It stuck to a lot of tropes and was incredibly predictable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I did it again, got dragged into a book by the cover, when will I ever learn? I really wasn't blown away by this book. I really wanted to like this, I really did! Great stuff here you had story based around the tragedy of the Titanic. However, this was a really "light" read, rather fluffy. Many scenes were unbelievable--too fairy-tale like. I guess I was looking for it to be a bit meatier. Rather disappointing...
    Granted, I am not an expert on historical fiction or historical romance, but I feel like the two elements that make this genre should flow seamlessly together, not switch back and forth like you are watching two different television shows at the same time. Sorry this just didn't work for me.
    Just so-so....
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Impressive and historically true story about Titanic survivors and how the sinking of the mighty ship shaped their lives and decisions. The account of the actual sinking is haunting and left an impression on me. The titular character is a strong young woman, and her self confidence is impressive. Great period piece with lots of details about New York in the early 1900's.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A fast read. The historical story was fascinating but the romance side was underdeveloped and I was left not understanding how the main character made her choice. Both male leads were vaguely written. The ending of the book goes in a different direction than the rest of the book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Oh, I wanted to like this, but even my fascination with the Titanic wasn't enough to make me enjoy this book. The characters are cardboard--Tess and Pinky, in particular, are quite Mary-Sue-esque--and the romance subplot is a complete cliche. The main plot is two-dimensional and not all that interesting. Frankly, I think the story behind the publication of the book is more compelling than the book itself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Surviving the TitanicThis is historical fiction about the immediate aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic through the perspective of Tess, a young woman who is determined to rise above her station and become a clothes designer. Right before the Titanic departs for New York she manages to secure a position with real life designer Lucile Duff Gordon. The book focuses on the reaction of the survivors, the media and the government inquiry into the sinking. I really enjoyed this book and its view of the societal changes caused by this international disaster mixed in with the story of Tess as she adjusts to the possibilities of a new way of life free from the limitation of the class structure. Of course, there is a romance as Tess is torn between two very different men she meets onboard. I really enjoyed this read and it created a vivid picture of the lives of the haves and have lots and the changing world of that time. This is more than a historical romance and definitely worth a try.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was quite an enjoyable story & it moved at a good clip.I couldn't stop turning the pages because I needed to know Tess would be alright & so would Jim. I very much liked that Tess really took time to try to figure out what she wanted & what was most important to her. She could have tossed in the towel with Lucile tonnes of times early on but she didn't. I was often annoyed but it felt honest for the character & the story being told. Tess seemed to me to have genuine development as a character so when she came to her conclusions, I believed they were right for her at those times. She had more patience than I have & I think it served her well.

    Lady DG was a piece of work. I have to say that I was less offended by her actions in the lifeboat than I was by her general manner & demeanor. She was mercurial to the point of needing to be slapped repeatedly. And for all of Cosmo's faults, I actually cheered when he tired of her & told her he was basically leaving her. Elinor was a dutiful sister & even though Lucille was a pill, I was glad that she had that bond when most all her other relationships faltered. James was a decent enough guy but I was never much rooting for him. Also, I found it a little confusing going between the main men in the story: James Bremerton (the businessman) & Jim Bonney (the sailor). That Jim is often a nickname for James just threw me a few times & I wondered why the author chose to name the men so similarly.

    The portrayals of real people was fun to read & no surprise, Molly was my favorite. I have to also say that I was impressed that the relating of the sinking of the Titanic was so well done & the immediate aftermath on the Carpathia. The author rendered an already well known instance with notes that were genuinely moving to me. And she didn't linger on the maudlin or get bogged down nor was the halcyon time before the sinking over-romanticized through Tess's eyes. It all felt even handed & true.

    I won my copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Mostly about sinking of titanic and how the survivors are treated.
    Entertaining, gentle read,
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I can't help it. I just keep thinking "Where are Jack & Rose?" Tess ends up in Molly Brown's lifeboat...of course. Am I the only one that feels like her lifeboat should be voted "most referenced Titanic lifeboat" in historical Titanic fiction? Tess even pulls 2 lifeless bodies from the sea into the infamous "never full" lifeboat. I have a feeling I would be enjoying this story a lot more if she had managed to rescue Jack & Rose from the frigid cold sea in Molly Brown's lifeboat. I would finally get my happy Titanic ending. I'm just not really enjoying this one. It's a selection for one of my book clubs, so I'll probably give it another 50 pages or so before I give up on it. Maybe I loved the movie "Titanic" so much that I'm doomed to never really enjoy another Titanic based story. Eh, my heart will go on. ;)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fascinating account of the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic, combining fictional characters and those drawn from history. I'm left thinking-- in historical fiction, is there such a thing as a spoiler?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Parts of this book I wanted to give a 2, and others I wanted to give a 4, so I've settled on a 3.

    I liked how this was out of my normal reading habits, and I think the author chose an interesting subject matter to focus on, using real testimony from the inquiries. I also liked the general message of the book - sometimes there is no clear right and wrong, no obvious villain and hero. The world is much more gray than black or white and as much as we'd like to place blame, things are not always that convenient. (I should mention, this is basically the exact opposite of the usual books I read - there is always a clear villain, hero and heroine ;))

    I don't typically read about this period so I can't say for sure how accurate some of the characters' behaviors were, but (for example) Tess (as a maid) eating with her employer at the Waldorf seems a little far-fetched.

    I liked Tess, except when it came to the whole love triangle plot line. I had a hard time understanding her motivations as times and I think it was the writing that caused my confusion. At the end I understand the message that the author was trying to convey - the glamor of one blinded her to her true feelings for the other - but as that plot line unfolded I was a little bewildered as to what Tess was thinking at times.

    I understand the focus was supposed to be on the inquires, but I think the author could have spent a little more time on the sinking. It just seemed to happen so fast and then it was over. I couldn't help but keep thinking back to the movie. All of the drama and emotion I felt while watching that was largely absent in this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Dressmaker is about the hearings in New York and Washington D.C. after the sinking of the Titanic. Lady Lucile and Lord Cosmo Duff Gordon (along with many of the other rich survivors of the disaster) are under fire for rumors of bribery and cowardice while they were floating in their lifeboat as the Titanic sank. Kate Alcott uses real transcripts from the hearings to give us a picture of just how stupid, unprepared, and totally out of touch with the world around them the sailors, passengers, and the White Star Line company were at the time. Of course, there were a few brave people willing to tell the public about what really happened in the lifeboats and on the ship as it was sinking (such as the sailor Jim Bonney and, of course, the Unsinkable Molly Brown), but for the most part, the wealthy and important people wanted nothing to do with the disaster after it happened. None more so than Lucile, whose only concern was her latest spring fashion show. It is infuriating to read about her total lack of concern for others, her stubbornness, and selfishness, but as the above quote demonstrates, she was a product of her time, station, and the disaster. Which, of course, doesn't excuse her abhorrent behavior. But I did find myself feeling sorry for her at times.I suppose I should mention Tess, who "fortunately" was able to get passage on the Titanic last-minute as Lucile's maid. It is Tess's deepest ambition to design and make clothes, so this opportunity was a boon for her. Once docked in New York, Tess feels a certain loyalty to stick by Lucile's side, even though she has conflicting feelings for the sailor who publicly denounced what happened in Lady Lucile's boat. There is another love interest for Tess, but I had no interest in this "love triangle" situation so I won't go into that.Most of us know the story of the Titanic, whether through television specials, books, or, of course, the 1997 film. But not everyone knows what happened after the disaster, when the survivors stepped back onto dry land and tried to make sense of the situation, or forget about it and attempted to move on with their lives. Kate Alcott paints an interesting picture of the hearings, and made me anxious to seek out other books on the subject. Lady Lucile, Cosmo, Molly Brown, and all of the other real-life people who were a part of this are fascinating in their own way, and Alcott's background as a reporter really shows through (the female reporter Pinky Wade, who is delightful, seems to be a reflection of Alcott). It makes me think about what I would have done had I been on the ship. Would I have been brave? Selfish? Cowardly? It's hard to say. I would like to think that I would have been brave and calm, but surrounded by panicked people, crying children, and men chivalrously stepping aside to die while their wives and children were being lowered into lifeboats, I don't think I would know what to do.The only gripe I had about this book was, as I mentioned above, the romance aspect, and Tess's character in general, which is why I lowered by rating from 4.5 to 3.5 stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved this book! I read it under two days, I just couldn't put it down.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This historical fiction is based on the lives of a clothing designer and her secretary who survived the sinking of the Titanic. Much of it involves the trials (based on actual transcripts) involving the survivors and how little was done to rescue so many lost that night. It read sort of "harlequin-ish" in my opinion, but if interested in this genre, my tepid review should not dissuade you. I picked up the book in the first place based on several rave reviews of library patrons.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The reader is a bit too breathy for my tastes. She sounds like everything is a crisis. I thought the ending was a bit "Oh! 700 pages, I need to wrap this up." I am ok with the choice of men, but would have liked her to go for Bachelor #1.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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. On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn.My Thoughts:This is the first book that I have read that centers around the disaster of the Titanic. The sinking of the Titanic happens very quickly in the first part of the book and the rest of the story centers around Tess and her fellow survivors.I did find the book a little sugary and not really dramatic enough for its content. The section of the book that focuses on the hearings was interesting but again it needed to be a little more dramatic. I would have liked to have seen the hearings section in more detail and perhaps a little more like perhaps how Jodi Picoult can do a court battle. The story was a romance with Tess being the center of attention of two men. I did find that the survivors seemed to get over the tragedy very quickly. For my first fictional read about the Titanic I felt a little let down and felt the story was too sweet for it’s subject matter and could have been handled differently. However the book was a pleasant and easy read with no swearing or bodice ripping for a change. Maybe not the best book to pick up if a reader wants to delve more in to the sad disaster of the Titanic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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 her personal maid on theTitanic. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men—a kind sailor and an enigmatic Chicago businessman—who offer differing views of what lies ahead for her in America. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes, and amidst the chaos, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. The survivors are rescued and taken to New York, but when rumors begin to circulate about the choices they made, Tess is forced to confront a serious question. Did Lady Duff Gordon save herself at the expense of others?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott is the story of Tess Collins a young seamstress who agrees to work as Lady Duff-Gordon’s maid while aboard the Titanic in order to realize her dream of going to America to make her fortune. Lucille Duff-Gordon was a major dress designer of the day and seemed to be promising to give Tess a hand when they reached New York. While on board, Tess meets two men, one a rich American businessman and the other a poor young man working as a sailor for his passage. Of course, we know that the Titanic did not reach New York, but in this book, all the main characters eventually turn up. Still under the wing of Lucille, Tess starts to work for the designer and is provided with a roof over her head. Meanwhile the shock and scandal of the sinking of this enormous passenger liner on her maiden voyage has the American government opening enquiries and investigations into what caused this disaster. As the witness testimonies are gathered, it is pointed out that some lifeboats were barely filled before they were launched. Also many accusations about the lifeboats not returning to search for survivors in the frigid waters came to light. Lord and Lady Duff-Gordon came in for heavy scrutiny as they were in a lifeboat that could have held up to forty people, yet there was only twelve people in it at the time of rescue. A rumour came to light about bribes being offered the sailors not to return to the search, and it was hinted that survivors that tried to cling to the lifeboat were pushed off.I found this part of the book very interesting as I have read a great deal about the Titanic, but very little about the aftermath. Although there was never any hard evidence against them, the Duff-Gordons never recovered from the gossip nor did they regain their place in society. As to the romance part of the book, I found this rather more predictable and the character of Tess was a little too perfect to be convincing. I would have rather had Lucille Duff-Gordon as the main character as I found her, with all her flaws and arrogance, a much more interesting character. My final verdict on this book is one of mixed feelings. I thought the details about the Titanic were authentic and interesting. The author scattered enough real people throughout her story to give it a feeling of the times. However, the love story part of the book didn’t enthrall me. Being torn between the rich, older man and the younger, earnest one was a familiar plot and as I felt no chemistry between any of the parties, the romance was sadly lacking.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Alas, for me this did not live up to its promise. I was onboard, so to speak, for the first third of the book, engaged by the main character, interested in the others. And okay, boom, Titantic sinks, great (I couldn't help thinking of Leo, but oh well, movies infect the mind). Thereafter I felt there was a sort of cardboard feel to the characters and their adventures; the talented beautiful heroine trying so to rise above her station, the stalwart seaman, the spoiled rich folks, the plucky reporter. I did finish it, but by the time I did I was all "yeah, and so what?". Which is a pity, since the author seems to have taken her work very seriously and tried to anchor it in reality.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A wonderful read. Engaging characters and a compelling plot. I need to find more Kate Alcott books to read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've always been interested and fascinated in the Titanic. It seems like in the last couple years a lot of fiction books about the Titanic have been released and I've been eager to read some of them. I loved the fact that this book used real people with fictional characters. I was a bit disappointed with Tess, the main character. At times I became so annoyed with her and lost my interest in her life that I started losing interest in the book. She seemed like one of the characters in this book whose life I would have least liked to have read about. Luckily the book did change point of view from time-to-time so I didn't have to follow her throughout the whole book. I preferred reading the parts that were from Pinky or Jim's point of view. Even Lady Duff Gordon's point of view was more interesting. Aside from my lack of interest in Tess I did fell that it was a good book and that Kate Alcott did a good job of making the inquiry scenes interesting. I would recommend this book to those interested in the Titanic.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The story had potential, but I found the writing distracting. The dialogue seemed too contemporary for historical fiction, and I didn't connect with the characters.