The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a gentle and nostalgic home-front WW2 historical slice of life romance by Jennifer Ryan. Released 31st May 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 432 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in summer 2022. It's worth noting that the e-book format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of e-books with interactive formats lately.
This is a delightful fictionalized story based loosely on actual events. It's told through three alternating third person narratives: famous haute couture London designer Cressida Westcott, her niece Violet, and a village vicar's daughter named Grace. The book revolves around the privations of war, the creativity and camaraderie of the women in wartime, and their sacrifices and resilience trying to build lives amidst chaos.
The author does a good job of recalling the stringent conditions of wartime Britain as well as the terror and uncertainty of the blitz in London, even for the wealthy and well connected. Forced together by circumstances, the three women find an important rapport and use their considerable creativity and emotional strength to grow and help one another and their families.
It's very much a nostalgic read, and will no doubt be popular with fans of the genre. Folks who enjoyed Bloomsbury Girls, Call the Midwife, and Lilac Girls will find a lot to love here. The romance subplots don't overshadow the well told story in my opinion.
Four stars. It's a very well told and engaging story.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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