The Dressmaker: A Novel by Kate Alcott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This engaging novel explores the aftermath of the Titanic disaster through the eyes of Tess, an aspiring dressmaker, who makes the crossing as a maid to famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon. Although the sinking is a dramatic event in the story, the focus here is on Tess, her attraction to both a young sailor and a Chicago millionaire on the Titanic, and how she will forge a new life in New York. Alcott concentrates on the effect of the sinking and the subsequent investigation on the survivors and challenges readers to consider what they would have done if aboard the Titanic. There is a sly humor to some of the name dropping amid the glitzy fashion world of Lady Duff Gordon. Alcott's research shows as she deftly weaves historical facts and actual figures like the Astors, Molly Brown, Edith Wharton, Isadora Duncan, and Bruce Ismay, head of the White Star Line, into her fiction. A thoroughly enjoyable read and timely, with 100th anniversary of the Titanic coming up in April. [digital ARC= Thanks to Random House and NetGalley!]



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