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"England, 1939: The Penrose sisters couldn't be more different. Skye is a daring and brash pilot, and Liberty the one to defy her at every turn. Even if women aren't allowed in the Royal Air Force, Skye is determined to help the war effort. She's thrilled when it reunites her with her childhood soulmate, Nicholas. She's less thrilled to learn Nicholas is now engaged to an enigmatic Frenchwoman named Margaux Jourdan. Paris, 1947: Designer Christian Dior unveils his glamorous first collection to a world weary of war and grief. He names his debut fragrance Miss Dior in tribute to his beloved sister Catherine, who forged a friendship with Skye and Margaux through her work with the French Resistance. Present Day: Fashion conservator Kat Jourdan discovers a priceless collection of Dior gowns in her grandmother's vacant cottage. As she delves into the mystery of their origin, Kat begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her beloved grandmother"--Page 4 of cover.… (more)
User reviews
This novel is told in four different time lines by various characters:
1928 in Cornwall near in England: Skye and Liberty Penrose live with their mother in their home near the beach. Skye is daring and brave and learns to fly from her mother. Liberty is difficult and selfish and is content to stay in the house and live her life quietly. Nicholas, a neighbor who has come from America, shows up on the beach and he and Skye become best friends.
1939 - Skye has become an expert flyer and teacher. Though she wanted to help in the war effort, she was forbidden to fly until she gets a job flying planes from the factories to bases in the United Kingdom. She is estranged from her sister who lives in Paris.
1947 in Paris - Skye is trying to recover from the war with the love and friendship from Catherine Dior and Margaux who worked with her in the French Resistance.
Present Day in Australia - Kat is a Fashion conservator who was raised by her grandmother. On a trip to England, her grandmother asked her to check on her deserted cottage in Cornwall and Kat is amazed to find a collection of Dior gowns. Why does her grandmother have these gowns? The more Kat questions the more it appears that her grandmother is not the person she always thought. The more questions that Kat gets answered, the more questions she has for her grandmother as she tries to discover the connection between Skye, Liberty, Nicholas and Margaux and what happened to them after the war.
This is a beautiful and well researched novel about friendship, love and family. It also showed how unappreciated women were as they did their best to help win the war often in dangerous situations. All of the characters had secrets from each other that they couldn't share because of the war but they all remained friends as they went through cruel and inhumane situations. This book will make you proud of the woman and the work they did in the war, it will make you cry but overall it will make you appreciate their bravery.
The last few chapters, however, become needlessly complicated, even melodramatic, for a story which, on its own merit, was compelling enough that it didn't need the extra sap.
I would recommend it - a perfect book to plunge into to capture an era and stories not well-known. Lester is definitely a gifted story-teller.
I found this book to be worthy of all the previous praises it has received. I thought the characters to be wonderful, fascinating, appealing, and
The book starts with two sisters Skye and Liberty Penrose who live with their mother on the coast in England. Born illegitimately to Vanessa Penrose, a fortune telling airplane pilot who had her own ideas of raising two
Unexpectedly they lose their mother when a plane she was flying gets caught in heavy cloud cover and crashes. The sisters are sent to live with a aunt in France where they have a falling out and Skye leaves Liberty when she turns 18.
Soon most of Europe finds itself engaged in war against Germany. Wanting to do her part for the war effort , not being allowed to join the Royal Air Force because she is a woman, Skye joins the ATA ( Air Transport Auxiliary) delivering planes that need repairs or upgrades.
After the war ends a line of fashion is introduced to Paris and the world by designer Christian Dior, who names it Miss Dior, in honor of his sister Catherine who became acquainted with Skye during the Resistance.
In the present day Kat Jourdan is a conservator of fashion. She is sent by her grandmother Margaux Jourdan to a mysterious cottage on the coast, in which Kat finds a astonishing collection of over 60 Dior dresses dating all the way back to 1947. Not long after discovering the dresses Kat is contacted by a writer, Elliot, who says he is looking for Margaux Jourdan, who during the war worked for a secret department that ran spies throughout France, and knew Skye and Liberty Penrose. Thinking he must be mistaken, Kat joins Elliot to search for the answers to the questions of the Dior dresses and the much larger question, just who is Margaux Jourdan, and why has her grandmother lied all these years?
I loved this book! It was so good. I was hooked from the first page till the end, causing a sleepless night because I couldn't stop reading. But it was totally worth it. It has real characters, and is well written, a great flow to the story. I recommend this to all historical fiction fans especially those with a love for WWII historical fiction. I give it 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ And paws
As soon as I started to read this book, I was
In the meantime, the book takes you forward to 2012 with the granddaughter, Kat. She has a career in fashion conservation and finds 65 dresses in the back closet of the cottage by the sea. Kat happens to meets a handsome man writing a book about her grandmother and together, they learn about the truth which highlights some of the brave women during the war.
The book was packed with historical events but what was so moving was the romance and how it worked so well. This was one of my favorites of the year.