“Lizzie pressed hard on the bridge of her nose, willing the numbers in front of her to change. It had been a week since Mum’s funeral and four days since she’d learned that the shop she’d poured herself into for years was not hers, and now she was facing the reality that it might never be.”
That’s a passage from Chapter Seven of Julia Kelly’s historical novel The Dressmakers of London. The story takes place in London in 1941 and revolves around the lives of two sisters, Lizzie and Sylvia, and their mother’s dressmaker shop. Lizzie has been helping her mother with more and more of the business when her mother dies, leaving the financials in a mess. When her older sister Sylvia left home 14 years before to marry a wealthy doctor, she cut ties with her family.
With the war on, times are hard. Orders are down, and materials hard to obtain. The government mandates clothing details, limiting the number of pleats in a skirt, for example. Lizzie loves to design clothes, but her mother would never use her designs. As the number of available men for active duty dwindles, the country enlists all unmarried young women, as well. Lizzie is called up and has only her sister to ask for help with the shop while she’s serving. Sylvia’s just discovered that her husband is having an affair, so the timing is right to move out and focus on the shop.
As the book jacket says, “Through letters, the sisters begin to confront old wounds, new loves, and the weight of family legacy." If you’re looking for a well written historical novel that gives a glimpse into the lives of two different classes of London women, then you must read The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly.
