Book Review - Dressmakers of London

 The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly.  Gallery Books, 18 February 2025.

Julia Kelly specializes in historical novels with strong female protagonists, and so far, I’ve loved every one of them.

It’s November of 1941.  Twenty-eight-year-old Isabelle Shelton is content to work in her mother’s dressmaking shop in London.  Her older sister Sylvia had been married wealthy Hugo Pearsall for several years, and due to the difference in their lifestyles, the sisters had drifted apart.

That all changed when their mother Maggie passed away in her sleep, leaving the shop to both of her daughters. 

Izzy is shocked and hurt.  She’d been working for her mother since she was fourteen, while Sylvia had never shown any interest in the business. She’s determined to buy out Sylvia’s share of the shop, but when she’s conscripted to join the WAAF, she’s forced to accept Sylvia’s help to keep the shop open.

While this is a story of the relationship between the two sisters, there are several other themes here.  We all know about the rationing of food, medicine, and other necessities, but fabric and notions for making clothing were also rationed. 

We also learn about the travails of the young women who were called up to serve in the war.  Isabelle’s unit works on testing and repairing barrage balloons, and we learn much about their living circumstances, including the fact that the female conscripts had to wear ill-fitting and uncomfortable uniforms sized for men.

I finished this gripping novel in a day, and I recommend it highly!

 

Many thanks to Edelweiss for the e-galley.