The Paris Dressmaker
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4.1 • 67 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Based on true accounts of how Parisiennes resisted the Nazi occupation in World War II—from fashion houses to the city streets—comes a story of two courageous women who risked everything to fight an evil they could not abide.
Paris, 1939. Maison Chanel has closed, thrusting haute couture dressmaker Lila de Laurent out of the world of high fashion as Nazi soldiers invade the streets and the City of Light slips into darkness. Lila’s life is now a series of rations, brutal restrictions, and carefully controlled propaganda while Paris is cut off from the rest of the world. Yet in hidden corners of the city, the faithful pledge to resist. Lila is drawn to La Resistance and is soon using her skills as a dressmaker to infiltrate the Nazi elite. She takes their measurements and designs masterpieces, all while collecting secrets in the glamorous Hotel Ritz—the heart of the Nazis’ Parisian headquarters.?But when dashing René Touliard suddenly reenters her world, Lila finds her heart tangled between determination to help save his Jewish family and to bolster the fight for liberation.
Paris, 1943. Sandrine Paquet’s job is to catalog the priceless works of art bound for the Führer’s Berlin, masterpieces stolen from prominent Jewish families. But behind closed doors, she secretly forages for information from the underground resistance. Beneath her compliant facade lies a woman bent on uncovering the fate of her missing husband . . . but at what cost? As Hitler’s regime crumbles, Sandrine is drawn in deeper when she uncrates an exquisite blush Chanel gown concealing a cryptic message that may reveal the fate of a dressmaker who vanished from within the fashion elite.
Told across the span of the Nazi occupation, The Paris Dressmaker highlights the brave women who used everything in their power to resist darkness and restore light to their world.
Stand-alone World War II historical fictionIncludes discussion questions for book clubs
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Woven within this beautiful historical tapestry of WWII from Cambron (The Painted Castle) is the stark reminder to keep friends close and enemies closer. Early in the occupation of Paris, Lila de Laurent, a former dressmaker for the House of Chanel, is on the run from the Nazis and intent on carrying out a mission for the resistance. She hopes stowing away in a bakery truck will allow her to evade capture but she's soon discovered by the driver, who turns out to be the Jewish man she once loved and believed to be dead. Now they must help each other survive. Later in the war, Sandrine Paquet will do whatever it takes to keep her family safe while her beloved husband is away at war even if it means working for the Nazis to catalog their stolen art. But when a beautiful gown with a cryptic message sewn into the lining arrives for her, she too is plunged into the resistance. Based on true events, this exquisite tale impresses with its historical and emotional authenticity. Historical fiction fans won't want to miss this.
Customer Reviews
EXTRAORDINARY!
If you are a reader, you consider yourself BLESSED when you find a novel that captivates you from page one straight thru to the last word and you know the theme from this novel will stay in your heart forever! Kristy Cambron’s THE PARIS DRESSMAKER is this type of book and I highly recommend it! Cambron has written a magnificent, breathtaking novel based on true accounts of how Parisiennes resisted the Nazi occupation in World War II. She centers her storyline around two courageous women, Lila de Laurent and Sandrine Paquet, who risked everything to fight an evil they cannnot abide. Cambron has created characters that will ignite your imagination and make the reader feel as though they are a part of their world and have joined La Resistance!
Lila de Laurent, haute couture dressmaker for Maison Chanel, is out of work in the world of high fashion due to the Nazi occupation of Paris. She is soon using her skills as a expert dressmaker to infiltrate the Nazi elite. Laurent meets with clients, measures and designs masterpieces, all while collecting secrets in the glamorous Hôtel Ritz. Her clients are considered “collaborators” as the Hôtel Ritz is the heart of the Nazis’ Parisian headquarters. Sandrine is working at the Jeu de Paume Galerie cataloging priceless works arts that are bound for Hitler’s Berlin. These irreplaceable masterpieces have been stolen from prominent Jewish families. She also listened to the German officers who were in charge of the Galerie and gleaned all the information she could and passed it on to the Resistance. One piece she is charged with handling a Chanel gown - a gown in a tapestry of blush embroidery and brilliant tulle. This is more than just a gown as concealed in the seams is a cryptic message that may reveal the fate of a dressmaker who vanished from within the fashion elite.
While these two women are living day to day, wondering if each day may be their last, they also share another commonality. They are each madly in love! Lila is in love René who she has reconnected with after several lost years thinking he has died only to learn he has been deeply embedded in the Resistance. Sandrine is madly in love with her husband Christian who is supposedly off fighting for the French. She was not sure if he was still alive or deceased until one night when she was forced to attend a Nazi Officer’s New Year’s Eve Party. While there, she was unexpectedly reunited very briefly with her husband Christian. Their brief encounter renews her spirit and gives her strength to continue the fight. Cambron writes the love stories of these two couples in such a way that allows the reader to feel their passionate love for each other that enabled them to endure the long years of war and their inevitable separations. Yet, it was as though they each “sensed” the other was still alive! The thoughts of joyous reunions with their beloveds inspired these two women to risk everything for the men they loved.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this novel by Thomas Nelson and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.
Fair read
Reading the author’s notes at the end makes me appreciate this book more. However it was at times difficult to follow, maybe because my British history is stronger the French history. But I think what made it difficult was the back and forth in the chapters not from character POV, but with constant change in time/date as well.