Kate Alcott - The Dressmaker - Little, Brown Book Group
Available Formats
  • E-Book £P.O.R.
    More information
    • ISBN:9781405514712
    • Publication date:28 Feb 2013

The Dressmaker

By Kate Alcott

  • Paperback
  • £6.99

Atmospheric, authentic and utterly absorbing - this spirited historical novel will have timeless appeal to lovers of The Postmistress, My Last Duchess and The Kashmir Shawl

Torn between her dreams and the truth, she was faced with an impossible choice . . .

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, is stunned at her luck when the famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon hires her to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. When disaster strikes, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat - her employer also survives. On dry land, savage rumours begin to circulate: did Lady Duff Gordon save herself at the expense of others?

Tess's dream of becoming a skilled dressmaker is within her grasp but now she is faced with a terrible choice. Suddenly she finds herself torn between loyalty to the fiery woman who could help her realise her ambitions and the devastating truth that her mentor may not be all she seems.

Authentic and honest, The Dressmaker is a compelling and vivid story that will have you holding your breath until the last page.

*Shortlisted for the Goodreads Historical Novel Award*

  • Other details

  • ISBN: 9780751549232
  • Publication date: 28 Feb 2013
  • Page count: 416
Biographical Notes

Kate Alcott is a journalist who has covered politics in Washington DC, where she currently lives.

A novel about human relationships, trust, loyalty and ambition . . . Pacy, well-written, full of drama, atmosphere and dilemma and is sure to fascinate — Hello!
This glitzy, glamorous tale packs a punch — Star magazine
Seamlessly stitching fact and fiction together, Alcott creates a hypnotic tale — USA Today
Based on true events surrounding the dramatic incident of 1912, this honest and engaging accounts of one woman's battle with love, loyalty, truth and what it means to be brave will have readers facing up to the reality of such an atrocity — U Magazine
How My Dreams Came True

Inspiration for The Dressmaker

Read about Kate Alcott's inspiration for her novel, The Dressmaker

Abacus

Every Man For Himself

Beryl Bainbridge

For the four fraught, mysterious days of her doomed maiden voyage in 1912, the Titanic sails towards New York, glittering with luxury, freighted with millionaires and hopefuls. In her labyrinthine passageways are played out the last, secret hours of a small group of passengers, their fate sealed in prose of startling, sublime beauty, as Beryl Bainbridge's haunting masterpiece moves inexorably to its known and terrible end.

Sphere

Sworn To Secrecy

Mary Larkin

1971. With the troubles in Belfast at their height, a happy domestic life is something that Tess Maguire yearns for. Yet the political and social unrest are sending ripples of uncertainty through every aspect of her life. Whilst her partnership with her friend Theresa Cunningham in a dressmaking firm is successful, it's beginning to affect her romantic interests. Theresa's boyfriend Bob always seems to be near Tess. Near enough, one night, to declare his true feelings for her... Tess, in confusion, has to confront her own mixed up emotions concerning Bob. And to address her feelings for her own ever-faithful boyfriend Tony. Especially when he asks her to marry him ... Tess's widowed mother Alice marries Dan, her long-standing partner who can now spend the rest of his years with Alice and his beloved grandson Jackie. Jackie is almost an orphan: his father Jack died in a motorcycle accident. His mother Colette may as well be dead - she decamped to Canada shortly after his birth. But then Colette suddenly shows up to reclaim her son and her arrival in Belfast opens old wounds, triggers a bitter custody battle - and unearths secrets that will change everyone's lives for ever.

Sphere

Laura's Handmade Life

Amanda Addison
Virago

The Lifeboat

Charlotte Rogan

I was to stand trial for my life. I was twenty-two years old. I had been married for ten weeks and a widow for six.In the summer of 1914, the Empress Alexandra, a magnificent ocean liner, suffers a mysterious explosion on its voyage from London to New York City. On board are Henry Winter, a rich banker, and his young new wife, Grace. Somehow, Henry manages to secure a place in a lifeboat for Grace. But the survivors quickly realize it is over capacity and could sink at any moment. For any to live, some must die.As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace watches and waits. She is a woman who has learned the value of patience - her journey to a life of glittering privilege has been far from straightforward. Now, she knows, it is in jeopardy, and her very survival is at stake. Over the course of three perilous weeks, the passengers on the lifeboat plot, scheme, gossip and console one another while sitting inches apart. Their deepest beliefs about goodness, humanity and God are tested to the limit as they begin to discover what they will do in order to survive. The Lifeboat is a page-turning story of moral dilemmas, and also the moving and haunting story of Grace, a woman as unforgettable and complicated as the story she recounts.

Piatkus

The Duchess Hunt

Jennifer Haymore
Piatkus

Maid of Oaklands Manor

Terri Nixon

It's 1912. And a chance meeting between scullery maid Lizzy Parker and heiress Evie Creswell leads to more than an enduring friendship and a new job for Lizzy . . .It draws her into a world of privilege and intrigue and delivers her into the loving arms of a killer. Meeting the handsome but mysterious Jack Carlisle, Lizzie begins to fall for him despite rumours he had been involved in the death of Evie's father. And as she becomes further embroiled in the dangerous life that Carlisle lives, she must decide if he can be trusted with the life of a close friend, and, ultimately, if he is worth the risk to her own . . . Discover Piatkus Entice: temptation at your fingertips - www.piatkusentice.co.uk

Poppy

The Time-Traveling Fashionista on Board the Titanic

Bianca Turetsky
Orbit

The Castings Trilogy

Pamela Freeman

Bramble is impetuous with a talent for trouble, and she finds it when an accident brands her a criminal. But she expects no mercy with her Traveller blood - so when the village gods tell her to flee, she hits the road. In ghost-ridden Turvite, Ash leaves the road for an apprenticeship, the only one available for a Traveller such as himself. Then his employer trains him to kill on demand and his future looks bleak. But the gods have deeper plans for both Ash and Bramble. Their shared heritage grants them hidden strengths, which are needed to combat a new evil. Saker also remembers Travellers once owned this land. But he intends to take it back in vengeance, using enchantment and the blood of innocents.This omnibus edition contains: BLOOD TIES, DEEP WATER and FULL CIRCLE.

Poppy

The Time-Traveling Fashionista

Bianca Turetsky

When Louise Lambert receives a mysterious invitation to a travelling vintage fashion sale in the mail, her normal life in suburban Connecticut is magically transformed into a time-travelling adventure. After a brief encounter with two witchy salesladies and donning an evening gown that once belonged to a beautiful silent film star, Louise suddenly finds herself onboard a luxurious cruise ship in 1912. As Alice Baxter, the silent film star, Louise enjoys her access to an extensive closet of gorgeous vintage gowns and begins to get a feel for the challenges and the glamour of life during this decadent era. Until she realizes that she's not just on any ship - she's on the Titanic! Will Louise be able to save herself and change the course of history, or are she and her film star alter ego destined to go down with a sinking ship in the most infamous sea disaster of the 20th century? With detailed, full-color fashion illustrations throughout by professional fashion illustrator, Sandra Suy, The Time-Traveling Fashionista series capitalizes on the booming interest and fashion expertise of pre-teen girls today.

Abacus

Palimpsest: A Memoir

Gore Vidal
Abacus

Samarkand

Amin Maalouf
Abacus

The Mitford Girls

Mary S. Lovell

THE MITFORD GIRLS tells the true story behind the gaiety and frivolity of the six Mitford daughters - and the facts are as sensational as any novel: Nancy, whose bright social existence masked an obsessional doomed love which soured her success; Pam, a countrywoman married to one of the best brains in Europe; Diana, an iconic beauty, who was already married when at 22 she fell in love with Oswald Moseley, the leader of the British fascists; Unity, who romantically in love with Hitler, became a member of his inner circle before shooting herself in the temple when WWII was declared; Jessica, the family rebel, who declared herself a communist in the schoolroom and the youngest sister, Debo, who became the Duchess of Devonshire.This is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary family, containing much new material, based on exclusive access to Mitford archives.

Virago

The Perpetual Curate

Margaret Oliphant
Forever

When She Was Wicked

Anne Barton

SOME RULES SIMPLY BEG TO BE BROKENA dressmaker in London's busiest shop, Miss Anabelle Honeycote overhears the ton's steamiest secrets - and (occasionally) uses them to her advantage. It isn't something she's proud of, but the reluctant blackmailer needs the money to care for her gravely ill mother. To make up for her misdeeds, Anabelle keeps to a firm set of rules:Never request payment from someone who cannot afford it.Never reveal the secrets of a paying client.Never enter into any form of social interaction with a client.Her list keeps her (somewhat) honest - until she encounters Owen Sherbourne, the Duke of Huntford.Not only does Owen nip Anabelle's extortion plans in the bud, the devilishly handsome duke soon has the sexy seamstress dreaming of more than silk and satin. With Owen, Anabelle enjoys pleasures she never imagined . . . until a scandal from the past resurfaces. Now her rules could mean his family's ruin. Owen's searing kisses carry the promise of passion, but how will he react when Anabelle's most devastating secret is finally revealed?

Virago

Kingfishers Catch Fire

Rumer Godden
Virago

Breakfast with the Nikolides

Rumer Godden
Virago

Black Narcissus

Rumer Godden

High in the Himalayas near Darjeeling, the old mountaintop palace shines like a jewel. When it was the General's 'harem' palace, richly dressed ladies wandered the windswept terraces; at night, music floated out over the villages and gorges. Now, the General's son has bestowed it on an order of nuns, the Sisters of Mary.Well-intentioned yet misguided, the nuns set about taming the gardens and opening a school and dispensary for the villagers. They are dependent on the local English agent of Empire, Mr Dean; but his charm and insolent candour are disconcerting. And the implacable emptiness of the mountain, the ceaseless winds, exact a toll on the Sisters.When Mr Dean says bluntly, 'This is no place for a nunnery,' it is as if he foresees their destiny...

Center Street

Folks, This Ain't Normal

Joel Salatin

From farmer Joel Salatin's point of view, life in the 21st century just ain't normal. In FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love. Salatin has many thoughts on what normal is and shares practical and philosophical ideas for changing our lives in small ways that have big impact.Salatin, hailed by the New York Times as "Virginia's most multifaceted agrarian since Thomas Jefferson [and] the high priest of the pasture" and profiled in the Academy Award nominated documentary Food, Inc. and the bestselling book The Omnivore's Dilemma, understands what food should be: Wholesome, seasonal, raised naturally, procured locally, prepared lovingly, and eaten with a profound reverence for the circle of life. And his message doesn't stop there. From child-rearing, to creating quality family time, to respecting the environment, Salatin writes with a wicked sense of humor and true storyteller's knack for the revealing anecdote. Salatin's crucial message and distinctive voice--practical, provocative, scientific, and down-home philosophical in equal measure--make FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL a must-read book.

Sphere

Best Laid Plans

Mary Larkin

Belfast, the 1960s. When Tess Maguire and her best friend Agnes Quinn get free tickets to see the Rolling Stones, there is nothing that will stop them from going to the Ulster Hall, not even the disapproval of Tess's mother Alice. And though Alice's concerns about trouble are to prove right, for Tess and Agnes they have a silver lining. As the concert ends in panic and confusion, the girls are helped out by their very own pair of Jumping Jack Flashes - Jack Thompson and Tony Burke. To begin with, Tess is far keener on Jack than Agnes is on Tony. But after six, short, wonderful weeks, Jack suddenly stops contacting her. And when Tess pays his home a visit to find out the reason why, she soon discovers the shocking truth: Colette Burns, with her thick black hair and sultry looks, has captured his heart instead. Then Tess meets Dominic Sullivan, a Belfast boy who left Ireland for America many years earlier. Returning to his home city for a wedding, his good looks and sharp humour could be what Tess has been waiting for. But with Agnes interested in Dominic as well, their best laid plans might just become their worst-case scenario instead...