Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker
by Kate Alcott


Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she’s had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be her personal maid on the Titanic. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men—a kind sailor and an enigmatic Chicago businessman—who offer differing views of what lies ahead for her in America. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes, and amidst the chaos, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat.  
 
The survivors are rescued and taken to New York, but when rumors begin to circulate about the choices they made, Tess is forced to confront a serious question.  Did Lady Duff Gordon save herself at the expense of others? Torn between loyalty to Lucile and her growing suspicion that the media’s charges might be true, Tess must decide whether to stay quiet and keep her fiery mentor’s good will or face what might be true and forever change her future.

From the publisher

Review: I wanted to really like this book because of its subject.  Sadly, I was disappointed by the writing and the story.  Based on the description of the book, I thought that more of it would take place upon the Titanic.  There was very little of the story aboard the ship-the ship sank within the first 50 pages or so of the book (I can't tell you exactly as I was reading it on my ipad).  Most of the story focused on life after the sinking and the hearings afterwards and I found it to be not so thrilling.  The book also promises to be romantic and while there was some romance, it was not well developed and seemed very one note.  Another problem I had with the book was the characters.  I felt that the characters did not stay true to themselves nor did they seem believable.  The writing style just seemed weak.  The author also threw in some random events-like the suffrage movement that really didn't fit in the story.  It was a quick read and somewhat enjoyable but I spent most of the book noticing its flaws.

Rating: 3 stars

1 comment:

  1. Too funny, I picked this book up at the library a few months ago because I thought it sounded really good. I got probably about 50 pages in, and they were already having a dinner party back in New York, and I just couldn't get any further because the writing style bothered me and I didn't like any of the characters. I'm glad I didn't finish it, if it didn't get any better!

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