The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle - Jennifer Ryan

Author: Jennifer Ryan

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: Quite unlike any WWII fiction I have read. Never knew the fashion industry had such a role to play during the war. Lovely characters, good old-fashioned story-telling. Feels like a romance than a war story.

Story:

1942, Aldhurst Village, England.

Grace Carlisle, the vicar’s daughter. Engaged to a navy chaplain many years her senior. Believes it is her bounden duty to be a dutiful wife and serve the parish where her husband serves.

Hugh Westcott, Grace’s childhood friend and now Lord of the local manor. Holds a high position in the war office. Believes it is his bounden duty to follow his late father’s instructions and do his best to carry the title ahead.

Violet Westcott, Hugh’s younger sister. Interested only in finding a rich titled husband so that she can fulfil her end of the family tradition.

Cressida Westcott, Hugh and Violet’s aunt. Owner of successful design house in London and believes that nothing will take her back to her brother’s house again.

After a round of intense bombing in London destroys Cressida’s home and design house. She has no choice but to return to Aldhurst to her late brother’s house. This sets off a chain of events that changes the lives of the above characters forever. Along the way, you will meet some gutsy characters and encounter some brilliant ideas of how wedding dresses were made/shared/reused.

The story comes to us in the third person perspectives of the three leading ladies.

I must confess, I was on a self-imposed break from WWII fiction because the genre had begun saturating me. But after seeing many wonderful reviews for this book from friends here, I succumbed to the temptation and requested a copy from NetGalley. So glad I did so or else I would have missed out on this wonderful story!

Where the book worked for me:

❤ Well, it didn’t follow the typical format of recent WWII fiction: no dual timelines, no first person narratives, no single-minded focus on dreary war-related topics such as survival or death (these are included but the narrative doesn’t limit itself to these). I enjoyed the fresh content within the familiar topic.

❤ I liked the main characters. Violet, Grace and Cressida are very interesting and their arcs allow them to experience a range of emotions. (Some part of their character transition is a bit unbelievable but I liked the change.) A couple of the male characters aren’t far behind, unlike most other historical women’s fiction. Hugh and Landon have a great role to play and are carved well enough for you to know them and their thinking.

❤ The whole writing had such an old-worldly charm to it. Nothing OTT. Good characters facing tough situations and learning to change with the changing situations. It is a survival story in many ways, but not in the typical way.

❤ While I had read about coupons and clothes rationing in England during the war, I had assumed that the fashion houses would have been closed either due to shortage of material or because of the war circumstances. Reading about how these houses operated with the limited resources available was an enlightening experience. Ditto for the titular ‘Wedding Dress Sewing Circle’ which bonds all the characters together. The author’s research is evident.

❤ The author’s note was nice to read and it reveals the extent to which a part of the story is based on facts.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

💔 It is somewhat clichéd despite the novel topics it contains. There is no suspense, no character conflict. Almost everything is guessable. All character behaviour is predictable. The romances are easy to figure out the minute the character steps on the page. I don’t mind straightforward storytelling but maybe this was a bit too much so.

💔 In many ways, it hardly feels like a WWII story except for the mention of certain ideas as rationing and the blitz.

Despite the few reservations I had with the simplistic storytelling, I mostly enjoyed the story. It is a feel-good kind of read and if you read it without over-analysing it or expecting something earth-shattering, you will have a wonderful experience. Recommended to historical war fiction fans who aren’t looking for a grim read.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.