Wednesday, June 13, 2018

The Paris Seamstress - Natasha Lester

As the German Army marches into Paris,  Estelle escapes leaving behind her mother and a handsome stranger that she runs into never thinking she will see him again.  Finding a new life in New York, she tries to get a job using her fashion design skills, but the Americans only seem to want to make copies of French designs.  Instead she has wants to give women simple flattering dresses that are practical, and economical. 

We also get to meet her grand-daughter Fabienne 70 years later.  Living in Australia, she comes to visit her Grandmother who is ailing, and tries to discover the family secrets before it is too late.

While I liked both main characters, somehow I didn't get sucked into the story as much as I would have hoped.  Estelle, Lena and Fabienne were all great dames but the men seemed a bit wooden and too perfect or too evil and horrid.  Somehow I couldn't picture the story in my head even though I wanted to envision 1940s New York and Paris.  3/5

1 comment:

John Bellen said...

Not every author is cut out to write period novels.