About this item
Spanning the intense years of war, The Dressmaker's War is a dramatic tale of love, conflict, betrayal and survival. It is the compelling story of one young woman's resolve to endure and of the choices she must make at every turn - choices which will contain truths she must confront. London, spring 1939. Eighteen-year-old Ada Vaughan, a beautiful and ambitious seamstress, has just started work for a modiste in Dover Street. A career in couture is hers for the taking - she has the skill and the drive - if only she can break free from the dreariness of family life in Lambeth. A chance meeting with the enigmatic Stanislaus von Lieben catapults Ada into a world of glamour and romance. When he suggests a trip to Paris, Ada is blind to all the warnings of war on the continent: this is her chance for a new start. Anticipation turns to despair when war is declared and the two are trapped in France. After the Nazis invade, Stanislaus abandons her. Ada is taken prisoner and forced to survive the only way she knows how: by being a dressmaker. It is a decision which will haunt her during the war and its devastating aftermath.
About the Author
Mary Chamberlain was born and raised in London. She has lived and worked in England and the Caribbean and is Emeritus Professor of History at Oxford Brookes University. Her book, Fenwomen, was the first to be published by the feminist imprint Virago in 1975 and was one of the inspirations for Caryl Churchill's award-winning play, Fen. She has written many books on women's history, oral history and Caribbean history. She is a graduate of the acclaimed Creative Writing MA at Royal Holloway, University of London, and now lives in London with her husband, the political scientist Stein Ringen.
