AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Big girls in 19th-century England don't cry in Graeme-Evans's light tale about a plucky heroine who endures a series of harsh trials on her way to becoming London's leading dressmaker.
'Things start to go south for curate's daughter Ellen Gowan on her 13th birthday, when the dress Connie, her mother, makes her, entices one of her father's students to steal a kiss. Scandal and ruination seem imminent when her father dies, forcing mother and daughter to seek refuge with Connie's sister, who lives in terror of her baronet husband. There, Ellen's friendship with her cousin, Oriana, blossoms, until once again a young man stirs trouble, and Connie and Ellen land in London, where Connie succumbs to illness and Ellen marries a cad who leaves her pregnant and alone.
'But with a little help from friends, family, and unlikely sources, Ellen becomes the go-to creator of "all manner of finery" for England's most prominent families.' (Trove)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Dyslexic edition.
Works about this Work
-
At the Helm Tassie Style
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 July 2016; (p. 19) -
Victorian Tale Stitched Together, with Some Loose Ends
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 12 December 2010; (p. 9)
— Review of The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel -
Fiction
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 11 December 2010; (p. 28)
— Review of Seer of Sevenwaters 2010 single work novel ; The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel -
Heroes Welcome
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 24 - 30 November no. 811 2010; (p. 29) -
Off the Shelf : Fiction
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 November 2010; (p. 25)
— Review of The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel
-
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 90 no. 3 2010; (p. 27)
— Review of The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel -
Off the Shelf : Fiction
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 November 2010; (p. 25)
— Review of The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel -
Fiction
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 11 December 2010; (p. 28)
— Review of Seer of Sevenwaters 2010 single work novel ; The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel -
Victorian Tale Stitched Together, with Some Loose Ends
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 12 December 2010; (p. 9)
— Review of The Dressmaker 2010 single work novel -
Heroes Welcome
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 24 - 30 November no. 811 2010; (p. 29) -
At the Helm Tassie Style
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 July 2016; (p. 19)
-
cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
- 1800-1899