The Dressmaker's Dowry
Books | Fiction / Family Life / General
3.6
Meredith Jaeger
For readers of Lucinda Riley, Sarah Jio, or Susan Meissner, this gripping historical debut novel tells the story of two women: one, an immigrant seamstress who disappears from San Francisco’s gritty streets in 1876, and the other, a young woman in present day who must delve into the secrets of her husband’s wealthy family only to discover that she and the missing dressmaker might be connected in unexpected ways.An exquisite ring, passed down through generations, connects two women who learn that love is a choice, and forgiveness is the key to freedom...San Francisco: 1876Immigrant dressmakers Hannelore Schaeffer and Margaret O'Brien struggle to provide food for their siblings, while mending delicate clothing for the city's most affluent ladies. When wealthy Lucas Havensworth enters the shop, Hanna's future is altered forever. With Margaret's encouragement and the power of a borrowed green dress, Hanna dares to see herself as worthy of him. Then Margaret disappears, and Hanna turns to Lucas. Braving the gritty streets of the Barbary Coast and daring to enter the mansions of Nob Hill, Hanna stumbles upon Margaret’s fate, forcing her to make a devastating decision...one that will echo through the generations.San Francisco: Present DayIn her elegant Marina apartment overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Sarah Havensworth struggles to complete the novel she quit her job for. Afraid to tell her husband of her writer’s block, Sarah is also hiding a darker secret—one that has haunted her for 14 years. Then a news headline from 1876 sparks inspiration: Missing Dressmakers Believed to be Murdered. Compelled to discover what happened to Hannelore and Margaret, Sarah returns to her roots as a journalist. Will her beautiful heirloom engagement ring uncover a connection to Hanna Schaeffer?
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More Details:
Author
Meredith Jaeger
Pages
356
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2017-02-07
ISBN
0062469843 9780062469847
Community ReviewsSee all
"An interesting intertwining of stories set in San Francisco - a modern day struggling author with a tightly guarded secret, and two immigrant dressmakers that may or may not have been murdered. <br/><br/>I wanted to like this book more than I did. There were a lot of great aspects to the story. I thought the historical parts to be well researched and I was drawn into 1876 San Francisco. Both Hannelore and Margaret were well written characters, and I was compelled to learn more about them. <br/><br/>I was a bit disappointed in the way the two stories combined. It felt way too coincidental...I feel the mysteries would have been just as compelling if <spoiler> a) the dressmakers had nothing to do with her husband's family. I felt like her father in law went WAAAAAAAY overboard in trying to keep the secret, and it seemed a little forced. As far as Sarah's secret...meh. I felt like it needed more meat to it. The concept would have worked had it been fleshed out a little more, but she seemed to spend the majority of the story obsessing over the car accident, and then when it came out, it was a bit anticlimactic. I the story would have held up just as well with that element removed. Or, that we were aware that that was the cause of her anxiety, instead of making it a mystery. Focusing on two mysteries seemed to water them both down a bit. </spoiler><br/><br/>An enjoyable read, and I would definitely try this author again...just looking for a bit more depth."
B M
Beverly Marra
