Showing results for "the dressmaker’s secret" in Historical Fiction

Italy in 1819. Emilia Barton and her mother, Sarah, live a nomadic existence, travelling from town to town as itinerant dressmakers to escape their past. When they settle in the idyllic coastal town of Pesaro, Emilia desperately hopes that this time they have found a permanent home. But when Sarah is brutally attacked by an unknown assailant, a deathbed confession turns Emilia's world upside down. Seeking refuge as a dressmaker in the eccentric household of Princess Caroline of Brunswick, Emilia experiences her first taste of love with the charming Alessandro.

1962. Even as she gazes at the silk bridal dresses in the window, the little girl's eyes fill with tears. She has dreamed about gowns just like that. But now, lost and alone, she only wants to be held. Just a moment ago, she was in the arms of her mother. Now her only hope lies in Brides of Bold Street, where past and present blur… Brides of Bold Street—a beautiful, historic bridal shop–is all Sabrina Flooks has ever known after being separated from her mother as a little girl.

The girls of Dressmakers Alley are happy in their new jobs. Business is thriving and yet a new shadow looms. Women are being attacked and robbed whilst several businesses have been burgled. Are these two circumstances linked or is this just a coincidence? As the attacks escalate, and the police seem unmoved to intervene, the men of Dressmakers Alley decide to take the law into their own hands and patrol the streets to keep them and their women safe.

Claire will stop at nothing to provide for her daughters. An unwed mother, she does everything possible to raise them whilst avoiding her scandalous past. Some secrets are best kept, even between mother and daughter. Alice longs for a father, especially if that means her mother will be happy. She takes matters into her own hands — but she never expected what she finds.

From the best-selling author of The Beekeeper’s Promise comes a gripping story of three young women faced with impossible choices. How will history - and their families - judge them? Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets. War-scarred Mireille is fighting with the Resistance; Claire has been seduced by a German officer; and Vivienne’s involvement is something she can’t reveal to either of them.

Rosa Kusstatscher has built a global fashion empire upon her ability to find the perfect outfit for any occasion. But tonight, as she prepares for the most important meeting of her life, her usual certainty eludes her. What brought her to this moment? As she struggles to select her dress and choose the right shade of lipstick, Rosa begins to tell her incredible story. The story of a poor country girl from a village high in the mountains of Italy. Of Nazi occupation and fleeing in the night. Of hope and heartbreak in Switzerland; ambition, glamour and love in Paris.

Two women. Two forbidden loves. One unforgettable London season. Augusta flees a forced marriage to chase independence as a modiste. Mariana is an earl's daughter with her heart set on an unsuitable—but brilliant—man. As their worlds collide amid scandal, secrets, and stolen moments, both women must risk everything for a chance at love. A sweeping Regency romance with two deliciously defiant heroines and the men they were never supposed to love.

Based on true accounts of how Parisiennes resisted the Nazi occupation in World War II--from fashion houses to the city streets--comes a story of two courageous women who risked everything to fight an evil they could not abide. Perfect for fans of Madeline Martin and Ariel Lawhon. Paris, 1939...

Vienna 1938: Austria’s leading couturier, Christina Lehmann, sits at the pinnacle of Viennese society. Her lover, the renowned painter Max Hauser, is at the height of his career. But Max harbors a secret, and it is only a matter of time before the Gestapo finds out. The situation takes a dramatic turn on Kristallnacht, when the pogrom against the Austrian Jews escalates and one of Christina’s Jewish seamstresses is brutally murdered.

1937, Germany. Lily, a talented aspiring seamstress, falls head over heels in love with Heinrich, a charming major in Hitler’s Wehrmacht. Their love affair blossoms into a beautiful romance, and despite the growing fear of impending war, Lily dreams of the wonderful future they will have together. But Heinrich has a secret – one that, if revealed, would put his life in grave danger. And now Lily’s, too.

When Darcie purchases several old suitcases at auction that had been abandoned in a railway station locker, she doesn't know what to expect. The first is disappointing but as she opens the second, she discovers rare and beautiful dresses for the 1940s, lovingly folded, and a notebook of designs to go with them. Written inside the cover is the name: Nathalie Leroux Why did she leave her most prized possessions at the station eighty years ago? Darcie's quest for answers will draw her into the world of the French resistance as she works to uncover the truth about a devastating wartime secret.