The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle

A heartwarming nostalgic World War Two novel inspired by real events

By: Jennifer Ryan

Narrated by: Sophie Roberts

After renowned London fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. She arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business from a quaint country village.

Her niece, Violet, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay - the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help - but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.

Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanises the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves…

From the acclaimed author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and The Kitchen Front, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle was inspired by true events in World War Two.

Trite and poorly narrated

Not much to recommend this book. The story is so cliched it is mind- numbing; the characters are similarly boring and unoriginal. And the reader/narrator was pathetic. I got through to the end by skipping large chunks knowing full-well I was missing nothing important and that the end would be sadly unimaginative, which indeed it was.