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| Boldwood Books 5 April 2024 My thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book and the invitation to the blog tour |
Welcome to Dressmakers Alley, a twisted place filled with dark and deadly secrets London’s East End 1923
In the heart of Dressmakers Alley Madame Pauline’s sweatshop is rumoured to be a particularly unpleasant place to work. Filled with seamstresses paid a pittance who turn a blind eye to what darker activities are hidden behind locked doors.
Young Winnie Brown is keen to prove her value to the Women Movements and secures a job as a seamstress to investigate the whispers of some unsavoury goings on. Her concerns are soon justified when she discovers that there are terrible things afoot, as she hears a desperate cry for help.
Meanwhile, happily married, Lady Diane Cooper is the darling of London’s high-society. Beautiful and talented, she seemingly has it all. But the strict constraint’s society assigns her leaves her friustated, she craves more freedom. With the help of her devoted dresser Susie can she realise her dream?
What is the connection between Lady Diane's world and the poor exploited young women of Dressmakers Alley? Can the two worlds come together for the good of all?
📖 My Review..
Those who have read this author's previous historical sagas will be delighted with the opportunity to start a new series which is set during the early years of the twentieth century. In the aftermath of WW1 the country is starting to get back to some semblance of its pre-war status and yet there are still huge divisions between those who have money and those, like Winnie Brown, who need to make ends meet. A supporter of the Women's Movement, young Winnie is persuaded to take up a meagre role in order to infiltrate a dressmakers establishment on the aptly named Dressmakers' Alley in a seedier part of the East End of London where it is suspected that some nefarious deeds are taking place.
With her usual warmth and empathetic style of writing the author weaves a story which is quite dark in places and filled with an element of danger which sees Winnie caught up in a whole heap of trouble. Perfectly blending the lives of the poor, with those of the upper-classes, we get to see both sides of life and observe just how difficult it was for all women to make their mark as even the affluent women had to abide by a set of social constraints.
I've enjoyed spending time on Dressmakers' Alley, trying to piece together all the strands of the mystery and hoping that everything would work out for Winnie and the girls at Madam Pauline's sweatshop. As this is the first book in the series I am sure that we will discover more about this world which the author recreates so thoughtfully.
About the Author
Rosie Clarke is a #1 bestselling saga writer whose most recent books include The Mulberry Lane series. She has written over 100 novels under different pseudonyms and is a RNA Award winner. She lives in Cambridgeshire.
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