The author of “The Lost English Girl” returns with a heartfelt new novel about two estranged sisters who inherit their late mother's dressmaking shop in London during World War II.
In 1940s Great Britain, plain and awkward Izzie finds comfort in retreating into the safety of the backroom of her mother's dressmaking shop. The predictable world of stitches, patterns, and fabric has been a sanctuary from the cruel, chaotic world that took her father in a tragic accident years ago.
Her beautiful sister Sylvia was old enough to watch her father's tragic death force her mother to give up their respectable middle-class home and open a shop to support their family. That's why, when she meets the sophisticated, wealthy Martin Pearsall, Sylvia isn't surprised at her mother's encouragement to seize her chance for a better life, even if it means distancing herself from her family at Martin's insistence.
When their mother unexpectedly dies, the two sisters are surprised to discover that her will stipulates that they both inherit the dress shop, stirring up old resentments and hurt feelings. However, when conscription forces Izzie to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service in another part of the country, she realizes that Sylvia is the only person who can save the shop from closure. As the sisters begin an ongoing correspondence, they must confront old emotions to forge new beginnings in this lyrically moving novel perfect for fans of Genevieve Graham and Lucinda Riley.
