The Dressmaker of Drapers Lane By Liz Trenow

1768, London.

As a foundling who rose from poverty and now runs her own successful dressmaking business in the heart of society London, Miss Charlotte is a remarkable woman, admired by many. She has no need, nor desire, to marry. The people she values most are her friend Anna, her recently-found sister Louisa and nephew Peter.

She feels herself fortunate, and should be content with what she has. But something is missing.

A small piece of rare silk discovered in a bundle of scraps at auction triggers a curious sense of familiarity, and prompts her to unpick a past filled with extraordinary secrets and revelations . . .

The Dressmaker of Draper’s Lane revisits the opulence and extravagance of the London silk trade in the mid-eighteenth century which Liz Trenow wrote about in her previous bestselling novel, The Silk Weaver.

3.5*

Charlotte Amesbury had a very poor start in life. She was left by her poverty stricken mother at the Foundling Hospital in London and by determination and some good fortune, has been able to make her own way as a costumière with her own business near the City of London.

The art of the seamstresses’ and the beauty of the materials they work with are superbly described. Charlotte has made a name for herself with the well to do ladies of London who recommend her to their friends and business is good. However, there is one area of Charlotte’s life that causes her sadness. She would love to know about her mother and upon sheer chance, she happens to come across a small scrap of silk which leads her to make connections beyond which she would not have thought possible – however the discovery is also the cause of much sadness and discord. I had my suspicions as to why one character was so against Charlotte trying to find out more about her background.

Although I knew about the term ‘foundling’ it was particularly interesting here to read about the way the hospital selected which babies to accept and the tokens that the mothers left with their child, as a way of identification, in case they were ever in a position to reclaim them at a later date.

Charlotte was an extremely engaging character; for all of her confidence and business acumen, she had suffered personal heartbreak and her success had come at a price. Her best friend Anna, who together with her husband, owned a silk weaving business brought some light hearted fun into her life. Sadly the same couldn’t be said for Ambrose, her sister Louisa’s husband. For a minister of the cloth, he certainly didn’t practice what he preached.

For a single woman in the 18th century, Charlotte is very unusual. She has an independent spirit, manages her seamstresses with great tact and skill and is prepared to stand her ground with the toughest of business men. I think for me, this is why I kept being pulled out of the era. Although generally, there is an excellent sense of place, it was Charlotte herself who seemed to be of a modern age and it was only when I encountered a reference to travelling in a gig, or to some other Georgian reference that I remembered that I was actually in the 18th century and not in the 21st. This is not a criticism of the book, but just a personal reaction.

It is not a fast paced story but The Dressmaker of Drapers Lane is a very well written historical tale and the level of research which must have been necessary comes through clearly, also the author’s family has had a silk business since the 1700s so no doubt this personal knowledge was invaluable. The detailed clothing descriptions and way of life, the fear of catching the dreaded typhus and the limited medical treatment of those times (compared to what we know today), the difficulties of communication and travel – all these aspects are so well done. In amongst the fictional characters are ‘real life’ historical people including artist William Hogarth, one of the benefactors and governors of the Foundling Hospital and his wife Jane, who is a great friend to Charlotte.

The book features some of the characters, including Charlotte and Anna, from a previous book, The Silk Weaver, but it’s not necessary to have read that one to enjoy this as it works perfectly well on its own.

I enjoyed getting to know Charlotte and fans of historical fiction and anyone with an interest in the subject will find much to enjoy with this story. Kindle Edition As historical Fiction goes this is a competent book. The author has an understanding of time and place as well as the subject of her book - dressmaking.
I found the descriptions of types of dressmaking at the beginning of each chapter interesting but of very little relevance to the whole.
She has accomplished a narrative that is good to read and her characterisation works well. I liked the interweaving of past and present and she has tried to put in some surprise twists to the tale - although i think they were quite obvious at times. I also enjoyed the power she gave to women in that time period.
In the afterword she mentions a previous novel in which Charlotte was a minor character - the silk weaver This book does not depend upon that one for it storyline and can easily be a standalone, but my guess is that it will form part of a series in the near future.I like how she has brought real people into the mix like William Hogarth and the actor David Garrick.
I would happily read more from this author but am not desperate to do so (I have a long TBR). I might be tempted to the Silk Weaver but worry that having read the next chapter. so to speak, it would spoil the previous story. Kindle Edition An entertaining and involving tale about the costumier Miss Charlotte who opens a pandora's box when she buys a selection of silk fabrics at an auction in London in 1768. The novel isn't so much about dressmaking as it is about families and their long-hidden secrets. It might be a fast and relatively light read but it contains a serious message - about the fragility of life in 18th-century England, especially for children and women in labour, and the misery of women who had no choice but to give their babies up to the Foundling Hospital, and other themes besides. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights. Kindle Edition Ok I have read yet another one out of my comfort zone, and I LOVED IT!!! I thought this was such a quaint story, a story of Charlotte. I didn’t realise this was linked to another book – The Silk Weaver where she is first introduced – but she is a minor character. However, I don’t feel like I have missed out on anything but I do want to go back and read and meet Anna and Charlotte again.

I have one small tiny, not complaint but I did feel at times there was a bit too much detail that I felt I didn’t need. But I do think that was more down to the fact I was itching for Charlotte to go back on her adventure and discover the truth about the silk!

It was also quite unnerving to read, in the story, there is some discussion of the typhus spread and it sounded just truly horrifying and sad….and then it reminded me of the dreaded C-word and how we have experienced the modern-day version.

I loved Charlotte, her independence and her shop! It all sounded amazing!! Despite the awful woman who wanted a refund – vile person! The hunt for her birth mother was truly heartbreaking, and although I guessed it, I was still happy and sad at the same time. It was a joy to read and I really hope there will be another book about them! I want to know how they are getting on.

Charlotte is wealthy for her time, not in monetary value but the support she has and being a single woman and having her own independence was definitely something to marvel at. She had so much love and care surrounding her and you could feel that coming off the pages. It was hard when you see other people trying to play against her because she spoke her mind!! Urgh people!

I am sad the book is over. I really hope Charlotte, Louisa and Peter come back again, I want to see the happy ending continue and thrive!!! Please!

This was a great way to submerge more into this genre. I have been dipping my toe slowly and Liz’s writing is a fab way for me to get started. Her storytelling and knowledge are something to respect and adore. The fact that she has personal links to silk weavers and such is just amazing and you can tell it by the book. Plus I loved the chapters that tell you more about stitches, fabrics and design. I love my sewing and embroidery but I am a complete novice compared to those in the book!

I can’t wait for the next outing with Liz and her characters!! Kindle Edition the dressmaker of draper's lane feels, i think, like the beginning of a project. it takes for its central themes motherlessness, displaced or alternative forms of motherhood, independence - particularly in artistry - and belonging; through charlotte, the central character, and the women constellated around her, trenow sketches out a network, an emotional community, of women who take on many different faces of mothering, who mentor, who love, who support and work for and with each other. parallel to this is trenow's interest in, and obvious familiarity with, the language and art of textile-work: each chapter begins with the description of a piece of fabric or clothing or an embroidery technique, charlotte's story is as much about her business as a dressmaker as it is about her search for the mother she never knew, and at the heart of the novel is a scrap of distinctively patterned silk.

unfortunately, these pieces never feel fully integrated or individually realised - the book never seems to move beyond its beginning, at least in emotional terms. i'm struggling to find a word that captures the frustration i felt while reading, but the closest i've come is, i think, that in tone, in texture, in character, this book feels perfunctory, like a sketch or maybe (pun entirely intended) a design, waiting to be transformed into something more substantial, the thing it was intended to be all along. i came away underwhelmed, not because it was an uninteresting premise or because i felt entirely un-invested, but because the materials were there, because i had been interested and still felt invested in what the dressmaker might have been.

i received an advanced reader's copy of this book courtesy of netgalley and pan macmillan in exchange for an honest review. Kindle Edition

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In The Dressmaker of Draper's Lane, Liz Trenow returns to the setting of one of her previous novels The Silk Weaver, a few familiar faces make a reappearance but the main focus is on Charlotte who had a more minimal role in the previous book. This story can easily be read by itself without having read the previous book as there is plenty of background information supplied. For those who already know what has occurred so far it is nice to catch up with and see how characters that may have stolen a place in your heart are now getting on from where we last left them. This story is very much a slow burner and when it does get going things are over and resolved rather too quickly. I felt there was an awful lot of repetition with not much happening and it really is a book that you have to persist with in order to see what is going to unfold. It's not action packed by any means instead it is filled with lots of detail which shows the in-depth research undertaken by the author.

That said it does provide a fascinating insight into life in London in the mid 18th century in particular the silk trade and dressmaking. It showcases a very different way of life from the way in which we live today if perhaps some elements were a little too modern. Several times I found myself stopping and thinking did they have such a thing at that time and would they have used this etc. The little snippets supplied as a heading at the beginning of each chapter were interesting as they provided information on different types of clothing and the material used to make them. The inclusion of a small picture of said item or method would have been excellent as we could see what was being described.

Charlotte Butterfield has her own dressmaking business in Draper's Lane in London. The business is quite successful and she employs several women who work at her shop crafting wonderful creations to order for her numerous customers. Charlotte is unusual for the time in that she is still a single woman and has her own business. From the outset it is clear she goes against the norm but I sensed fairly early on this was more to do with past circumstances rather than any wilful desire to remain unmarried. Charlotte appeared to be a very closed book, keeping things hidden to herself for very good reason. I thought it was too obvious fairly on what the secret was and that it was revealed too early but it became apparent there was something even bigger going on and I was glad this was kept secret until the last few chapters.

Charlotte's history created and inspired the life she leads today. She is proud of the position she occupies in society as a business woman and she loves her job of designing and making wonderful dresses for ladies but still being left by her mother in a foundling hospital when she was just a baby has had a profound affect on her. Only for her sister Louisa and her husband Ambrose came to find her and take her away when she was of age, Charlotte would have had no family in the world. When close friend Anna, the main character in The Silk Weaver, brings Charlotte to an auction of materials being sold from a merchant who is no longer in business, that is when her life changes for ever. The women purchase bolts of fabric and amongst them is an unusual silk which when Charlotte touches it makes her feel very unusual. Snatches of memories or feelings run through her mind. Has Charlotte been in contact with this fabric before and what significance does this have in relation to her past life? If any at all. So many questions race through Charlotte's mind and her interest is more than piqued as she sets on a journey searching for answers in order to seek peace and resolution in the present.

I wanted even more of unravelling clues, linking pieces together and making connections. When this happened this aspect was the best and strongest part of the book, instead I felt the story went off on tangents not strictly necessary to the main over arching plot running through the story. When we did reach the end I understood it was necessary and perhaps the author was leading us in a different direction to throw us off track. But in the midst of reading it felt like the quest so to speak was forgotten about as attention turned to Charlotte visiting her sister and nephew in the country. I was constantly awaiting that sense of mystery to increase for that element of excitement, trepidation and discovery to materialise but it manifested itself briefly and then vanished.

Charlotte is more than anxious about her heritage and the fate of her mother and for an enthusiastic and intelligent woman I thought she would have taken matters into her own hands and really stood up for what she was trying to achieve. Not to be fobbed off by brusque answers and to also confront Ambrose. He was the most awful character, full of hatred and malice who presented a lovely, happy and respectful front to his parishioners but behind closed doors he was a demon and ruled over those he lived with.

The Dressmaker of Draper's Lane was was a good read but not one that will be the most memorable for me when I reflect on the books I will have read during the year. It's not the best work by this author whose earlier books I loved without question but I am glad I read it simply to discover the extension and continuation of a story begun in The Silk Weaver. There were really strong aspects to the book but Charlotte needed to be that little bit more ruthless in never giving up to seek the answers she so desperately desired. I guessed the very ending before it occurred but if I hadn't I would have been totally surprised. The strands of the story did come together very well but as there were lots of scenes that were over long and didn't move the story on enough and at times my attention did wander. Still, I will read more from Liz Trenow in the future because I know when she hits the right note her books are excellent. Kindle Edition I love my historical fiction and was very excited to be asked to review The Dressmaker of Draper’s Lane by Liz Trenow. The central character Miss Charlotte is an independent woman. with her own dressmaking business that makes her self sufficient, quite unusual in the eighteenth century. Things were not always easy for Charlotte, left at a foundling hospital as a baby, it was there she was educated until she gained employment as a maid until a sister she knew nothing about found her. At an auction Charlotte buys some mixed silks, but one chinoiserie silk brings back some form of memory, and takes her on a journey into her past.

Miss Charlotte was a minor character in Liz Trenow’s previous book The Silk Weaver, as were some of the other characters in this book. You do not need to have read The Silk Weaver to enjoy this book as it is a very different story, but it is a wonderful read so I recommend reading it anyway. Charlotte is in an unusual position, her life is not dictated to by a husband or father, she has her own business and money so has much more freedom than most women and gives her the opportunity to meet different people of different social standings. After meeting her in the previous book I already had respect for her and what she achieved and in The Dressmaker of Draper’s Lane I enjoyed getting to know her on a more personal level. It was also nice to be reacquainted with characters I get to love in Liz Trenow’s previous book; Anna, her husband Henri, Charlotte’s sister Louisa and nephew Peter. There is a seamless mix of the fictional and factual characters that add authenticity to the story.

Liz Trenow has a family history in the silk weaving business, and her passion and understanding of the industry really comes across in her writing. The prose is rich in detail, of the characters, the setting and the historical period. There are many different strands and relationships in this book, and the journey takes the reader from the modest accommodation of Anna and her husband Henri who run the weaving business from their home, to the Chiswick residence of William Hogarth’s widow and Marble Hill House, home to the old King’s mistress. There is also the darker side of life, the rape of servants, the terror of typhus, domestic violence and the danger of childbirth which gives a balanced view to the period.

The Dressmaker of Draper’s Lane is a sumptuous piece of historical fiction. Liz Trenow’s attention to detail and historical knowledge come through in the writing and make this such an enjoyable book to read. This is a breathtaking read and one I highly recommend.
Kindle Edition This novel was listed as romance. I must have not been paying attention because I totally missed the romance part. Enjoyable enough but maybe this one was not my cup of tea. Kindle Edition This novel features characters that I first read about in The Silk Weaver so I enjoyed reading their stories. It is the style of writing I enjoy most from Liz Trenow. Kindle Edition This novel is a sequel, of sorts, to The Silk Weaver which I didn't realise until I started reading it and characters I recognised (Henri and Anna) started cropping up. Unfortunately, for me, this book just did not live up the previous one. The richness of the setting is completely lost along the way and the newly introduced characters really aren't sufficient to carry the story or hold your interest. This isn't helped by having an Ann and an Anna and the main character Charlotte also being known as Agnes. If you read the book in a couple of big chunks this wouldn't be a problem but picking it up several times over a couple of days it does become an issue; well, it did for me.

It doesn't help that the threads of Charlotte running her costumier business are interwoven with the Foundling Hospital that raised her and also her sister's strained marriage to a fire and brimstone Vicar. Nothing really sits together and it all felt like a couple of different stories smooshed together with the filling that was supposed to link running away into the cracks. Unlike with The Silk Weaver everything felt slightly artificial and contrived rather than absorbing you in the time and the place.

Characterisation takes second place to the plotting of the book so I never really felt that I knew Charlotte/Agnes and less so her sister Louisa. In many ways things just happen to Charlotte and she rapidly became just a conduit to discuss child abandonment, abuse of servants, struggles of extended family and women in business in the 18th Century. Louisa is mainly there to show abuse within marriage. There is a plot twist towards the end but it comes as neither a surprise or of much interest by this point - all that's important is that we are nearly at the end. Even the conclusion of the book was strangely dissatisfying and a bit happy clappy.

One saving grace was the sub title of each chapter providing you with a description of a popular fashion item of the period or a popular cloth; these short snippets were informative and I finally know what a sackback dress would have looked like and why. I suppose I should have known it didn't bode well when something that was not an intrinsic part of the story was the most enjoyable bit of the book. There are some good insights in to the structuring of society but you have to dig for them and the relentless pursuit for everything to come out for the best for all characters did become a little wearisome.

Really the best I can say about the book is that it is relatively non-offensive and passed the time adequately without making me feel like I had completely wasted the hours spent reading it. I did expect much better from the author though as I have read a couple of her previous books and thoroughly enjoyed them - I think nostalgia for those and the hope that this is just a blip is why I have rated this 3 Stars instead of the 2 that it probably deserves. Kindle Edition