---
product_id: 150716936
title: "The Dressmaker's Gift"
price: "$U1554"
currency: UYU
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.uy/products/150716936-the-dressmakers-gift
store_origin: UY
region: Uruguay
---

# The Dressmaker's Gift

**Price:** $U1554
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- **What is this?** The Dressmaker's Gift
- **How much does it cost?** $U1554 with free shipping
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## Description

desertcart.com: The Dressmaker's Gift: 9781542005135: Valpy, Fiona: Books

Review: Great read! - I truly enjoyed this book. Fiona did a great job of developing the characters. I felt like the story was based on real people. I felt like she stayed in line with the facts of what happened during World War II.
Review: Love the authentic setting of the story! - Book Review: The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy 2017. In first person narrative, Harriet from England, a newly accepted fashion intern or "stagiaire" in Paris, searches obsessively for the history of her grandmother after she finds an old photo of her as a young woman with two companions. 1940-1945. In third person omniscient, Harriet gives a detailed account of the exploits of three French seamstresses in a couturier's atelier in Paris - Mireille from the Pyrenees, Vivienne from Lille, and Claire from Brittany, and their harrowing experiences during the Nazi occupation as Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents of the French Resistance. In every chapter after the first, Harriet repeatedly reminisces about the grandma she never knew, which felt largely like maudlin interlude fillers barely contributing to the flow. Furthermore, it is hard for the reader to understand how Harriet in 2017 could have known the thoughts, deeds and feelings of her granny and the women. Although dramatic and entirely engaging, the incredulity renders the account concocted and contrived right through the final chapters, when Harriet finally meets Mireille. But still, Mireille couldn't have been cognizant of details, for example, during Claire's and Vivi's internment. As a Francophile who lived in Paris, I love the authentic setting of the story. The address 12 Rue Cardinale in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris is indeed about a fifteen minute leisurely walk to Ile de la Cite as mentioned in the book. That Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris is in the exact spot is a bonus. It's not a fashionable area but a couturier's atelier or workshop could be anywhere in the district. The story's timeline is spotted a dash of creative license. This was famously a time of turmoil for Parisiens, with the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in January 2015, the Bataclan Theater massacre (138 dead) in November 2015, and the terrorist truck attack (86 dead) in Nice on Bastille Day on July 14, 2016. All three are mentioned in the book. A subsequent attack directly involves Harriet and her friend, Simone, which proves key to the plot. The mental state of a person living in Paris during this time, apart from day to day living, would concede little time for concern and research much less be melancholy about an unknown grandmother. Moreover, all three attacks predate the prologue, so we'll have to assume Harriet first arrived in Paris earlier in 2015. Finally, I cannot imagine anyone with Breton blood not be knowledgeable of their ancestry from the day of birth. The Bretons are fiercely proud of their Celtic heritage. In fact, most consider themselves Breton before French, regardless where they live. Claire, Harriet's grandma was a full-blooded Breton. A tale far from compelling, but writing par excellence and good light reading. Review based on an desertcart First Reads edition, and an Advance Reading Copy from desertcart Publishing UK and Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #265,006 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #130 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books) #1,046 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction #2,571 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 101,489 Reviews |

## Images

![The Dressmaker's Gift - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/910qVj6I47L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great read!
*by D***. on August 2, 2025*

I truly enjoyed this book. Fiona did a great job of developing the characters. I felt like the story was based on real people. I felt like she stayed in line with the facts of what happened during World War II.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the authentic setting of the story!
*by J***A on October 18, 2019*

Book Review: The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy 2017. In first person narrative, Harriet from England, a newly accepted fashion intern or "stagiaire" in Paris, searches obsessively for the history of her grandmother after she finds an old photo of her as a young woman with two companions. 1940-1945. In third person omniscient, Harriet gives a detailed account of the exploits of three French seamstresses in a couturier's atelier in Paris - Mireille from the Pyrenees, Vivienne from Lille, and Claire from Brittany, and their harrowing experiences during the Nazi occupation as Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents of the French Resistance. In every chapter after the first, Harriet repeatedly reminisces about the grandma she never knew, which felt largely like maudlin interlude fillers barely contributing to the flow. Furthermore, it is hard for the reader to understand how Harriet in 2017 could have known the thoughts, deeds and feelings of her granny and the women. Although dramatic and entirely engaging, the incredulity renders the account concocted and contrived right through the final chapters, when Harriet finally meets Mireille. But still, Mireille couldn't have been cognizant of details, for example, during Claire's and Vivi's internment. As a Francophile who lived in Paris, I love the authentic setting of the story. The address 12 Rue Cardinale in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris is indeed about a fifteen minute leisurely walk to Ile de la Cite as mentioned in the book. That Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris is in the exact spot is a bonus. It's not a fashionable area but a couturier's atelier or workshop could be anywhere in the district. The story's timeline is spotted a dash of creative license. This was famously a time of turmoil for Parisiens, with the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in January 2015, the Bataclan Theater massacre (138 dead) in November 2015, and the terrorist truck attack (86 dead) in Nice on Bastille Day on July 14, 2016. All three are mentioned in the book. A subsequent attack directly involves Harriet and her friend, Simone, which proves key to the plot. The mental state of a person living in Paris during this time, apart from day to day living, would concede little time for concern and research much less be melancholy about an unknown grandmother. Moreover, all three attacks predate the prologue, so we'll have to assume Harriet first arrived in Paris earlier in 2015. Finally, I cannot imagine anyone with Breton blood not be knowledgeable of their ancestry from the day of birth. The Bretons are fiercely proud of their Celtic heritage. In fact, most consider themselves Breton before French, regardless where they live. Claire, Harriet's grandma was a full-blooded Breton. A tale far from compelling, but writing par excellence and good light reading. Review based on an Amazon First Reads edition, and an Advance Reading Copy from Amazon Publishing UK and Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ~~French Resistance WW II/Harriet 2017~~
*by S***. on September 1, 2019*

A few months ago, I read multiple books/novels about the French Resistance in WW II. And, all of them were about women that were members of the Special Operations Executives (SOE). These females were agents and truly did remarkable 'jobs' in the face of the enemy within their native France. This novel describes....and in rich descriptive language, the stories of three such women....Mireille, Claire and Vivienne who were employed as dressmakers in Paris. These three young women came from diverse backgrounds but ended up being valued members of the Resistance. Fast forward to the year 2017 and Harriet, a young lady is on a quest to find out more about the three young women in a photograph taken during WW II in Paris. The photo belonged to Harriet's mother, Felicity. And, so her quest for more information begins. Anyone who has ever visited Paris will recognize all of the familiar landmarks ..the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Metro and its familiar stops, and many other locations. Loved all of them... The story of the three women and their involvement in the French Resistance is indeed a harrowing and horrific one. It brings home the fact that ordinary people must do something in times of war. And, they did. I was not expecting such descriptive language involving daily life in Paris at that time. Curfew was on, food was scarce, the populace was cold as fuel was so scarce, even the description of the coffee..'roasted chicory and dandelion toots' was mentioned. The readers of this novel will experience Paris during WW II. And, I was not expecting the suicide of a loved one in this novel to affect me so deeply. The idea that perhaps trauma may be inherited is most intriguing. The author does discuss this more at the conclusion of her novel. (And, yes, I lost my brother in 1996 so that is the reason this affected me). As Harriet said 'life can be so very tenuous at times, perhaps that fragility is why we treasure it.' In her quest for the truth about the 3 young women in the picture, she also came to realize that attacks against humanity are still happening with the terrorist bombings. And, so the cycle continues albeit in a different form... Outstanding novel which included a multi-layered plot, characters richly defined and intense action, of some form. included on the pages. Most highly recommended.

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*Product available on Desertcart Uruguay*
*Store origin: UY*
*Last updated: 2026-01-22*