The Gown - Jennifer Robson (2018)

What an absolutely enchanting read this was! I didn’t expect to feel so many emotions from a book that I thought would be a lighthearted, gossipy account of the women who worked on Queen Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress. In fact, that’s just the bare basics of it: The Gown is essentially the story of a friendship between two extraordinary women, Ann and Miriam, who are brought together under dire circumstances in post-war London. Armed with relentless courage, kindness and determination, they help each other through hard times and inspire each other to be more than they thought themselves capable of. The third point of view in this dual-timeline masterpiece belongs to Ann’s granddaughter Heather, who uses her skills as a journalist to unravel the mysteries of her Nan’s past and in the process find a part of herself she never expected to. Not only do her chapters add a bit of mystery to an otherwise pretty straightforward book, they also serve to give closure to our two leading ladies. I do wish their story ended slightly differently, but I won’t argue with the author for choosing to go with an ending that is, ultimately, probably the most realistic one for them, no matter how sad it made me to read it.

I know it’s a cliché but this book really does stay with you. In fact, it was with me all the time while I was reading it: I would read a few chapters on my way to work in the morning, proceed to think about the book all day, only to eagerly pick it up again as soon as I was on the train back home. It was just that good. It also dawned on me while reading it that I’ve never actually seen a picture of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress, which is weird. We had two royal weddings in recent years, and when the time came to speculate about the gowns Kate and Meghan would wear, everyone always talked about Diana’s in comparison… which I always found weird because to me, that dress is hideous. So why didn’t anyone ever bring up the Queen’s absolutely astonishing wedding gown as a possible inspiration? It’s a mystery. Anyway, I want you all to look at it now:

Amazing, isn’t it? Just like this book. If it doesn’t get at least nominated for Best Historical Fiction novel at this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards, I’ll buy a hat just so I can eat it.