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The Gown
- A Novel of the Royal Wedding
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
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Publisher's Summary
From the internationally best-selling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the 20th century - Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown - and the fascinating women who made it.
“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.” (Sir Winston Churchill on the news of Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding)
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together, they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost 70 years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?
With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces listeners to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.
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What listeners say about The Gown
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bookie
- 2019-08-22
A Glib Fairytale
Robson has turned what could have been a novel and engaging story into a glib and overwrought fairytale, only exacerbated by the over dramatic storytelling.
1 person found this helpful
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- Kimberley
- 2021-01-16
Lovely story, well written
This story and the characters are interesting. the author does a good job of weaving the story lines and time frames together. Well paced to keep the story moving.
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- Krista
- 2020-07-21
A bit slow at first
Was a bit slow at first but I am glad I persevered. A wonderful piece of history that heretofore, has not been told nor perhaps considered at great length. Beautiful story
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- Karen Larsen
- 2020-07-05
Very disappointing
Very disappointing. I hoped that the novel was about the making the gown. It was more about the relationship of the characters. The
relationships had the depth of a Harlequin Romance.
The accents were annoying and I found listening to them grating.
It is a good portrayal of England after the war but this was the only redeeming feature.
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- Sharron padden
- 2020-06-12
The crown
A wonderful story about frienship amidst problems of the two female friends. Very interesting given that the story I’d in two different is
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- Carmen
- 2020-06-03
Terrific
A GREATstory, told by a fantastic reader! If you love royalty-related stuff... this is the tale for you!
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-05-27
Great story
I really enjoyed this book. It's a heart warming story with just enough mystery to keep you engaged. The characters are well developed and the story is placed in a very interesting time in history after the 2nd world war. Such a good read. So sorry when it was over.
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- Donna Hartley
- 2020-04-26
Loved it!
I loved listening to this book, the characters were so real and the ending was beautiful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-04-15
I loved this book.
This is a story about the relationship of two women who met after WW2. The reader was able to speak with an English accent, a French accent and a Canadian accent which really brought the story to life. Keep some tissues handy for the last hour, I think you may need them. I did.
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- C. Sheridan
- 2020-01-12
The Gown is marvellously written and easy to follow the main characters lives.
Loved it!! As my mother and aunt are royal followers, as was my grandmother (their mother), I found the story heartwarming and connected with my family’s connection as followers.
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- Kristyn
- 2019-01-08
Just adored it
I really did love this book and I think it’s a wonderful story. The emotion it evoked in me, at times, was so powerful it brought me to tears or raised goosebumps on my skin. I love historical fiction (specifically the English monarchy and the holocaust) so this was a perfect pick for me. The story does come full circle so nicely without being predictable which is something I truly value in a novel these days.
18 people found this helpful
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- Cynthia in NoCO
- 2019-05-12
Such a disappointment...
I looked at the title and thought, how great, a novel about the Queen's wedding and dress. But it wasn't. It was a very predictable story about two women who worked in the embroidery shop of the atelier where the gown was made. There was almost nothing at all about the actual gown. It was obvious that the author did as little research as possible about embroidery and nothing at all about couture sewing, both of which I'm fairly familiar with. It was a nice angle to have a granddaughter from Toronto trying to learn about her grandmother's career but the author didn't take the story along to its natural conclusion. So it was pretty frustrating to listen to this. The narrator wasn't bad, but the Canadian accent left a lot to be desired, with only a slight "aboot" here and there. She also had the Canadian character refer to her own mother as "mom" which is an American expression. Most Canadians I know always say "mum" or "mummy". Yes, it's a nit, but shows sloppy research.
13 people found this helpful
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- Karen Jefferson
- 2019-03-25
Fun and informative
Enjoyed after the introduction of characters. It was slow at the beginning then I found myself anxious to keep reading. The one star I took away from performance was all the English men seemed to speak with German accents instead of English. I wish on audio books that men would read the male scripts. It does seem that in audio books that unless the male character is America’s that they all sound alike no matter what their nationality.
8 people found this helpful
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- Toni
- 2019-03-28
HRH has only a bit part!
I loved this story. The characters are so clear and love able. I loved the narration, accents included. I was expecting a more non fiction tale of the production of the Queen’s wedding gown starring all the royal family. But, surprisingly, and happily it was a sweet tale of the lives of two women that worked on the historical dress. Jennifer Robson is now a new favorite; I look forward to reading more of her work.
7 people found this helpful
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- Sarah C. Bell
- 2019-03-07
Wonderful story with great historical detail
The characters came alive for me particularly because my mother survived the Blitz in London. Narration was superb.
7 people found this helpful
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- donnabean
- 2019-02-18
not my usual listen but really enjoyed it
The first part of the story seemed a little melodramatic to me but a few chapters in I was hooked. The narrator struck a good balance between neutrality and emotion and did accents well. I loved how the story eventually made use of details mentioned earlier. If you are interested in any kind of sewing (like I am) you would appreciate the lovely details about embroidery. I would've liked Anne and Miriam to show more personality to make them more dimensional, yet still found myself affected by them. The ending is super satisfying and I'm glad I invested time in this book.
5 people found this helpful
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- T. Highlen
- 2019-02-08
A delight to listen to
I am a finicky listener but I would be open to getting additional stories by this author and also those by the narrator.
I was not disappointed and was sad when it ended. Great characters and wonderful details to the stories.
5 people found this helpful
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- Bonny
- 2019-02-10
Light, predictable, and stereotypical
The Gown started off as interesting fiction, but turned out to be a predictable story with stereotypical characters. Ann Hughes is the plucky British embroiderer, fellow embroiderer Miriam Dassin, the French woman who survived the Holocaust and becomes Ann's friend, and Ann's granddaughter, Heather populate this novel about Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. I enjoyed the many details about embroidery and the embroiderers who worked at Hartnells, along with facts about rationing, shortages, and life in postwar London. Less enjoyable were plot twists that arose seemingly from nowhere, the way the Holocaust was used as a perfunctory aside only to further Miriam's part in the book, three lukewarm romances, one of which turns out appallingly and unbelievably, and Heather's general cluelessness about most things. It's a light read where everything falls happily into place, but not much more than that for me.
9 people found this helpful
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- Mary
- 2019-02-02
Loved the Gown
I thought the book was well done. I could actually picture the embroidery in my mind. Great detail.
1 person found this helpful
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- Melanie Anderson
- 2019-01-27
I loved this book!
This is one of the best books I’ve ever listened to. I loved the narrator, she made the characters come to life, I didn’t want the sweet story to end.
3 people found this helpful