The Garment Maker’s Daughter is a multigenerational saga of immigrant dreams and sweatshop realities, labor strikes and women’s rights. It is the story of Lena Rothman, a shirtwaist-maker and active suffragette whose plans get derailed when she falls in love with her best friend’s boyfriend; Jake Brenner, a passionate labor organizer determined to lead the shirtwaist-makers on a high-stakes … strike; and Daniel Cowan, a brilliant and ambitious night-school student hobbled by a shameful past.
Fate draws them together. Emotions bind them to each other. But secrets will tear them apart. When a devastating blaze engulfs the shirtwaist factory, Lena must fight for her life. And in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath, mistakes will be made with consequences that continue into the next generation.
Spanning the first half of the twentieth century, this is a story about unforgettable characters and the threads of friendship, love, betrayal, and redemption that form the fabric of their lives. FAns of Adriana Trigiani, Kristin Hannah, and Christine Baker Kline, will love The Garment Maker’s Daughter. It’s that rare novel you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished it.
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I really enjoyed this book and recommend it! The characters were roundly formed and the background setting was interesting and made me want to learn more about the shirtwaist factory fire just after the turn of the century. The history of the time is brought to life along with the growing unionization of workers. Touching and informative – a great combination!
Loved this book. Gave me an insight to times gone by…made me think of what it was like for my Grandmothers.
I don’t believe I’ve ever read any books by this author. The Garment Maker’s Daughter made the era of unionizing and child labor come alive. Great characters and historical accuracy.
This book was a most pleasant read. The strength of immigrants in New York was woven into a most interesting book.
Touched me. A little slow in places, but characters are 3-D.
A beautiful story…
A wonderfully, realistic view of women working (& loving) in pre-war years. Very interesting & not predictable.
This was a very informative historical fiction novel.
Can be very slow in many places, but overall good story.
Such a good book about the fire at the factory and what becomes of that. I enjoyed how it spanned across multiple years and I loved the characters!
Based on historic events, the author shows the need for union representatives for workers in the early years. Characters adapt and grow through events over a period of years, including those years of the Catskill Mountain resorts exclusive for Jewish families.
Interesting read and character study. At times I wanted to scream at decisions made, but that’s what made the book good
Really enjoyed the story in this book and the characters came alive.
Easy to read historical story of NYC in the early 1900’s. Good strong characters.
ENJOYED THIS HISTORICAL READ
Enjoyed this book very much; historical fiction at some of its best. The characters build their story as immigrants in 1917 America. Life in New York City as a garment maker, another as a struggling young man with hopes of helping others as he studies law and fights for the rights of the middle class and another who the struggles as a labor union leader to improve working conditions of middle class workers. The story is told over several generations with early choices that will later have consequences that will be difficult to face. All have a dream but at times that seem more like a nightmare. We owe a lot to those who came before us and worked hard to better America.
An excellent book—well worth reading for well-drawn characters and the era.
Such good, interesting reading and characters I loved it from beginning to end.
This was a great story set in history. It is great to read about how someone who was part of a historical time or event would live.
Enjoyable story with sympathetic characters; takes you back to the immigration struggles of many people in America.