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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A great historical fiction, one of my favorite genres. The terrible working condiction’s that immigrants had to work in, the tragedies, the unions, and life in the first half of the twentieth century are depicted in this easy to read novel. Highly recommend!
Different, but glad I read it.
I could not put this book down. The story was a tearjerker but more. All of the thinly disguised and not disguised historical events, places and people just added to the appeal of this book. If you know about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, the Catskills, a hotel in Liberty NY whose name begins with a G the lower east side of NYC, all this will ring a bell with you as it did with me. A thoroughly enjoyable book.
Excellent book!
Great read!!!
Loved the story.
I like family stories that have great characters who you feel like you know. A great story of life.
This book is one of my favorite recent reads. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the historical references.
Great read and build up but the ending was 1-2-3 over before you knew it. Needed a more in depth ending.
I’m in the process of reading this book, so far I’m enjoying it
I really liked the historical accuracy of this book and the fact it was mixed together with some classy romance. -1 star for Parts II and III where the author skips ahead a lot.
Really enjoyable read, though I feel the ending could have more creatively delivered. Just kind of ended with a thud after a great overall plot. Easy reading for folks who enjoy historical romance.
This is another story of Jewish immigrants in the USA, early 20th century. There is a communist, a union organizer, and The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire (re-named). It’s not great literature, but it passed some time pleasantly.
What a wonderful story. Didn’t want to stop reading when interruptions came.
Was realistic. Showed the events going on for immagrants, family’s as well as working conditions. Great read. Loved happy ending too
This novel offered a timely history lesson to those interested in the labor movement and immigration in the early twentieth century along with a good story well told.
Excellent development of characters. Great story of the choices we make in life and the struggle to survive
Different than I usually read, really enjoyed it!
This book held my attention throughout. It is well worth reading.
Very interesting page turned loved every minute of it