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. Good historical novel. Good ending.
History made interesting! I enjoyed this book!
Not what I expected. Quite enjoyable.
Loved the historical aspects of this story.
Loved it! Especially interested because my mom was employed by ILGWU as a union organizer in the Carolinas and Georgia from 1953 – 1957.
Interesting characters. Historically informative. A good read
What can I say about this book! I loved it from the beginning to the end and hated it when it ended. The characters were well written and had great depth. I story of sacrifice, love, and how integrity and honor truly is what matters! To do the right thing even at great personal sacrifice. The description of that era was so realistic and informative. Amazing what people will overcome. Loved this book and recommend it highly!
Took a little to get into it, but it was worth it.
I love The Garment Maker’s Daughter! It transported me to New York and the tragedy of the Shirtwaist Factory Fire, along with the plight of immigrants at that time. Unfortunately, I found it very timely.
Entertaining. The characters and story line were somewhat predictable, still a good read.
The history in the book was accurate and I really felt for the characters. They were very real.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Entertaining and informative. Provvided reader with an understanding of garment workers ‘ plight and the struggles to unionize in the early 20th century.
Historically informative
Loved this book..thought it was amazing!
I really enjoyed this book. It covered tragedy and triumph.
From the crossing the Atlantic and arriving at Ellis Island. Lena, Daniel, Sophie and Jake. Unions and strikes..all are explored. Marriage and divorce…women’s rights.
I found the characters very interesting, story was one that kept my attention.
Great historical fiction! Couldn’t put this one down! It kept me reading into all hours of the night!
Best book I’ve read in a long time, hope there’s a sequel.
The Garment Maker’s Daughter is a story of new beginnings, love, loss, betrayal, forgiveness, courage, and the consequence of choices we make throughout our lives. It spans a time in American history when immigrants were coming to America in search of a better life. It deals with women’s and worker’s rights in the early twentieth century.
I literally could not put the book down as I followed Lena, Sophie, Daniel and Jake through the turbulence that defined this period of America’s history. It took the tragedy of a horrific fire that killed almost 150 men, women and children locked inside a garment factory to bring attention to the mistreatment of factory workers.
I was prompted to research the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire after reading about the fictional factory in the book. What I saw and read broke my heart and made me realize how far we have come in the area of worker’s rights. I also learned that the same practices are used to this day by unscrupulous manufacturers. The conditions described in “The Garment Maker’s Daughter” still exist in many countries across the world. Many companies outsource production to overseas companies that pay workers pennies for grueling labor. Just because it says “Made in America” does not mean it wasn’t made in a sweatshop. American Samoa and other US territories often use slave labor to produce items that are labeled as being made in America.