For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale comes an internationally bestselling World War II novel that spans generations, crosses oceans, and proves just how much two young women are willing to sacrifice for love and family. 1940: As the Germans advance upon Paris, young seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee everything she’’s ever known. She’’s bound for New York City with her … She’’s bound for New York City with her signature gold dress, a few francs, and a dream: to make her mark on the world of fashion.
Present day: Fabienne Bissette journeys to the Met’’s annual gala for an exhibit featuring the work of her ailing grandmother – a legend of women’’s fashion design. But as Fabienne begins to learn more about her beloved grandmother’’s past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak and family secrets that will dramatically change her own life.
“I loved The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and I have a feeling that I’‘m going to love this dual timeline World War II novel based in war-torn France and present day.” –Debbie Macomber
“This rich, memorable novel unfolds beautifully from start to finish.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fascinating and impeccably researched.” — Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife
“A fantastically engrossing story. I love it.” — Kelly Rimmer, USA Today bestselling author
“Gorgeously rich and romantic.” — Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens
“Intrigue, heartbreak… I cannot tell you how much I loved this book.” — Rachel Burton, author of The Things We Need to Say
“If you’‘re looking for a swoon-worthy romance, then The Paris Seamstress is for you. Natasha Lester’’s novel features not one but two love stories, spanning continents and centuries…Fans of historical romance will eat this one up.” — Refinery29
“Combine family secrets, World War II, tragedy and heartbreak and you have the compelling ingredients of this month’’s book buyer’’s pick.” — Costco Connection
-torn France and present day.” –Debbie Macomber
“This rich, memorable novel unfolds beautifully from start to finish.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fascinating and impeccably researched.” — Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife
“A fantastically engrossing story. I love it.” — Kelly Rimmer, USA Today bestselling author
“Gorgeously rich and romantic.” — Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens
“Intrigue, heartbreak… I cannot tell you how much I loved this book.” — Rachel Burton, author of The Things We Need to Say
“If you’‘re looking for a swoon-worthy romance, then The Paris Seamstress is for you. Natasha Lester’’s novel features not one but two love stories, spanning continents and centuries…Fans of historical romance will eat this one up.” — Refinery29
“Combine family secrets, World War II, tragedy and heartbreak and you have the compelling ingredients of this month’’s book buyer’’s pick.” — Costco Connection-torn France and present day.” –Debbie Macomber
“This rich, memorable novel unfolds beautifully from start to finish.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fascinating and impeccably researched.” — Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife
“A fantastically engrossing story. I love it.” — Kelly Rimmer, USA Today bestselling author
“Gorgeously rich and romantic.” — Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens
“Intrigue, heartbreak… I cannot tell you how much I loved this book.” — Rachel Burton, author of The Things We Need to Say
“If you’‘re looking for a swoon-worthy romance, then The Paris Seamstress is for you. Natasha Lester’’s novel features not one but two love stories, spanning continents and centuries…Fans of historical romance will eat this one up.” — Refinery29
“Combine family secrets, World War II, tragedy and heartbreak and you have the compelling ingredients of this month’’s book buyer’’s pick.” — Costco Connection-torn France and present day.” –Debbie Macomber
“This rich, memorable novel unfolds beautifully from start to finish.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fascinating and impeccably researched.” — Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife
“A fantastically engrossing story. I love it.” — Kelly Rimmer, USA Today bestselling author
“Gorgeously rich and romantic.” — Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens
“Intrigue, heartbreak… I cannot tell you how much I loved this book.” — Rachel Burton, author of The Things We Need to Say
“If you’‘re looking for a swoon-worthy romance, then The Paris Seamstress is for you. Natasha Lester’’s novel features not one but two love stories, spanning continents and centuries…Fans of historical romance will eat this one up.” — Refinery29
“Combine family secrets, World War II, tragedy and heartbreak and you have the compelling ingredients of this month’’s book buyer’’s pick.” — Costco Connectionorn France and present day.” –Debbie Macomber
“This rich, memorable novel unfolds beautifully from start to finish.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fascinating and impeccably researched.” — Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife
“A fantastically engrossing story. I love it.” — Kelly Rimmer, USA Today bestselling author
“Gorgeously rich and romantic.” — Kate Forsyth, author of Bitter Greens
“Intrigue, heartbreak… I cannot tell you how much I loved this book.” — Rachel Burton, author of The Things We Need to Say
“If you’‘re looking for a swoon-worthy romance, then The Paris Seamstress is for you. Natasha Lester’’s novel features not one but two love stories, spanning continents and centuries…Fans of historical romance will eat this one up.” — Refinery29
“Combine family secrets, World War II, tragedy and heartbreak and you have the compelling ingredients of this month’’s book buyer’’s pick.” — Costco Connectionmore
The Paris Seamstress from Natasha Lester. I would give this book more than 5 stars if possible. I don’t think I have used this many tissues reading a book since The Nightingale. This is dual timeline novel. I enjoyed both timelines very much. Could not put it down and can’t stop thinking about the last few chapters that literally took my breath away. Highly recommend for historical fiction readers.
“For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale comes a World War II novel that spans generations, crosses oceans, and proves just how much two young women are willing to sacrifice for love and family.” 1940: As the Germans advance upon Paris, young seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee everything she’s ever known. She’s bound for New York City with her signature gold dress, a few francs, and a dream: to make her mark on the world of fashion.
Present day: Fabienne Bissette journeys to the Met’s annual gala for an exhibit featuring the work of her ailing grandmother – a legend of women’s fashion design. But as Fabienne begins to learn more about her beloved grandmother’s past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak and family secrets that will dramatically change her own life.
Savour this slowly
A well-researched story that needs to be read slowly, in order to absorb the rich details of characters and narrative. Bravo!
The author uses her pens as deftly as an artist uses a brush when creating these characters. I could not put the book down for the first third of the story.
This is not a novel that one can predict the outcomes. Some of the harshness of what happens to the characters was most unexpected. However, given the setting and that they were living during war it is not unrealistic.
The plots twists and weaves through three generations of determined women each living through their own obstacles and making the best of their situations.
Thoroughly recommend this book.
Fascinating and impeccably researched evocation of the New York fashion world during World War Two… and some divine-sounding dresses!
A stunning book. I couldn’t put it down.
A really good read!
I really loved this book it is hard to put down I was very caught up in the story loved the history of England in the war and the two sisters and the outcome of their lives
Easy reading with great characters & storyline.
I liked this book from the first page to the last. I didn’t want it to end! Takes place over a seventy year period and is informative about World War !! era.
I couldn’t put this book down! The depth of the characters and continual plot twists that moved from the perspective of the grandmother to the granddaughter was brilliant!
I love the way this book moves between World War 2, in France, and present day, New York & Paris. It’s an enduring, heartbreaking, mysterious journey.
I loved this book. I am still thinking about it and I could not put it down while reading it. I cried several times. It was heartbreaking, yet romantic and historical and joyful and I felt I was always pulling for someone. The main characters were all loveable. I can’t wait to read more by Natasha Lester and as mentioned there was some history to it as the author herself mentioned “what if?” What an amazingly gifted and talented author.
The Paris Seamstress is historical fiction. Another unforgettable WW2 novel. About fashion design in 1940 and to present day that moves between three continents and three generations. Many heartaches, secrets and scandals. Just when I thought I knew what was what, I didn’t. This novel keeps the reader guessing and turning the pages until the end.
I picked up The Paris Seamstress to take on vacation this past summer. To be honest, it was at the bottom of the stack because I had several other more typical “beach reads” that I wanted to dive into first. The beach reads were fine–exactly what I want from a beach read (I do love genre!). The Paris Seamstress, however, was something completely different.
Richly detailed, this is a novel with compelling characters and a story that, at many times, didn’t go where I thought it would. I love it when a book surprises me, and The Paris Seamstress did exactly that. Set alternately in Paris and New York City, and moving almost flawlessly between World War II and the contemporary, Natasha Lester breathes life into the times and cities, making places I’ve visited seem mysterious and compelling.
Publisher’s Weekly describes it as “rich, memorable…unfold[ing] beautifully from start to finish.” It think that says it all.
Loved this book. The author is outstanding. Vivid characters and interesting historical facts
Natasha Lester is an amazing writer. Once you begin her books you can’t put them down. You will fall in love with the characters. This book is one of my all time favourites and the reason why I now own most of Natasha’s books. Read it, you won’t regret it!
I am not a fan of chapters alternating from past to presen but this book was the exception.
Great story, wonderful characters. Great read/listen.
Format was a bit complex for a rather simple story.
I loved reading this story. I received this copy for free and I voluntarily chose to review it. This story really touched my heart. Since my dad was a pow in that war, it brought out some of the things that I remembered he talked about. Since the first hero was a spy and the second one was a friend, this story covered several years and generations. There were a lot of twists and turns and I had to keep reading to discover what next, then at the end, realized that there were a lot of true facts that made it more impressive. So many people risked their lives helping those escaping from the Germans. Even in these days, we need to be more vigelent to what is around us. I’ve given this a 5* rating.