Can a lowly housemaid realize her own American dream? Born into a life of hard work, English housemaid Annie Wood arrives in New York City in 1911 with her wealthy mistress. Wide-eyed with the possibilities America has to offer, Annie wonders if there’s more for her than a life of service. Annie chooses to risk everything, taps into courage she never knew she had, and goes off on her own, … and goes off on her own, finding employment in the sewing department at Macy’s. While at Macy’s Annie catches the eye of a salesman at the Butterick Pattern Company. Through determination, hard work, and God’s leading, Annie discovers a hidden gift: she is a talented fashion designer–a pattern artist of the highest degree.
As she runs from ghosts of the past and focuses on the future, Annie enters a creative world that takes her to the fashion houses of Paris and into a life of adventure, purpose, and love.
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What a great book! This story is interesting from page one to the end!
Anna is a maid in a household in England, and travels to America when her ladies come to visit friends. She is adept at making clothing alterations at a young age, and dreams of a future in the fashion industry.
That dream seems a long way off, but her adventures soon begin. We watch a story unfold that must be similar to many of our early ancestors when they came to this land of opportunity. Very absorbing story.
I was given a free copy of this book, and voluntarily wrote this honest review.
i loved this story of how this woman used the skills she had learned to survive in a whole new life. Brilliant writing! 🙂
Really enjoyed the story and all the information about Macy’s and the Butterick Company.
This is the first book I have read by Nancy Moser and I look forward to reading more. I really wanted to love this story as it contained so many of my favorite things to read about, history, fashion, some mystery/suspense, romance, rags to riches, plus an inspirational message, and for the most part I did enjoy this story, however, everything just seemed to happen way to fast. My first thought is that this wonderful story should have been a series or maybe at least another 100 pages. Annie progressing from maid to shopgirl, to pattern designer/artist and then to fashion designer all within just a few months was a bit overwhelming with everything else that also happened in her life.
Nancy Moser’s attention to detail when it came to the historical aspect of this book was authentic and worked very well with the fictional part of the story. Her descriptions were so good that one could not only smell the bread in Tuttle’s bakery but taste it too, visualize the clothing in Macy’s, the actual drawings and dresses in Paris, and the making of a Butterick Pattern. I learned a lot reading this story and Nancy made it fun. The suspense/drama between Grasston, a footman, Annie, and her friends, Iris and Danny, had me on the edge of my seat, add the romance/adventures of Annie and Sean, a Butterick pattern salesman, and the pages just kept turning. One thing that truly amazed me was that Ms. Moser brings all of her characters to life so vividly that you feel you know each one of them personally.
Overall Nancy Moser wrote a captivating story of historical people and events which blended effortlessly with the fictional characters and their adventures. I highly recommend this eloquent story of Annie’s adventures and her journey into womanhood.
I received a copy of “The Pattern Artist” by Nancy Moser via Barbour Publishing and their partnership with NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This historical novel held my interest all the way through. The characters were believable and likable; I wanted the heroine to succeed and to find love and happiness. Her journey toward that end was captivating and engaging. I very much appreciated the historical context, the realistic dialogue, the way the pod word for word steadily while holding my interest throughout. I want to read more by this author.