NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In Danielle Steel’s epic new novel, the lives of four generations of women in one family span fortune and loss, motherhood, tragedy and victories. From the glamorous San Francisco social scene of the 1920s, through war and the social changes of the ’60s, to the rise of Silicon Valley today, this extraordinary novel takes us on a family odyssey that is both … odyssey that is both heartbreaking and inspiring, as each generation faces the challenges of their day.
The Parisian design houses in 1928, the crash of 1929, the losses of war, the drug culture of the 1960s—history holds many surprises, and lives are changed forever. For richer or for poorer, in cramped apartments and grand mansions, the treasured wedding dress made in Paris in 1928 follows each generation into their new lives, and represents different hopes for each of them, as they marry very different men.
From inherited fortunes at the outset to self-made men and women, the wedding dress remains a cherished constant for the women who wear it in each generation and forge a destiny of their own. It is a symbol of their remaining traditions and the bond of family they share in an ever-changing world.
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Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Danielle Steel for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a Heartwarming beautiful bittersweet read.
I absolutely loved this book and it’s characters.
Also loved the history in the book.
A wonderful story about love, loss, family and traditions.
Bravo Danielle! another great read.
3.5 Stars
This book was a nice respite from the heavier dramas/thrillers that I seem to lean to. Not to mention the irony of reading about one dark period of our history to our current one. This story spans several generations from Eleanor’s Coming Out and subsequent wedding to present day great great granddaughter Kendall’s wedding. From the opulence of the 20s to present day, a wedding dress handed down thru the ages.
This is a pure Danielle Steel book….family, loss, turmoil and defiance and, thru it all, love. Predictable, yes…but a good read for beach or couch quarantine!
Thanks to Ms. Steel, Random House and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.
Epic American Family Saga
This wonderful story spans a century of family. The loves and losses and the common thread of family keep the story pulsing. My only complaint was that I wished the book was twice as long. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
Eleanor Deveraux lives a gilded life in New York. As the book opens, the beautiful Eleanor is preparing for her coming out ball in the family mansion. All glitters, a stunning gown from the famed designer Worth is worn, and she falls in love instantly with a wealthy and handsome man. Nothing could be more perfect for this young woman.
Alexander Allen comes from a banking family and now heads the family bank. He is nursing a broken heart, jilted by a sweetheart years earlier, but his suffering comes to an end when he meets the sweet and perfect Eleanor. The wedding dress from the book’s title comes into play very quickly.
This is a family saga that spans the lives of Eleanor and Alex, taking them from the start of the Depression through World War II and beyond. There is so much drama in these years to mine, and the overall plot of riches to rags to riches is one that I should have enjoyed.
Here’s the good: The debutante and wedding dresses are described very well. I enjoyed reading about these beautiful dresses (and the title of the book definitely drew me in), and seeing them re-emerge at various points in the book. They don’t play a pivotal role, by any means, but they link generations.
Here’s the bad: The book reads like an in-depth summary of a very good plot, but it had no heart. I never cared about the main characters, even as they fell in love and suffered tragedies. Within two paragraphs, the author would suddenly sum-up a decade. Overall, this book seemed like such a missed opportunity for this skilled author to write a much better story. My tepid star rating reflects that. The book was a disappointment.
The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel is an excellent historical fiction that encompasses several generations of women within a family with the common underlying theme of an exquisite wedding dress.
The book starts with Eleanor and Alex and their lives before and after the tragic stock market crash of 1929.
It then moves to Camille (their daughter) and then to her granddaughter, Ruby. The reader gets to follow along through one family’s generations of love found and lost, moments of triumph and happiness to moments of utter despair and loss. We find some women are lost to those years, while others become fighters and are able to live onward. Interweaving through this family’s journey is a once in a lifetime wedding dress from Paris that is the tie that binds.
It was a refreshing read to be able to escape and read a generational novel with a positive ending.
I am a newfound fan of Ms. Steel (as I have only read and loved! Her previous book Spy), but I am quickly finding her books to be just what I need, and will be searching for more.
5/5 stars Excellent
Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.