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The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle

A heartwarming nostalgic World War Two novel inspired by real events

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The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle

By: Jennifer Ryan
Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
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About this listen

After renowned London fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. She arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business from a quaint country village.

Her niece, Violet, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay - the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help - but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.

Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanises the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves…

From the acclaimed author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and The Kitchen Front, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle was inspired by true events in World War Two.

 20th Century Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Romance Village

Critic reviews

Jennifer Ryan’s wonderful ability to weave an atmospheric, wise and warm story makes The Kitchen Front entirely comforting and unputdownable. Like The Great British Bake Off set in World War Two, with redoubtable heroines you’ll cheer for, The Kitchen Front is an enchanting hug of a novel written with Jennifer Ryan’s usual skill (Cathy Kelly on The Kitchen Front)
What a dream of a book! Absolute perfection! Nostalgia, rivalry, friendship and fun - a real treat. Beautifully detailed - you will be right there with a cast of vivid characters, cooking their way to a new life. You will love it. (Veronica Henry on The Kitchen Front)
A gorgeous novel about making the best of things during difficult times, whilst celebrating the importance of sisterhood and friendship (Jill Mansell on The Kitchen Front)
A delight! Jennifer Ryan cooks up a fresh take on the popularity of World War Two fiction and brings the battle into the heart of the wartime home. A charming blend of intriguing characters and a high-stakes cookery competition, served with the perfect amount of pathos and humour. Deserving of a historical Hollywood handshake! (Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author of The Bird in the Bamboo Cage on The Kitchen Front)
Evocative, nostalgic and comforting with a wonderful story of female friendship. A delight. (Alex Brown, author of The Secret of Orchard Cottage on The Kitchen Front)
Delightful
Delightful . . . it manages to be sad and funny, exciting and heartwarming, all at the same time. Quite an achievement (Barbara Erskine on The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir)
The writing glows with emotional intelligence. This atmospheric debut, based on the author’s own family history, had me sniffing copiously
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel . . . both fascinating and informative (Jill Mansell, author of Should I Tell You?)
Robert delivers superb descriptions of wartime life and changing perspectives as disparate people commingle despite their previous class distinctions. It’s a captivating listen
All stars
Most relevant
I’m a sucker for books set during WWII, so this was a good fit for my reading taste, but it proved to be considerably more absorbing than the usual rom-coms. There was a constant thread (!) of couture, dressmaking, and women’s crafts, with the added interest of village life and activities. Well narrated by Sophie Roberts.

A stitch in 1940s time.

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I love the way Jennifer Ryan weaves fact into fiction!!
Really enjoyable story with sympathetic characters.

Great woven faction

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A wonderful story about three very different women and their lives in WW2 Britain. Beautifully narrated. Romantic, exciting and enchanting.

Loved it.

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Not particularly keen on the narrator, her timing seemed to be a bit off, I wish the voices for the different people had been more different, but I’ve heard a lot worse.

A lovely story, and quite educational as well, learning about wartime clothing. A heartwarming tale about kinship. Amazed how quickly people changed their lifelong bad values and characters, if only it could happen that quickly in real life! Really enjoyed listening to this story.

Lovely story, narration was meh…

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