Jack is dashing, older gentleman–a regular prince charming. They couldn’t be more opposite: Jack is a rich businessman from Chicago and Jim is a poor English sailor on the Titanic. On board Tess meets two people that will have a huge bearing on her future besides Madam: Jack Bremerton and Jim Bonney. But Tess idolizes her and knows she has the chance of a lifetime, Lucile promises a job and apprenticeship in her shop in New York when Titanic docks….if Tess proves herself a loyal and dedicated servant to ‘Madam’. She is brilliant and her designs extraordinary but behind a carefully coordinated exterior is a demanding, vicious, relentless, and cruel woman. Lucile has had a long standing reputation in the industry as the boss from hell. Tess has raw talent and is fashion forward and though Lucile admires that she is also threatened by it. Tess is supposed to be a maid for Lucile, but Lucile recognizes her talent for design and decides to foster Tess’s ambition as her ‘mentor’. Lucile Duff Gordon (who was a real person by the way) is already a famous clothing designer, she is traveling to America with her titled husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, to supervise her New York fashion show–but at the last minute her maid quits.įate intervenes, crossing the paths of Tess Collins and Lucile Duff Gordon–their lives change forever. Tess has been working as a maid but her passion is fashion….she longs to design luxurious dresses and make a name for herself in the new world. Tess Collins spontaneously quits her job with the hope of gaining last minute employment on the Titanic the day it is to set sail. The Dressmaker is a Cinderella-ish tale reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada set against the backdrop of the Titanic disaster.

If like me, you are looking for literary tale to satisfy your need…then look no further than Kate Alcott’s novel, The Dressmaker. Do you find yourself wasting countless hours a day, day dreaming of the Edwardian era? Do you suddenly find yourself longing for a corset, button up boots, and an ostrich plum hat? You my friend are in good company and clearly suffering from Downton Abbey withdrawals.

The dressmaker titanic