Ocean State Libraries

"A spirited woman survives the sinking of the Titanic only to find herself embroiled in the tumultuous aftermath of that great tragedy. Tess is one of the last people to escape into a lifeboat. When an enterprising reporter turns her employer, Lady Duff Gordon, into an object of scorn, Tess is torn between loyalty and the truth."--

Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother's Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for. Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master's dying wish: that Ren find the man's finger, lost years ago in an accident,...

In this romantic debut novel, a reserved provincial French tailor falls head over heels in love with a woman who's hired him to create her wedding dress. Claude Reynaud is a bit of a throwback, an old-fashioned dressmaker working in a cluttered studio outside modern-day Paris, quietly designing his famous gowns by hand. Every spring he ushers pretty, young, society brides into his studio, measures them, and designs their dresses without ever contemplating...

In 1880s New York, Bertie is given work as a seamstress, and is able to create exquisite evening gowns overnight with the help of a man from her tenement named Ray Stalls. When Ray asks for her firstborn child as repayment, Bertie never dreams that he is serious.

"In a time of revolution, everyone -- even a humble seamstress plying her magic to support her family -- must take a side. Sophie is a young dressmaker who, with hard work, talent, and a rare proficiency sewing spells into cloth, has managed to open her own shop and lift herself and her brother, Kristos, out of the poverty that plagues their immigrant community. Her reputation for beautiful ballgowns and discreetly-embroidered charms for luck, love,...

"Harper Dupree has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her how to sew. As Harper rethinks her own future, long-hidden secrets about Millie's past are brought to light.In 1946, Millie Middleton--the daughter of an Italian man and a Black woman--boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden....

"London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation's recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen...

They both thought they knew what the future held - until the summer they crossed paths in Haven Point...Samantha Fremont has been struggling with the weight of her mother's expectations for years. But now that her mother has passed away, it's time for Sam to be bold and finally establish the fashion design business she's always dreamed of. And the perfect opportunity has fallen into her lap. Her friend's getting married and has asked Sam to create...

"Devastated by the sudden death of her mother--a quiet, loving and intensely private Southern seamstress called Miss Mabel, who overflowed with pearls of Ozarks wisdom but never spoke of her own family--Sutton Douglas makes the impulsive decision to pack up and head north to the Michigan resort town where she believes she'll find answers to the lifelong questions she's had about not only her mother's past but also her own place in the world. Recalling...

Brilliant and ambitious dressmaker Marcelline Noirot is London's rising star. And who better to benefit from her talent than the worst-dressed lady in the ton, the Duke of Clevedon's intended bride? Winning the future duchess's patronage would mean prestige and fortune for Marcelline and her sisters. To get to the lady, though, Marcelline must win over Clevedon, whose standards are as high as his morals are ... not.