The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly

THE DRESSMAKERS OF LONDON by Julia Kelly is a work of historical fiction set in WWII London and the English countryside. Two sisters, Sylvia and Izzie, were once close, but they have become estranged since Sylvia married and moved away from the flat above the dressmaking shop her widowed mother had established. Izzie is younger but she is the one who inherited sewing and designer skills and desperately wants to run the dress shop. Sylvia is busy with her new husband and trying to fit in with his rather snobbish social set until their Mother dies and leaves the shop to both sisters and then old resentments flare. The situation worsens when Izzie is conscripted, and Sylvia has to take over the daily shop activities. I especially liked the author’s inclusion of letters written between the two sisters; these illustrated their feelings and ultimate concern for each other. Kelly also added some romantic aspects for each woman and plenty of historic details about wartime clothes rationing and barrage balloons. In addition to other titles by Julia Kelly, interested readers may also enjoy The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle or other historical fiction works by Jennifer Ryan.