Publisher's Weekly Review
Chamberlain's outlandish novel chronicles the misfortunes of Ada Vaughan, a struggling but aspirational dressmaker in 1940s London whose dreams of founding a great fashion house are derailed by war. After getting bamboozled by Stanislaus von Lieben, a smooth talker who claims to be an Austrian count, Ada finds herself in Paris, far from her overprotective parents, just as World War II begins. When Stanislaus later abandons her in Belgium, Ada pretends to be a nun and is captured by Nazis, but not before giving birth to a son, Thomas, who is whisked away, presumably to an orphanage, by a priest who is eventually found dead. A few years later, Ada believes she has found Thomas after being forced to make dresses for a cruel Nazi Frau who is raising the child as her own. When the war ends, Ada returns to London and begins again, making the occasional dress while waitressing. She becomes a kept woman in an effort to save enough money to find her son, but has a violent confrontation with someone from her past that leads her astray again. Chamberlain's story moves at a breakneck pace that makes it hard to feel any connection to her beleaguered heroine or to suspend disbelief for some of the more unbelievable things that happen. The bad guys are as cartoonishly one-note as Ada is flighty and heedless of consequences. The muddled characters and unlikely coincidences prevent any statement about overcoming adversity from resonating. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
An English seamstress is lured to Europe by a con man and enslaved by Nazis, only to end up on death row in her own country. A prologue reveals that Ada Vaughan is preparing to meet the hangman in a London prison. The remainder of the novel is a flashback. In the late 1930s, young Ada, a product of the London working class, apprentices to a couturier as a mannequin and dressmaker and dreams of opening her own atelier, la Chanel. Count Stanislaus von Lieben, a dashing admirer with a foreign accent and equally foreign name, at first encourages Ada's ambitions with compliments, lavish nights out, and, ultimately, a trip to Paris. Once they're in Paris, Stanislaus turns colder, then, as the Germans are on the march, he takes her to Belgium, where he abandons her. Narrowly escaping German bombardment, Ada is taken in by nuns who disguise her as one of their own. Removed by cattle car to Bavaria, the sisters are impressed into service by the Nazis, caring for Aryan elderly. There, Ada, whose pregnancy (by Stanislaus) has been disguised by a too-large habit, gives birth to a son, Thomas, who is taken away by the parish priest to be adopted. Ada is put to work in the household of Herr Weiss, commandant of Dachau. Confined to one room, she is starved, beaten, and forced to do heavy labor and sew. Her one comfort is creating clothes for a growing circle of Frau Weiss' friends, who repay her only with grudging respect. After the Americans liberate Dachau, Ada is returned to London, where, rejected by her mother, she strives to rebuild her life. From here it may defy credulity that Ada has failed to learn the lessons her harsh personal history has taught, but Chamberlain demonstrates, chillingly, how the deck was stacked against her protagonist from the very beginning. A bleak look at one woman's war. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Meet Ada Vaughan, a 28-year-old woman awaiting execution in Holloway Prison. How she arrived there is a story of bad choices and worse luck. Out of school at 15, Ada finds work in a London sweatshop, where she quickly develops a talent for dressmaking and soon has ambitions to open a couturier house of her own. Her dreams go awry after she meets Stanislaus von Lieben, who claims to be an Austro-Hungarian count and wins her over with riverside picnics, teas at the Ritz, and an air of cultured sophistication. On the eve of World War II, Ada foolishly follows him to Paris and then Belgium. But Stanislaus returns to England, leaving Ada trapped and pregnant. She seeks refuge with a group of nuns who are ordered by the Germans to care for the sick and elderly. Once her talent as a seamstress comes to light, though, she is pressed into service in the home of the Dachau camp commander, where she is soon the toast of the Nazi wives and mistresses. Returning to England at war's end, Ada is determined to make a fresh start but cannot escape her past. Verdict This is a gripping story, well told, that will appeal to readers who appreciate war fiction that is dramatic and raw. [See Prepub Alert, 7/6/15.]-Barbara Love, formerly with Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
