The Dressmaker

A Novel

By: Rosalie Ham

Narrated by: Rachel Griffiths

A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture—now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving

After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.

Critic reviews

“It’s clear we’re visiting a small 1950s town not of history but as imagined by Tim Burton: the gothic, polarized world of Edward Scissorhands… Ham has real gifts as a writer of surfaces and pictures, bringing Tilly’s frocks to surprising, animated life.” – The New York Times Book Review

“The book’s true pleasures involve the way Rosalie Ham has small-town living down pat…she channels welcome shades of British novelist Angela Carter’s sly, funny, and wickedly Gothic adornments…Blunt, raw and more than a little fantastical, the novel exposes both the dark and the shimmering lights in our human hearts.” – The Boston Globe

“With the retribution of Carrie, the quirkiness of Edward Scissorhands, and the scandal of Desperate Housewives, this novel will lend its cinematic qualities to the big screen later this year.” —Booklist

“Ham’s descriptions of the materials, colors and fashions of the 1950s are detailed and fun. Tillie’s secrets are revealed slowly and skillfully, and the final scene is brilliant and satisfying. This is a novel of dark humor, revenge and high fashion.” – Historical Novel Society Review

“[Rosalie Ham] is a true original. Blessed with an astringently unsentimental tone and a talent for creating memorably eccentric characters, Ham also possesses a confidently brisk and mischievous sense of plot. It’s no wonder The Dressmaker, a tale of small-town couture and revenge, is being adapted for film.” —The Sydney Morning Herald

“Ham’s eye for the absurd, the comical, and the poignant are highly tuned. [The Dressmaker] is a first novel to be proud of, and definitely one to savor.” —The Weekend Australian

The Dressmaker

Smart story. Very well performed. Story is a little different than the movie, as is to be expected.

Unexpected

Overall I enjoyed. The narration at time felt slow. Unexpected enjoyment. Needed to keep listening and persist. I am glad I kept listening.

Daisy

Incoherent plot, inconsistent characters

What did you love best about The Dressmaker?

Detailed descriptions of a culture and geography unfamiliar to me made it easy to follow the story, but could not overcome the failures of plot and characterization. Even if this book was intended as an example of how lack of communication and the inability to have emotionally intimate relationships leads to the breakdown of individuals and society as a whole, it fails to achieve that goal because the author herself fails to communicate the intimate thoughts and feelings of the most of the characters.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The one exception to this failure is the police sergeant who sews himself a beautiful wardrobe and crossdresses in the privacy of his home. His experience of imagining, designing, making, and wearing luxurious clothes, followed by his discovery of a kindred spirit of sorts, makes him the most fully-developed character-and yet we still learn nothing of his history, he never expresses his thoughts or feelings about what he is doing.

The only reactions we ever know about are the presumed protagonist of the title, and even her reactions are third-hand, unclear and unexplained.

Have you listened to any of Rachel Griffiths’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to anything read by Rachel Griffiths before, but found her narration easy to follow and pleasant.

Disappointing

I bought this recorded book after seeing the movie hoping to get an enlarged view of the characters and their internal thoughts. As I read I kept waiting for it to get better, as interesting as the movie was. It didn't. I found the narrator's rate of speech so slow l that, in order for my mind not to wander, I had to listen at 1.25 speed.
Many years ago I watched a 1961 movie called "Town Without Pity." That phrase kept echoing in my ears as I listened to the last half of the book. Dungatar truly was a town without pity.

the ultimate revenge!

I love this book!! if you have ever dreamed of revenge, this is a must read!