Elizabeth Birkelund Oberbeck The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker

Elizabeth Birkelund Oberbeck

Holt, Jul 2006, $23.00

ISBN: 080508033

In Senlis, France old school middle-aged tailor Claude Reynaud lives a double life. For his Paris clients he fashions fancy gowns while for his hometown clients he mends tears, sews buttons, and adjusts hemlines of mundane off the shelf items. Captivating Parisian Valentine de Verlay hires Claude to make her a wedding dress, but to his shock for the first time in his life the tailor falls in love.

Claude realizes that he never truly loved his wife, who abandoned him eight years ago though they remain married. Meanwhile Valentine holds her dressmaker in high regard too as she falls in love with Claude. However, she refuses to break off her engagement to Victor Couturier though he pales next to kindhearted Claude. To remain near his beloved, Claude throws away his essence symbolized by his shop in the suburbs to join a major Paris designer label though he has no idea how survive in this attention shark infested world let alone get his beloved Valentine.

This is an interesting character study starring an artisan who throws away his values for love that though shared emotionally with his soulmate, a relationship seems impossible. The lead duet is a fine pairing as the audience can feel for Claude who is willing do almost anything for his beloved and for Valentine feeling she must do the honorable thing by her fianc . Though Victor is a caricature abusive brute, which takes way from the possibilities of this triangle, fans will enjoy Elizabeth Birkelund Overbeck's fine relationship drama.

Harriet Klausner