WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE

From the acclaimed author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and The Kitchen Front, Jennifer Ryan, comes a novel inspired by true events in the Second World War.

After renowned London fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. She arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business from a quaint country village.

Her niece, Violet, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay - the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. Meanwhile, the local vicar's daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother's gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local sewing circle meeting, Grace asks for her help - but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.

Before long, Cressida's spirit and ambition galvanizes the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves . . .

The Great British Sewing Bee meets the Second World War in this warm, charming and nostalgic novel The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.

Review: Jennifer Ryan's wonderful ability to weave an atmospheric, wise and warm story makes The Kitchen Front entirely comforting and unputdownable. Like The Great British Bake Off set in World War