The Dressmaker

August 1, 2015
When Tilly Dunnage returns to Dungatar to care for her mother, she doesn't expect a warm welcome from the Australian town that banished her 20 years earlier. The residents are too busy with their own gossip-worthy affairs to be truly bothered, though, until they discover her expertise with a needle. Tilly has a talent for fashion, and if the ladies of Dungatar are anything, it's vain. So while they still won't tolerate Tilly socially, they are more than happy to partake of her services, and before long, every woman has a wardrobe of Tilly originals. Between this and a budding romance with the town's other outcast, Tilly actually finds herself feeling at home. But when tragedy strikes, hell hath no fury like Tilly's scorn. A vast cast of caricatures and passages of richly described fabrics and clothing decorate this dark and satirical story of revenge. 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)