Q: What do you think of the gown?
A: I thought it was beautiful. And you know, really, the embroidery made it. It absolutely made the dress. No one else could do embroidery like that, and it was so lovely. So romantic—like something out of a fairy tale. That’s how I remember it.
Grand-Mère’s Friday-Night Chicken
My mother made a version of this in the 1970s; I have updated it with ingredients that are readily available today, if not necessarily to cooks of 1947. This is the dish that came to mind when I tried to think of something that Miriam would have made, and though it is far from authentic in its origins, it is delicious and relatively easy to make.
Serves 4
1 medium orange
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
8 chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in, about 3½ to 4 pounds
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup prunes, pitted and halved (quarter if especially large)
1 cup green olives, pitted
½ cup dry white wine or dry (white) vermouth
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.
Using a vegetable peeler, zest the orange in long strips; aim for 8 strips of zest with no white showing. Once zest is removed, halve the orange and juice. You’ll need 2 tablespoons juice in total; set aside zest and juice. Crush the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or with the flat bottom of a drinking glass. Set aside.
Trim excess fat and skin from chicken thighs. Pat the chicken dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet, ideally cast iron, over medium-high heat. (See below if you don’t have an oven-safe skillet.) Add the chicken to the skillet (in batches, if necessary) skin side down and cook until skin is well browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
Tilt the skillet and spoon off all but one tablespoon of the fat. Turn the chicken skin side up, sprinkle the prunes, olives, and fennel seeds around and over the pieces, and tuck the strips of orange zest in where you can. Pour the orange juice and wine over everything and sprinkle with an additional ½ teaspoon pepper. (If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, transfer the browned chicken to a casserole dish, pour off excess fat, scrape remaining drippings into casserole dish, and proceed with remaining ingredients.)
Transfer the skillet or casserole dish to the oven and roast until cooked through (chicken should have an internal temperature of 165°F), 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with fresh bread and a green salad.
Reading Group Guide
How would you have reacted to the news of the royal wedding in 1947? Would you have been happy for a diversion from the depressing realities of postwar life? Or would you have been annoyed that so much attention and resources were being focused on one day when so many were struggling to simply survive?
How do you think you would have coped with the difficulties of the postwar period? Would you have carried on with your “chin up,” as Ann does? Would you have danced away your cares, like some of her younger colleagues at Hartnell? Or would you have been bitter that, even after sacrificing so much, everyday life remained so hard and cheerless?
If you could snap your fingers and become a princess, with all of the duties and obligations and relentless attention that such a position entails, would you do it?
Why do you think Ann made a clean break with her past? Why did she never attempt to contact Miriam? Would you have done the same?
Can you close your eyes and picture Miriam’s Vél d’Hiv embroideries? What do they look like to you?
If you had a chance to stand in Ann’s shoes, would you tell your daughter or granddaughter the truth about your life?
Was Heather right to persevere in uncovering the secrets of Ann’s past?
Do you think it’s possible to accurately depict the life of a public figure who is still alive? And what do you think it must be like to be that public figure, and to know that strangers are reading about or watching the story of your life? Would it upset you, or would you find it entertaining to see what novelists and filmmakers get wrong—and what they get right?
Daniel has lines from a poem by Wilfred Owen tattooed on his arm. What poem or quote would appear in your tattoo (or on a T-shirt if you’d rather not make such a permanent gesture)?
What is your favorite iconic wedding gown—it doesn’t have to have been worn by a royal bride—and why?
Read On
Suggestions for Further Reading
For reasons of space, the following bibliography is by necessity an incomplete record of the sources I consulted when researching The Gown. Not all of the books cited below are still in print, but most should be readily available to anyone with access to a good public library.
Benaim, Laurence, and Florence Müller. Dior: The New Look Revolution
Davies, Jennifer. The Wartime Kitchen and Garden
Evans, Paul, and Peter Doyle. The 1940s Home
Garfield, Simon. Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Post-War Britain
Hartnell, Norman. Silver and Gold
Helm, Sarah. If This Is a Woman: Inside Ravensbrück: Hitler’s Concentration Camp for Women
Judt, Tony. Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
Kelly, Angela. Dressing the Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe
Last, Nella. Nella Last’s Peace: The Post-War Diaries of Housewife, 49
Marrus, Michael, and Robert O. Paxton. Vichy France and the Jews
Palmer, Alexandra. Dior
Pick, Michael. Be Dazzled!: Norman Hartnell, Sixty Years of Glamour and Fashion
Pile, Jessica Jane. Fashion Embroidery: Embroidery Techniques and Inspiration for Haute-Couture Clothing
Rhodes, Margaret. The Final Curtsey: A Royal Memoir by the Queen’s Cousin
The Royal School of Needlework Book of Embroidery: A Guide to Essential Stitches, Techniques and Projects
Sebba, Anne. Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation
Smith, Sally Bedell. Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch
Williams, Kate. Young Elizabeth: The Making of the Queen
Links to online sources related to the royal wedding, among them British Pathé newsreel footage, documentaries, audio recordings of BBC radio coverage, and websites associated with the Royal Collection and Hand & Lock, may be found at my website: www.jennifer-robson.com
Praise for The Gown
“Jennifer Robson embroiders life, friendship, and hope into the somber gray world of postwar London every bit as skillfully as her seamstress heroines embroider crystal flowers into the folds of a royal wedding dress. The Gown is marvelous and moving, a vivid portrait of female self-reliance in a world racked by the cost of war.”
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network
“In The Gown, Jennifer Robson illuminates with her signature meticulous historical detail and sure voice the story behind Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress. . . . An unforgettable story of friendship, hardship, and hope. Robson has managed to craft a story that is personal and universal, timely and timeless. The Gown soars!”
—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale
“A moving story about the power of female friendship and renewal in the face of adversity. Like the good-luck sprig of heather hidden amid the embroidery on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress, this story promises secrets and lives that bloom in unlikely ways. Perfect for fans of The Crown!”
—Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of The English Wife
“Once again, with an impressive depth of research, Jennifer Robson provides an enchanting glimpse into the past, each word and detail a carefully placed stitch. Told through the eyes of three compelling women, The Gown is a heartwarming story of friendship, resilience, and the power of heirlooms to connect people through generations, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.”
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��Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of The Edge of Lost and Sold on a Monday
“Embroidering a magical moment in royal history, Robson tells a heartrending story of friendship, loss, love, and redemption.”
—Leslie Carroll, author of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
“A story of friendship, family bonds, and courage, The Gown is the ideal read for fans of historical fiction and royal watchers alike!”
—Brenda Janowitz, author of The Dinner Party
“Jennifer Robson delivers a satisfying multigenerational epic linked by the intricate embroidery used on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. Robson’s meticulous attention to historical details—notably the intricacies of the embroidery work—is a wonderful complement to the memorable stories of Ann and Miriam, making for a winning, heartwarming tale.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Robson vividly brings to life these three women’s struggles. Historical details about fabric, embroidery, and the royal family are well incorporated into their stories, with light romance rounding out this charming work of historical fiction.”
—Library Journal
“A fascinating glimpse into the world of design, the healing power of art, and the importance of women’s friendships.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Also by Jennifer Robson
Goodnight from London
Moonlight Over Paris
After the War is Over
Somewhere in France
Fall of Poppies
Copyright
With grateful thanks and credit to the estate of Louis MacNeice for an excerpt from Autumn Journal (Faber & Faber).
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE GOWN. Copyright © 2019 by Jennifer Robson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover photograph © Keystone/Stringer/Getty Images
Title page art © Rodica Prato
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition JANUARY 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-267496-8
Version 11072018
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-267495-1
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