The Paris Gown

A Novel

De: Christine Wells

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld

“A glorious showstopper of a novel! With its glittering characters, intricately woven plot and chapters full of gorgeous Dior dresses, The Paris Gown will be turning all heads this year."—Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

From perennially popular historical novelist Christine Wells, the delightful tale of three young women in 1950s Paris who share a single dazzling Christian Dior gown.

Paris, 1955

Three friends—Claire, Gina, and Margot—who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.

Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire’s family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.

Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father’s new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?

Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.

Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?

Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives—as these three remarkable women are about to discover…

“Decadent French cuisine, a haute couture gown, and the streets of Paris create an elegant backdrop for this warm and uplifting story. In The Paris Gown, Christine Wells has lovingly crafted a tale of the resiliency of female friendship and the healing power of chasing one’s dreams.”—Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of Her Lost Words, USA Today bestselling author of Her Lost Words

"Wells excels at bringing midtwentieth-century Paris to life in a touching tale that emphasizes the value of true friendship."—Booklist

©2024 Christine Wells (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

ADORED THIS BOOK ABOUT ENDURING FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE…

After reading Christine Wells’ book, “Sisters of the Resistance” (twice, back-to-back!) I KNEW I had to find out what other books this author has written.

This book, “The Paris Gown,” is what I found. It was so good I gobbled it up in one day (and as soon as I submit this review, I’ll be listening to it a second time).💕

This book is about three friends, Claire, Margo and Gina. They were friends as young girls. Later as young adults, they lost touch for a bit, but then they find their way back to each other again. It isn’t long (as usually happens with TRUE friends) that it was as if no time or distance had ever been between them — they just picked up their friendship where they left off and then went forward.

Of course, their problems were longer those of silly, idealistic girls who didn’t have a care in the world; they were now adults with adult size problems.

Claire desperately wants to become one of the top chefs in Paris. Gina wants to be a famous novelist, and Margo wants to remain hidden from an abusive husband. She already has a dream job working at the famous House of Dior. This was where Claire and Gina found Margo hiding out.

As young girls, the three friends used to stand outside couture showroom looking at the beautiful dresses, dreaming of what it would be like to own an original Dior dress. As adults, they still dreamed of owing a Dior dress, but none of them could afford one.

Claire is asked to live in and take care of a rich friend’s large, elegant apartment for a year while she’s away. She tells Claire in a letter that she had one last fitting for an evening gown from Dior, and that she wants Claire to go to that fitting and then keep the gown as her own.

Claire and her two friends move into the big apartment together and are living happily together as they each pursue their dream.

The dress is a common bond between them. Gina is the first to wear it to a special occasion. There, she meets the man who eventually becomes the love of her life.

Margo, who has been lying low in hopes her abusive husband isn’t looking for her, is next to wear the dress. She too meets the man of her dreams, but she knows she has no future with him. First and and foremost because technically she’s still married. He is a relative of the Queen of England, and as such, is prohibited from marrying someone who has been divorced. Margo hasn’t even made it to the divorce stage yet.

Although the dress was a gift to Claire, she is the last to wear it. Her father sells the restaurant the family has owned for over 60 years where Claire is the chef. Suddenly, she has lost her job AND her apartment above the family’s restaurant. That’s when fate steps in and Claire’s friend asks her to take care of her apartment and live there.

The restaurant has been bought by a chef Claire has worked with and doesn’t like (yet secretly has a crush on). He fired her once from his restaurant — to find out that it’s HIM that has bought the family restaurant is almost more than she can take. Before long, sparks are flying.

Through it all, the women are there supporting each other. They celebrate the good things and get each other through the tough times. It takes years, but Claire DOES eventually get to wear the dress that was given to her originally — at her wedding.

There are two reasons I loved this book much. All my life, it’s been my girlfriends who have gotten me through the hardest times in my life — the loss of two children and two husbands. Even though we are all spread across the country now, our friendship endures. We are ALWAYS there for each other, no matter what.

Our lives are busy now with husbands, kids, aging parents and jobs, so we rarely see each other any more, but we all know we are only a phone call away. If any of us really needed help or support, there isn’t one of us that wouldn’t drop everything, jump on a plane and be wherever we are needed. They’ve done it for me and I’ve done it for them. We will be closer than sisters until the last of us dies.

The other thing I loved about both books by this author is so much revolves around Christian Dior, his designs and the timeless, enduring elegance of his creations.

In a time where so many women show up in public in bikini thongs and flip flops, leaving absolutely NOTHING to the imagination, it’s wonderful to go back in my memory to a time where fashion MEANT something; women dressed like ladies, gentlemen wore suits, open doors for ladies and there was a sense of propriety. Sadly, those days are long gone.

This book was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, my #1 favorite Audible voice talent. Not only does she have a lovely somewhat “smokey” voice, but she is absolutely BRILLIANT at accents! I know anytime I see a book with her name on it, it’s going to be a great read!

I highly, highly recommend this book (and the other book by this author, “The Sisters of the Resistance”). Both were fantastic!❤️

Amazing story, with my favorite narrator

I love all things Dior- so when I saw what this book was about, I couldn’t wait to listen! I listened to the whole audiobook in one day and loved every minute! If I could give it 10 stars, I would! Great story and the narrator did amazing as usual! ❤️