The Forgotten Seamstress

Enjoyed this very much,partly because I am a quilter,but more than that.I was intrigued by the story line, the ending was a bit surprising
Would have ended it differently,however it did not detract from the story.

A charming twist on an English puzzlement. The story was a good read that ended with more chapters to write in your own mind. Opens your eyes to the cruelty of the mentally ill during the hard times of war in England.

Love, love, love this book - love this author, actually. This has a brilliant plot with well-developed and likeable characters. Both heartbreaking and uplifting at points, I am left well satisfied and comfortable with the ending. I spend my book budget funds sparingly - this was worth every penny.

Love, love, love this book - love this author, actually. This has a brilliant plot with well-developed and likeable characters. Both heartbreaking and uplifting at points, I am left well satisfied and comfortable with the ending. I spend my book budget funds sparingly - this was worth every penny.

Just finished the book and it kept my interest from the beginning. The author does an excellent job of spanning two and three generations, and if you love sewing and quilting you will love it. I am not a seamstress, but after reading the book I have a whole new appreciation for their artistic talent. Just as in her first book, this novel contains romance, mystery, and history. I loved the parts about the Royal Palace. The entire story takes place in England. I understand Liz Trenow is working on her third novel, and I am waiting to preorder it. If it is as good as her first two, I am sure I will be a faithful follower. I will say this book ended a little abruptly, maybe that will leave room for a sequel ?? I vote for that.

The writer draws you into the lives of the characters in the first chapters and keeps you longing for a happy ending. The pain these women endured breaks your heart. The strength to keep going is mode boggling. I loved every word of it.

I think this has become one of my favorite books. I loved Maria from the first and admired her strength, fortitude and acceptance of a fate she never deserved. Ms. Trenow did an extraordinary job of creating visuals through her words; I "saw" the quilt, the fabrics, and learned much about quilting. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

I couldn't put this down. Captivating characters,realistically portrayed. I felt hope,bewilderment and joy. Incredible treatment of "insane"women was heartbreaking. Enjoyed the intertwined plots and amazing ending.

I really enjoyed this book that was recommended by my weekly magazine, not only could I not put it down I didn't want it to end! The history was brilliant and so realistic I would and will recommend this book to friends and have just started her next book.

The Forgotten Seamstress was fantastic! As a woman who loves to sew, I was intrigued by the main character. I could sense her presence and almost see her handiwork in my mind. Such a wonderful full circle story.

The main character is a little unbelievable to me. She's not someone I liked initially, and only slightly warmed up to as I progressed through the book. The Maria character is the real star of the book and I loved her instantly! I wish the book was focused around her as opposed to the main character. I found the book to be a little predictable at times and it's only saving grace was Maria (can you tell I really liked her!) It's easy and quick to get through so if that's your criteria then you will like this book.

Three stars for creative storytelling, theme, and ease of page turning. The main character, Caroline Meadows, at first seems to be a bit selfish, whiny, and somewhat flat. Through her pain of her recent breakup and other losses, she begins to form into a true self, a character with depth and someone we as readers can relate to on varied levels. The adventure that author Liz Trenow takes us on is exciting, curious, and sweet. There is redemption for Caroline which is wonderful since there are so many stories with depressing endings which characters never really learn a lesson and they just continue down the whole of selfishness and self pity. Well done, Ms. Trenow.

Lovely idea but,could have been carried out with more historical detail. The character's are relatable but,not developed well. I wanted to become. Invested in and embrace the character's. Four hundred pages and it did not get done.

The story was so scattered. Very predictable and things fell in to place so conveniently for Caroline. I know I'm enjoying a book when I look forward to time to read! Not so much with this book. I gave two stars - the cover is pretty!

The main character is a little unbelievable to me. She's not someone I liked initially, and only slightly warmed up to as I progressed through the book. The Maria character is the real star of the book and I loved her instantly! I wish the book was focused around her as opposed to the main character. I found the book to be a little predictable at times and it's only saving grace was Maria (can you tell I really liked her!) It's easy and quick to get through so if that's your criteria then you will like this book.

Three stars for creative storytelling, theme, and ease of page turning. The main character, Caroline Meadows, at first seems to be a bit selfish, whiny, and somewhat flat. Through her pain of her recent breakup and other losses, she begins to form into a true self, a character with depth and someone we as readers can relate to on varied levels. The adventure that author Liz Trenow takes us on is exciting, curious, and sweet. There is redemption for Caroline which is wonderful since there are so many stories with depressing endings which characters never really learn a lesson and they just continue down the whole of selfishness and self pity. Well done, Ms. Trenow.

Lovely idea but,could have been carried out with more historical detail. The character's are relatable but,not developed well. I wanted to become. Invested in and embrace the character's. Four hundred pages and it did not get done.

The story was so scattered. Very predictable and things fell in to place so conveniently for Caroline. I know I'm enjoying a book when I look forward to time to read! Not so much with this book. I gave two stars - the cover is pretty!

This is really two stories, one from the past and one in the present stitched together like the quilt that forms the centerpiece of the novel. The present tale follows Caroline Meadows who finds the quilt as she is helping her mother sort boxes to make way for some home improvements. When she shows it to her friend who works at Buckingham Palace in the art/conservation department she is shocked to see royal materials in the quilt - what were known as the May Silks, used only for the trousseau of Princess Mary of Teck. This sends her on a journey to discover how royal materials were in a quilt from her grandmother.

The second and if you ask me, far more interesting story is that of the quilter. She was an orphan named Maria who along with her friend Nora are plucked from their orphanage at a young age to go work in what turns out to be Buckingham Palace in the sewing room because they are both very talented seamstresses. While there Maria catches the eye of the Prince of Wales and well, he's a Prince and she's a very naive young girl. What happens to her is horrifying and forms the basis of the story of the quilt. I don't want to ruin the tale so I will leave you with just these tidbits.

If only Caroline's story was as captivating and as well told as Maria's was. Caroline is completely hapless and hopeless and honestly I just didn't find her interesting or believable as a character. If she had been 20 years younger I might have understood some of the decisions she made but not as a 38 year old woman. I have problems with books when characters don't feel real to me. Maria felt more alive and fully developed to me than Caroline who seemed a bit of a cardboard cutout.

Ms. Trenow does have a lovely writing style and that kept me reading until the end despite my not caring what happened to Caroline. I wanted to know very much how Maria's life played out - she carried the book for me.

3.5

*I received a free copy for my honest review

Predictable and immature reading. By page 100 started skipping paragraphs. By page 200 started skipping pages and once reached final few pages, I read the conclusion I had predicted all along. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS.

It was in March last year that I read Liz Trenow's début novel The Last Telegram which I really enjoyed, as the author had drawn on her life experiences growing up as part of a silk weaving novel and turning it to a lovely story. No surprise therefore that once again the author has found inspiration for her second novel in the world of fabrics. Worth mentioning the background here as I feel it adds to enjoyment and understanding of the novel. Apparently whilst visiting the Warner Archive of fabrics, Liz Trenow was drawn to a case of the most beautiful cream and white damasks and brocades interwoven with gold and silver threads. These fabrics had been hand woven for the trousseau of Princess May for her wedding to the Duke of Clarence, but sadly he died just six weeks before the wedding, but she eventually married his younger brother the future George V. Another design from this stunning collection was chosen for her wedding dress and it is these shimmering silks over a hundred years later that inspired Liz to write 'The Forgotten Seamstress. This last paragraph alone should be enough to tempt you to read this novel which is just as good as her début, but oh so different.

Maria Romano,seamstress to the Royal Family and a patchwork quilt are the protagonists, along with Caroline who has inherited the quilt and is now fascinated to discover its story. Maria's life story is a sad one and told in such a clever way by the use of a previously recorded interview with her. With more than a century between the two women this was a clever technique that the author used to enable Caroline whilst researching the history of the quilt to hear the story in Maria's voice. It is a tale that is full of fanciful notions that may or may not be true and Caroline has to decide how much she should believe with the help of clues she picks up elsewhere along the way.

To say more will spoil the outcome, hopefully if I have made this sound like something you will enjoy, you will pick it up yourself. Recommended to those that enjoyed Liz Trenow's first novel, historical romantic fiction readers and of course quilters! My aim as always with my reviews is not to give you a potted version of the story but to encourage you to want to read the book for yourself. Always interested to know if I have succeeded.

Like patchwork, this novel is a composition of seemingly incongruous parts - via cassette recordings with the first-person narrator, Maria Romano, that weaves a fascinating history of her life as a seamstress for the Royal Family, of her affair with the Prince of Wales (and the later abdicated King Edward VIII). As Maria, now seventy-four, tells her story in an interview book while being confined at a mental hospital, we see into her wistful memories of love and lost, and the sadness perpetrates throughout the book as the second protagonist, Caroline, finds herself confused about her life, and the uncertainty that looms in her future.

What brings these dual plotline together is a discovered heirloom of a rare silk, one tinged with both the happy and tragic times of Maria's life, and one which propelled Caroline to conduct a research for its origins, all the while learning about her own strength.

While I hold no knowledge of sewing or quilt-making, I was nonetheless impressed and enthralled with the meticulous detail by which the intricacies of Maria's designs and sewing were created, and it was told in such a manner that I could easily visualize the creations through these pages.

Ultimately, while this book has had its share of humorous moments, it is at the core a heartrending historical fiction, a woven account of two women's lives, one tragic and resilient, and one with the capacity for change. Readers will, I hope, find much to take away in this story; perhaps courage, perhaps inspiration, and perhaps a belief in the threads that bind and connect people as a catalyst for great change. Even more, this seamlessly written tale is one that lovers of sewing could enjoy, if you don't find your heart breaking with the story itself.

I do not understand all of the great reviews for this shallow book. The story is so unbelievable and the writing is poorly written. There were a few good parts but for the most part I skimmed the book because I wanted to see how it ended which proved to be a ridiculous ending. I would not recommend this nor waste money buying it.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through Net Galley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Synopsis
In 1910 London, a remarkable young seamstress is noticed by Queen Mary and given a position in the royal household.

A century later, Caroline, a struggling designer, discovers a mysterious hand-me-down quilt with a curious verse embroidered into its lining. When Caroline learns that the fabric in the quilt is rare royal wedding silk and begins to dig deeper, she uncovers the extraordinary story of two women whose lives collide with devastating consequences. But that secret pales in comparison to the truth Caroline finally learns about herself.

I love the way Liz begins the story as if we, the readers, are listening onto a reordered conversation between a research student and a former mental health patient. This was a very interesting way to start a book and my interest instantly piqued- the writing style was different to me.

Maria, the former mental health patient, tells her tale in a series of recordings to a research student in the 1970′s explaining her former life as a seamstress to Queen Mary in the early 1900′s. The other part of the story is told by a woman named Caroline, here in the 21st century, who inherits a quilt from her grandmother. The quilt itself ties these two women both in the past and present. While the story unfolds, we learn the significance of this beloved quilt and secrets it harbors. When these two women’s view points come together, we the readers see the bigger picture of these two women and the fate the quilt ties to them.

I couldn’t put this book down. I fell in love “listening” to Maria’s conversations on tapes about her former life as seamstress to the queen and I loved Caroline’s quest to unlock old mysteries of the quilt. The characters Liz sets in motion during the story are so rich and relatable. The different view points kept the story intriguing and engaging. This book written with deep friendship, love, bonds between women, and bonds between family- you will be sure to enjoy it. Gorgeously written and a wonderful story.

Sewers, quilters, and lovers of women’s fiction will love how this tale is woven together. The Forgotten Seamstress leaves you behind with notable characters and a beautiful tale you will be wanting to read again and again.

I almost never give a 5-star review, but I really loved this story and stayed up all night to finish it. I loved reading about Maria's life in The Castle and then in the Palace. She had such a great spirit in spite of her childhood being spent in an orphanage and then being put into service as a teen. What happened to her after that was heartbreaking, but I won't spoil the story with any particulars. The storyline was hard to keep straight, especially in the beginning, and I had to take lots of notes. I didn't always like Caroline.

There were 3 things I felt were missing, which was surprising because the rest of the story was so detailed:

1. I wanted to read about when Jean and Maria meet again, how that went, and how she came to live with her.

2. And unless I missed it, there was no mention of when, where, or how Maria died.

3. I would also like to have known more details about the arrangement Arthur made with Roger. How exactly did that come about? And was Finch involved?

As we watch TMZ reporting on the antics of Prince Harry cavorting in Las Vegas, and we avidly follow the revolving door romances of our favorite royals, it is easy to forget that this bad boy behavior is not limited to our current crop of dukes and princes. In the 1920’s and 30’s the world was enraptured by the current Prince Charming and heir to the British crown, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, later Edward VIII who abdicated the crown for “the woman I love” the twice divorced Wallis Simpson. The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow is a “what if” novel, taking the habits of that playboy prince and the unfortunate practice of committing troublesome women to mental institutions and wrapping them into a tale of love, uncertainty and mystery.
Trenow gives us “Queenie”, a delusional mental patient recounting her life story to a student in the 1970’s who is doing a research project on inmates of Helena Hall, and Caroline, a thirty–something recently discharged bank officer navigating her choices in 2008 while coping with a mother descending into senility. As each life unfolds, the women reveal more and more about their individual worlds. “Queenie” introduces us to London in the Edwardian Age for an orphan, with all the difficulties of needing to find a skill that will keep a young girl off the streets. In the care of nuns, the child is trained to become a seamstress, a trade for which she possesses considerable talent. We are unsure whether or not “Queenie” is a reliable narrator, since she tells her tale from the position of a patient who has been incarcerated for forty years, with records showing her delusions are of long standing and she has received electroshock and pharmaceutical treatment during that time. She believes she was an employee of the palace, and that she had an affair of the heart with the Prince of Wales.
Caroline, in our present day, struggles with the decision to go back to interior design, the career she abandoned in favor of the lure of the financial security of working in a bank. She is recently split from her longtime lover, and feels her biological clock ticking. Adding to her stress is her mother’s increasing confusion, with its references to her long dead father. As Caroline is forced to consider selling her mother’s home to afford a care facility, she finds her grandmother’s quilt amongst her mother’s storage and begins an attempt to learn more about the exquisite piece of needlework. Eventually the past and present collide, as the lives of the two characters intersect.
Trenow has a deft hand with description, and she gives Edwardian London a feeling of immediacy and reality. Her characters have intriguing voices, and electrifying personalities. There are some very predictable turns of plot, but they are still handled with skill, and are not a detriment to her story. Her historical detail, especially on the textiles involved, is well researched, and give a satisfying weight to the believability of the characters.
There is a certain distance the reader feels, almost at arm’s length, from the main characters, due in part to the clinical approach to “Queenie”’s interview. I would have expected to feel more horror at the possibility that this woman had been kept in an institution as a convenience, instead of because it was necessary, but that emotion does not fully arise from Trenow’s pages. Still, “Queenie” is an intriguing and lively character, and the reader is drawn eagerly to find out what happens throughout her life. Caroline is less compelling, but still well developed, and the twining of the two is smartly done.
The Forgotten Seamstress is a cut above a beach read, and would be a satisfying summer vacation read. It has the sweet tartness of a tall glass of lemon squash, and can be the perfect refreshment for an afternoon in the hammock.
In accordance with FTC guidelines for bloggers and endorsements, I would like to clarify that the books reviewed by me are either purchased/borrowed by me, or provided by the publisher/author free of charge. I am neither compensated for my reviews nor are my opinions influenced in any way by the avenues in which I obtain my materials.

MY REVIEW:
Sourcebooks|May 13, 2014|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-1-4022--8248-5
"Liz Trenow sews together the strands of past and present as delicately as the exquisite stitching on the quilt that forms the centerpiece of the story." Lucinda Riley, author of The Orchid House She Kept Her Secret for a Lifetime? A shy girl with no family, Maria knows she's lucky to have landed in the sewing room of the royal household. Before World War I casts its shadow, she catches the eye of the Prince of Wales, a glamorous and intense gentleman. But her life takes a far darker turn, and soon all she has left is a fantastical story about her time at Buckingham Palace. Decades later, Caroline Meadows discovers a beautiful quilt in her mother's attic. When she can't figure out the meaning of the message embroidered into its lining, she embarks on a quest to reveal its mystery, a puzzle that only seems to grow more important to her own heart. As Caroline pieces together the secret history of the quilt, she comes closer and closer to the truth about Maria. Page-turning and heartbreaking. THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS weaves together past and present in an unforgettable journey.
I don't think I have much to add to the above words except to say I felt so sorry for Maria being locked away in a looney-bin almost her entire life because no one believed she worked a Buckingham Palace and had a brief affair with the Prince of Wales. The psychiatrists thought she'd made it all up in her head and proceeded with treatment, some of them barbaric like shock therapy and drugging her for weeks at a time. This was beautifully written yet an explosive read.

In 2008, Caroline is clearing out her mother’s attic when she finds a quilt, which her grandmother left to her. It’s an unusual piece of needlework; the seaming and embroidery are extraordinary, and some of the fabrics are very striking silks. So striking that when Caroline shows it to a friend who is a textile expert, she recognizes them as tiny pieces of fabrics known as the May Silks, specially woven for the wedding of Princess May (Mary) of Teck. How they ended up in a patchwork, and in Caroline’s grandmother’s possession, is unknown, but Caroline intends to find out.

Another story goes along as Caroline searches for who made the quilt. In 1970, a graduate student in psychology is interviewing an inmate of a mental hospital. The patient, Maria, tells the story of being an orphan who is taught to sew and is selected to work in palace for the royal family. She talks of the Crown Prince, of a baby that was taken away from her, and her belief that she is in the mental ward to keep her from telling the world of the Prince’s baby. All fantasy, of course, the hallucinations of a schizophrenic. There is no way a lower class girl attracted the attention of the Prince! But how are these two woman connected?

I enjoyed the puzzle of figuring out the origins of the quilt, the descriptions of life in the palace, and especially the descriptions of the fabrics and clothing. I was less impressed by the characters, however. Caroline and Maria are both people to whom things happen, but who rarely initiate action of any kind. In Maria’s case, a lot of that is out of her control, but her passivity with the Prince is kind of annoying. But she was a teenager in love, and so that’s a pretty common attitude. Caroline, however, is kind of annoying- she is older, supposedly independent, educated, and in control of her own fate, but she seems to float along. While I liked the two women, it was a lukewarm sort of liking. The other characters didn’t have much depth. It’s an enjoyable book but not a stunning one.

The story flashes between three time periods. 1910 with Maria, 1970's with Maria telling her story to a college student and present day with Caroline.

Caroline's mother is moved into a nursing home and Caroline takes home an old quilt belonging to her grandmother. It's obvious the quilt is old and a friend confirms that some of the fabric was specially woven for Queen Mary. Caroline then decides to find out who Maria was. How did she end up with the royal fabric and what was the meaning of the quilt.

I really enjoyed the story but feel that Maria's character could have been fleshed out a bit more.

The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow was one of those books you forcefully had to yank me away from. Its riveting and heartrending story held me captive from cover to cover; its brilliant execution pleased me to no end. The novel encompasses the 'turn-of-the-century' lifetime of Maria Romano, an East End London orphan with exceptional needlework skills, and unfolds, over a period of about a century and with dramatic repercussions, in the life of a modern day North Essex woman, Caroline Meadows, who shares with the protagonist the same dressmaking talent and a long kept secret.

I think that this dual timeline narration immediately found its stride - technically and thematically. The meticulous and intimate use of a first person POV on both ends of the time spectrum, in addition to the clever use of an unusual narrative tool (Maria's side of the story is narrated through transcripts from recorded cassette tapes) added texture and a 'feel' of authenticity to the quilt-like pattern of Trenow's narrative. The idea that the same protagonist of that story may not be an entirely reliable narrator (Maria reveals her 'secret' while she is under psychiatric ward) engages the reader with an extra and sophisticated layer of thought-provoking perspective.

"Was all of that just a fantasy too? Perhaps most of the story was true, or just delicately embroidered, like Maria's elegant stitching? But wherever the truth lay, I loved her descriptions of how she had made the quilt and how she had designed the individual frames. [...] Her history was held in the fabrics she'd used, the designs and the appliqued figures. It was the patchwork of a life [...]. Hidden in the quilt was the complete vindication of a woman who had been disbelieved and dismissed as a fantasist for most of her life."

All in all, a soul-stirring story that will satisfy any historical fiction reader and quilting virtuoso with its fascinating tidbits of quilting art and shimmering portrait of the Edwardian Era and its class-divisions. It will widely appeal to contemporary novel fans in the mood for an emotionally and socially poignant tale as well. Highly recommended.

Mina's Bookshelf

2014 is turning out to be a year of kick-ass historicals and I’m happily adding The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow to that list!

The Forgotten Seamstress is a dual narrative (which I love) set in dual time periods (which I also love). Caroline’s story is set in present time. She’s at a pivotal point in her life, newly single and unemployed, when she finds her beloved grandmother’s quilt. After a friend spots the value of the fabric used in the quilt (royal silk), and Caroline finds a short poem stitched into the lining, she sets out to find the history of the quilt and what royal connection, if any, there is. With the help of a handsome journalist Caroline’s journey leads her to the mental hospital where her grandmother came into possession of it, where a woman named Maria was in residence for decades, against her will.

Maria’s story is told in her own voice via taped interviews and letters. She relates her time in service to the royal family as an accomplished seamstress, where she has a brief romance with the Prince of Wales, and as a consequence is locked up in a mental asylum so as to silence her. Imprisoning women and undesirables in mental asylums was a very common practice back then and I can’t imagine the terror those people must have felt. It actually affected me so much so that I had nightmares!

As the novel unfolds we learn more about Maria and what each panel of the quilt represents. I don’t want to say too much more, you really should read it for yourself. It’s an incredible novel that I will never forget. It was a heart wrenching read that will completely captivate you. I definitely see it making my Top Reads list of 2014! I can’t wait to pick up her other novel, The Last Telegram, and will be anxiously waiting for the publication of her upcoming release, The Poppy Factory.

[...]

This book amazed and delighted me. It's a wonderful mix of themes and ideas. The history element was compelling, the art and textile history was fascinating -- I love the "historian as detective," and this had a fair share of that. Plus the contemporary relationship added a romantic touch, as well as creating a device for contrast between the experiences of the two main women characters.

Frankly, I expected to find the device of the "recorded interviews" intrusive, but that was not the case at all. I loved getting Maria's first-person point of view, and in the end, the way it all fit together was pretty "seamless." I fell completely into the world of the book, moving back and forth in time and place without it feeling at all difficult -- it's rare that I can let go and let a book just take me where it wants me to go that way, but this one did, and it was a delightful reading experience.

My only regret is that I don't sew, because I want so badly to make the quilt!!

Things are not going well in Caroline Meadows life at the moment. She has just ended her long-term relationship when she and her partner realized that they weren't really in love. Then she gets laid off at her job unexpectedly, making it more difficult to make both halves of the rent on her London apartment. Even worse, her mom is starting the early stages of dementia, and Caroline realizes that a decision will have to be made about her mother's further living arrangements.

She goes down to the cottage where she grew up to help her mother clear things out. While there, she uncovers a beautiful quilt, full of luxury fabrics and intricate needlework. Since Caroline's ambition is to open a design business, she is intrigued by the quilt, but her mother can't remember much about who might have made it, just that it was in with Caroline's grandmother's things. Caroline vaguely remembers a woman who may have lived with her grandmother who always seemed to be sewing.

With time on her hands, she starts an investigation of the quilt. She soon determines that the woman who lived with her grandmother, Maria, was probably the quilt's creator. As she researches further, she learns that Maria was institutionalized for decades in a mental hospital, where she was known as Queenie. Queenie was the derisive nickname Maria was given as she insisted that she had worked as a seamstress for the queen, and that she had secretly given birth to the Prince of Wales son.

There are two scenarios. Either Maria was truly troubled, making up an elaborate fantasy to get through her humdrum life, or she was telling the truth and had been bundled away and deprived of a normal life for the sin of having a relationship that wasn't sanctioned by the royal family. Can Caroline discover the truth so many years after the events occurred?

Liz Trenow has written an interesting novel that explores the scandal of the many lives buried away in the time period where women whose truth was inconvenient were hidden away against their will. She uses the metaphor of the quilt to show how something beautiful can emerge in the worst of circumstances and how the truth will shine forward over time. This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

Liz Trent's novel pivots on an inherited quilt made with a special fabric, May Silks created expressly for Princess 'May' (Mary) of Teck's wedding gown for her marriage to The Duke of York, George the son of Queen Victoria, in 1893.

Caroline's life is in disorder. She split with her long time boyfriend then lost her lucrative, if dull job. She has discovered she is pregnant, and her mother has dementia and must be moved into senior car and the family cottage sold.

Caroline's mother has given her an old quilt. Upon examination by her friend it appears to incorporate fabrics made exclusively for the royal family. Having nothing better to do (start a new business, undergo a miscarriage, and fall for a new guy) Caroline goes on a quest to discover the mystery behind the quilt, who made it, and why her Granny Jean wanted her mother to be sure to hand it down to her.

Plot-driven novels and mysteries are not my usual purview; but there is a time for for them, and being down with a bad case of the stomach flu this past week, The Forgotten Seamstress was perfect.

The novel is written in three time periods; the back story of the quiltmaker Maria Romano, who in 1910 is brought from an orphanage to work as a seamstress in the royal household; transcriptions of interviews with Maria in 1970 when she was in a hospital for the insane; and the contemporary story of Caroline who inherits the quilt. Maria is the more successful and interesting character, the tape transcriptions beautifully rendered.

Through Maria's character we take a tour of the treatment of the mentally ill over thirty years. When when the quilt goes missing Caroline has to confront the plight of the homeless and life on the street.

As typical of a mystery, the unraveling is complicated and and has a surprise ending.

A pattern to replicate the (fictional) quilt has been developed by Judy Baker-Rogers.

Even though it's only January, I am sure this will make one of my top 10 books for 2015. A friend recommended this and kept asking "have you read it yet?" with a fair amount of impatience. After having finally read it, I totally understand why she was so anxious for me to read it.

This is a novel that will have wide appeal as it encompasses historical fiction, women's fiction, and mystery all wrapped up in one. With beautiful language and a story to keep you reading, it was close to perfection. As I was nearing the end of the book one evening, my husband acquired my attention to see if I was ready to head to bed. It was only at that point I realized he had turned out the lights, turned on the dishwasher, and taken care of the cat for the evening. I am usually easily distracted by what is going on around me, but I had no idea he had moved off the sofa. That is high praise from me. I kept wanting to get back to it when I wasn't reading and was quite sad to see it end. This was our book group selection for January and and we all had a very positive reaction - so positive we have put her first novel, The Last Telegram, on our reading list for later this year.

Like the forgotten patchwork quilt that provides the central theme to this tale spanning two eras, THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS recounts the stories of two women, Caroline an unemployed modern day woman struggling to make a place for herself by following her dream of becoming an interior designer and Queenie (Maria) a talented seamstress serving the pre WWI royal family of George V and her illicit affair with the teenaged Prince of Wales (long before his infamous "love affair" with Wallis Simpson and his subsequent abdication as Edward VIII).

The book commences with taped interviews with Maria (a woman hospitalized against her will for many years) through which we learn of Maria's pregnancy, her incarceration in a mental institution, the loss of her son, her love of sewing and her life-long quest to complete the quilt that graphically depicts the events of her life.

As seamlessly stitched together as the rare quilt unearthed by Caroline while assisting her dementia ravaged mother in clearing old memorabilia from her cottage, author Liz Trenow has taken the fabric of the small and intricate pieces of the lives of these two women, each facing the challenges of surviving in their respective eras, and created an engrossing piece of historical fiction.

I will not attempt to gather all of the intricate details that comprise this story. Just know that this is an ideal book for a multitude of readers with varying tastes. Whether your preference is quilting and sewing, historical fiction, character driven narratives or just a voyeuristic journey providing well written depictions of friendship, love and family secrets THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS can ably satisfy your appetite.

The Forgotten Seamstress tells the story of Maria, who comes from humble beginnings to find herself working in Buckingham Palace as a seamstress, only to begin a passionate affair with the then Prince of Wales, Prince Edward but when she becomes pregnant she is put away in a mental asylum and when she recalls her story no one believes her and she is soon given the nick-name Queenie.

In the modern day Caroline becomes interested in a patchwork quilt she is given by her mother. The quilt belonged to her grandmother; Caroline becomes interested in finding out who made the quilt when she finds a unique Royal silk in it. Journalist Ben is on hand to help on what at times looks like an impossible and long search, not knowing that the Royal connection maybe closer than they think.

This is just one of those remarkable stories that have been perfectly put together with a good well thought out plot that does not disappoint the reader. The sad fate and position Maria ends up in his heart breaking and although I did work out how the book would end this did not put me of reading the story to see if I was right! I would read more books by this author.

When the book opens, the threads and the pieces of fabric that make up this story are loose and seemingly unrelated, but as Liz Trenow writes the seams come together and weave a beautiful and tightly-told history of a very meaningful quilt. Caroline Meadows inherited a quilt from her grandmother years ago but it has been sitting in an old suitcase in her mother's crawlspace ever since. When her mother begins showing signs of dementia, Caroline begins going through her mother's vast collection, much of which she considers to be junk, and decides to take the quilt home. Now that her mother is unable to easily recall events from the past, the history of the item becomes more important to her daughter and she begins research which leads her on a complicated and revelatory path about her own past.

There are many predictable moments but these make the novel no less satisfying. The characters are complex and likable and the fun of unraveling the story hidden beneath the layers of fabric makes reading this book breezy but memorable. This is definitely chick lit, but it is definitely better than some and I would certainly recommend it.

I must admit - I nearly DNF'ed this book. I don't know why I plugged along, but I am ever so glad I did. As with many other similar novels of this type that I've read, this book takes place in the past, and also the present. And of course, the past will have a role to play in the present.
Depending on a novel's particular story and character(s), I vacillate between a preference for one story over another. In "The Forgotten Seamstress" I preferred Maria's story to Caroline. I just felt Maria had a much stronger story to tell. The tale of Maria's life was much more tragic, colorful, rich and interesting than Caroline's. I suppose that's natural because the "present" part of the story is something more prosaic, more real in an everyday sense (and it's something I can experience for myself) so it doesn't have the mystery and romance of the past.
Liz Trenow takes a snippet of the life of the former Prince of Wales, David (who later becomes King Edward) and weaves a plausible story involving him, and the seamstress of the novel's title. Admittedly, I know little of the King's true life (besides the Wallace Simpson and Nazi sympathizing bits), so I have no idea how plausible or implausible is the plot of "The Forgotten Seamstress". But, Liz Trenow has a way with words, a way of describing people, places, and events that makes you believe.
Because I have read quite a few other novels with a similar past-informs-present plot line, the coincidences in "The Forgotten Seamstress" were old hat to me. I can understand though, that others may feel the contrivances too much to be believed. Whether it's the quilt that starts it all still remaining in the Meadows family, or the tracking down of people who are still alive to lend credence to the story, or a long-lost letter from Grandma Jean that provides the final coup de grace, yes, these are all coincidences of a tall order, but were necessary coincidences. As with these kinds of novels, I'm glad Trenow provided closure and a bit of hope and happiness to both main protagonists. What can I say? I am a sucker for the Happily Ever After type of ending.

This book was really sad at times, not the oh no that person died sad, but heartbreaking sad of how Maria was treated. The cruelty of the world made me so angry.

Maria was young, happy, and fell in love with a prince. You know that that will not end well and it does not. The book is told through Maria when she becomes a seamstress, Maria when she is interviewed in the 70s and is believed to be crazy and through Caroline in our time, she finds a quilt and wants to know who made it.

The first story leads Maria to her doom. In the 70s flashbacks we see that she was in a mental asylum, but why? And that was the heartbreaking part. I got so angry there that I stopped for a moment. And the thing is, that I did not know if anything Maria said was true either. That was the intriguing part too, did she tell the truth or was she insane?

Conclusion:
So it was a mystery to be solved and the ending was a good one. I enjoyed the book.

A most excellent book. Liz Trenow takes us through some very interesting history as well as telling us an extremely good story. We can see it being true--nothing fantastic about it, and I couldn't put it down. I hate when I do that because the book goes too fast. Anyway, the players face life experiences that certainly were common until the 1960s or '70s: an abandoned pregnant teenager, uneducated, raised in an orphanage, extreme poverty--yet she survives. In this, Maria, our heroine, shows us her character. All of her unfolding behavior is perfectly in line with her background and that persisting personality.

Wrapped about the plight of women, the book is a must-read for men of intelligence. I recommend it as excellent reading. Trenow's writing is first-class, her characters stay with you, the story haunts you.

Great work, Liz. Please--give us more! (Ariel I.)

Did I enjoy this book: I did enjoy this book. The first half was a bit slow and confusing. By the time I hit the halfway point, I was hooked and I didn’t want to stop reading this book.

As I said, the first half of The Forgotten Seamstress was a bit slow. I thought it would take a long time to get through this book. I guess I really just didn’t get what was going on. We are introduced to a character who is being interviewed by another character. We were reading a transcript of the cassette tape of the interview that occurred in 1970. Then, we are introduced to another character in the present-ish day who seemingly doesn’t have anything to do with the previous person. I was rather confused through this part. It was interesting but confusing.

However, by the halfway point, it all clicked. Did I see where the story was going? Yes. Did I guess the end? Yes, I did (but I’ve always been fairly good at that). It still made me happy. It still made me want to keep reading. I couldn’t put this book down during the last half. Once I got where it was going, I really started to enjoy the read. It was intriguing and had me wondering the whole time. Who was telling the truth? Could the truth really be what it was? Was the crazy lady sane? What was the story behind the quilt? I wanted to know what the truth was.

This was a good, surprising read.

Would I recommend it: I would recommend this book.

Will I read it again: I may.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Things are not going well in Caroline Meadows life at the moment. She has just ended her long-term relationship when she and her partner realized that they weren't really in love. Then she gets laid off at her job unexpectedly, making it more difficult to make both halves of the rent on her London apartment. Even worse, her mom is starting the early stages of dementia, and Caroline realizes that a decision will have to be made about her mother's further living arrangements.

She goes down to the cottage where she grew up to help her mother clear things out. While there, she uncovers a beautiful quilt, full of luxury fabrics and intricate needlework. Since Caroline's ambition is to open a design business, she is intrigued by the quilt, but her mother can't remember much about who might have made it, just that it was in with Caroline's grandmother's things. Caroline vaguely remembers a woman who may have lived with her grandmother who always seemed to be sewing.

With time on her hands, she starts an investigation of the quilt. She soon determines that the woman who lived with her grandmother, Maria, was probably the quilt's creator. As she researches further, she learns that Maria was institutionalized for decades in a mental hospital, where she was known as Queenie. Queenie was the derisive nickname Maria was given as she insisted that she had worked as a seamstress for the queen, and that she had secretly given birth to the Prince of Wales son.

There are two scenarios. Either Maria was truly troubled, making up an elaborate fantasy to get through her humdrum life, or she was telling the truth and had been bundled away and deprived of a normal life for the sin of having a relationship that wasn't sanctioned by the royal family. Can Caroline discover the truth so many years after the events occurred?

Liz Trenow has written an interesting novel that explores the scandal of the many lives buried away in the time period where women whose truth was inconvenient were hidden away against their will. She uses the metaphor of the quilt to show how something beautiful can emerge in the worst of circumstances and how the truth will shine forward over time. This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

Liz Trent's novel pivots on an inherited quilt made with a special fabric, May Silks created expressly for Princess 'May' (Mary) of Teck's wedding gown for her marriage to The Duke of York, George the son of Queen Victoria, in 1893.

Caroline's life is in disorder. She split with her long time boyfriend then lost her lucrative, if dull job. She has discovered she is pregnant, and her mother has dementia and must be moved into senior car and the family cottage sold.

Caroline's mother has given her an old quilt. Upon examination by her friend it appears to incorporate fabrics made exclusively for the royal family. Having nothing better to do (start a new business, undergo a miscarriage, and fall for a new guy) Caroline goes on a quest to discover the mystery behind the quilt, who made it, and why her Granny Jean wanted her mother to be sure to hand it down to her.

Plot-driven novels and mysteries are not my usual purview; but there is a time for for them, and being down with a bad case of the stomach flu this past week, The Forgotten Seamstress was perfect.

The novel is written in three time periods; the back story of the quiltmaker Maria Romano, who in 1910 is brought from an orphanage to work as a seamstress in the royal household; transcriptions of interviews with Maria in 1970 when she was in a hospital for the insane; and the contemporary story of Caroline who inherits the quilt. Maria is the more successful and interesting character, the tape transcriptions beautifully rendered.

Through Maria's character we take a tour of the treatment of the mentally ill over thirty years. When when the quilt goes missing Caroline has to confront the plight of the homeless and life on the street.

As typical of a mystery, the unraveling is complicated and and has a surprise ending.

A pattern to replicate the (fictional) quilt has been developed by Judy Baker-Rogers.

Even though it's only January, I am sure this will make one of my top 10 books for 2015. A friend recommended this and kept asking "have you read it yet?" with a fair amount of impatience. After having finally read it, I totally understand why she was so anxious for me to read it.

This is a novel that will have wide appeal as it encompasses historical fiction, women's fiction, and mystery all wrapped up in one. With beautiful language and a story to keep you reading, it was close to perfection. As I was nearing the end of the book one evening, my husband acquired my attention to see if I was ready to head to bed. It was only at that point I realized he had turned out the lights, turned on the dishwasher, and taken care of the cat for the evening. I am usually easily distracted by what is going on around me, but I had no idea he had moved off the sofa. That is high praise from me. I kept wanting to get back to it when I wasn't reading and was quite sad to see it end. This was our book group selection for January and and we all had a very positive reaction - so positive we have put her first novel, The Last Telegram, on our reading list for later this year.

Like the forgotten patchwork quilt that provides the central theme to this tale spanning two eras, THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS recounts the stories of two women, Caroline an unemployed modern day woman struggling to make a place for herself by following her dream of becoming an interior designer and Queenie (Maria) a talented seamstress serving the pre WWI royal family of George V and her illicit affair with the teenaged Prince of Wales (long before his infamous "love affair" with Wallis Simpson and his subsequent abdication as Edward VIII).

The book commences with taped interviews with Maria (a woman hospitalized against her will for many years) through which we learn of Maria's pregnancy, her incarceration in a mental institution, the loss of her son, her love of sewing and her life-long quest to complete the quilt that graphically depicts the events of her life.

As seamlessly stitched together as the rare quilt unearthed by Caroline while assisting her dementia ravaged mother in clearing old memorabilia from her cottage, author Liz Trenow has taken the fabric of the small and intricate pieces of the lives of these two women, each facing the challenges of surviving in their respective eras, and created an engrossing piece of historical fiction.

I will not attempt to gather all of the intricate details that comprise this story. Just know that this is an ideal book for a multitude of readers with varying tastes. Whether your preference is quilting and sewing, historical fiction, character driven narratives or just a voyeuristic journey providing well written depictions of friendship, love and family secrets THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS can ably satisfy your appetite.

The Forgotten Seamstress tells the story of Maria, who comes from humble beginnings to find herself working in Buckingham Palace as a seamstress, only to begin a passionate affair with the then Prince of Wales, Prince Edward but when she becomes pregnant she is put away in a mental asylum and when she recalls her story no one believes her and she is soon given the nick-name Queenie.

In the modern day Caroline becomes interested in a patchwork quilt she is given by her mother. The quilt belonged to her grandmother; Caroline becomes interested in finding out who made the quilt when she finds a unique Royal silk in it. Journalist Ben is on hand to help on what at times looks like an impossible and long search, not knowing that the Royal connection maybe closer than they think.

This is just one of those remarkable stories that have been perfectly put together with a good well thought out plot that does not disappoint the reader. The sad fate and position Maria ends up in his heart breaking and although I did work out how the book would end this did not put me of reading the story to see if I was right! I would read more books by this author.

When the book opens, the threads and the pieces of fabric that make up this story are loose and seemingly unrelated, but as Liz Trenow writes the seams come together and weave a beautiful and tightly-told history of a very meaningful quilt. Caroline Meadows inherited a quilt from her grandmother years ago but it has been sitting in an old suitcase in her mother's crawlspace ever since. When her mother begins showing signs of dementia, Caroline begins going through her mother's vast collection, much of which she considers to be junk, and decides to take the quilt home. Now that her mother is unable to easily recall events from the past, the history of the item becomes more important to her daughter and she begins research which leads her on a complicated and revelatory path about her own past.

There are many predictable moments but these make the novel no less satisfying. The characters are complex and likable and the fun of unraveling the story hidden beneath the layers of fabric makes reading this book breezy but memorable. This is definitely chick lit, but it is definitely better than some and I would certainly recommend it.

I must admit - I nearly DNF'ed this book. I don't know why I plugged along, but I am ever so glad I did. As with many other similar novels of this type that I've read, this book takes place in the past, and also the present. And of course, the past will have a role to play in the present.
Depending on a novel's particular story and character(s), I vacillate between a preference for one story over another. In "The Forgotten Seamstress" I preferred Maria's story to Caroline. I just felt Maria had a much stronger story to tell. The tale of Maria's life was much more tragic, colorful, rich and interesting than Caroline's. I suppose that's natural because the "present" part of the story is something more prosaic, more real in an everyday sense (and it's something I can experience for myself) so it doesn't have the mystery and romance of the past.
Liz Trenow takes a snippet of the life of the former Prince of Wales, David (who later becomes King Edward) and weaves a plausible story involving him, and the seamstress of the novel's title. Admittedly, I know little of the King's true life (besides the Wallace Simpson and Nazi sympathizing bits), so I have no idea how plausible or implausible is the plot of "The Forgotten Seamstress". But, Liz Trenow has a way with words, a way of describing people, places, and events that makes you believe.
Because I have read quite a few other novels with a similar past-informs-present plot line, the coincidences in "The Forgotten Seamstress" were old hat to me. I can understand though, that others may feel the contrivances too much to be believed. Whether it's the quilt that starts it all still remaining in the Meadows family, or the tracking down of people who are still alive to lend credence to the story, or a long-lost letter from Grandma Jean that provides the final coup de grace, yes, these are all coincidences of a tall order, but were necessary coincidences. As with these kinds of novels, I'm glad Trenow provided closure and a bit of hope and happiness to both main protagonists. What can I say? I am a sucker for the Happily Ever After type of ending.

This book was really sad at times, not the oh no that person died sad, but heartbreaking sad of how Maria was treated. The cruelty of the world made me so angry.

Maria was young, happy, and fell in love with a prince. You know that that will not end well and it does not. The book is told through Maria when she becomes a seamstress, Maria when she is interviewed in the 70s and is believed to be crazy and through Caroline in our time, she finds a quilt and wants to know who made it.

The first story leads Maria to her doom. In the 70s flashbacks we see that she was in a mental asylum, but why? And that was the heartbreaking part. I got so angry there that I stopped for a moment. And the thing is, that I did not know if anything Maria said was true either. That was the intriguing part too, did she tell the truth or was she insane?

Conclusion:
So it was a mystery to be solved and the ending was a good one. I enjoyed the book.

A most excellent book. Liz Trenow takes us through some very interesting history as well as telling us an extremely good story. We can see it being true--nothing fantastic about it, and I couldn't put it down. I hate when I do that because the book goes too fast. Anyway, the players face life experiences that certainly were common until the 1960s or '70s: an abandoned pregnant teenager, uneducated, raised in an orphanage, extreme poverty--yet she survives. In this, Maria, our heroine, shows us her character. All of her unfolding behavior is perfectly in line with her background and that persisting personality.

Wrapped about the plight of women, the book is a must-read for men of intelligence. I recommend it as excellent reading. Trenow's writing is first-class, her characters stay with you, the story haunts you.

Great work, Liz. Please--give us more! (Ariel I.)

Did I enjoy this book: I did enjoy this book. The first half was a bit slow and confusing. By the time I hit the halfway point, I was hooked and I didn’t want to stop reading this book.

As I said, the first half of The Forgotten Seamstress was a bit slow. I thought it would take a long time to get through this book. I guess I really just didn’t get what was going on. We are introduced to a character who is being interviewed by another character. We were reading a transcript of the cassette tape of the interview that occurred in 1970. Then, we are introduced to another character in the present-ish day who seemingly doesn’t have anything to do with the previous person. I was rather confused through this part. It was interesting but confusing.

However, by the halfway point, it all clicked. Did I see where the story was going? Yes. Did I guess the end? Yes, I did (but I’ve always been fairly good at that). It still made me happy. It still made me want to keep reading. I couldn’t put this book down during the last half. Once I got where it was going, I really started to enjoy the read. It was intriguing and had me wondering the whole time. Who was telling the truth? Could the truth really be what it was? Was the crazy lady sane? What was the story behind the quilt? I wanted to know what the truth was.

This was a good, surprising read.

Would I recommend it: I would recommend this book.

Will I read it again: I may.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

I'd forgotten I had this one, so bumped it to the top of my list.

This is a very compelling read where we find and meet Caroline, she has found a quilt belonging to her mother. She tries to find out who made this.

We go back in time from then on.

Its a fascinating read.

Maria is talented in her sewing craft and is taken on by the Royal Family, she also pretty, this leads to some complications with the Prince of Wales.

We later get to see why the author chose this title.

I enjoyed this read a lot, took me back in time with the kind of books I used to select, they will never go out of date.

My thanks to HarperCollins UK, Avon for my copy

The description of the book sounded like something I would enjoy. Not so as the language is too young adult/juvenile. The character of the seamstress was not believable. I'll probably not finish reading it.

Liz Trenow's debut novel, The Last Telegram, made a significant impression on me. I found her ability to convey such poignant emotions against the tumultuous backdrop of WWII highly appealing and couldn't wait to read more of her work. As you might well imagine, that anticipation made waiting for The Forgotten Seamstress something of a challenge.

Now I can't say Maria's story struck the same chord as Lily's, but I feel that actually worked in Trenow's favor as this is an entirely different kind of narrative. The Last Telegram was a relatively linear piece, but The Forgotten Seamstress is as layered and diverse as the patchwork quilt around which the story unfolds.

Take for example, the novel's title character. Despite being the central figure of Trenow's narrative, the reader never meets Maria face to face. Her story comes to us piecemeal in a series of half-remembered family histories, personal letters and audio cassettes. One feels naturally distanced from this character, but the manner in which we come to understand the events of her life is remarkably intimate. The contrast that created, the inherent sentimentality of it, translates beautifully and becomes, I think, one of the strongest aspects of the entire narrative.

Another interesting facet of this piece is that it is a multigenerational story, a feature that allowed Trenow to explore evolving social norms in a very unique fashion. Separated by decades, Maria and Caroline share a very similar personal experience. The resulting parallel produces nice symmetry between both portions of the novel, but the variation highlighted by the side by side comparison of their situations is also quite fascinating.

Last, but certainly not least, I love the historic details Trenow worked into the fabric of this piece. Her foray into the world of twentieth century psychiatrics offered an unexpected twist that sparked my interest and encouraged me to research a topic I knew very little about. For me, this is the difference between good and great historic fiction. The good is entertaining, but the great inspires you to look between the lines of text and absorb those details that inspired author to put pen to paper in the first place.

A definite addition to my list of personal favorites, The Forgotten Seamstress is a moving tale of lost love, enduring hope, and renewed faith.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially since I connected immediately with the "quilt" being the most important character as it gradually reveals its story through the people who have handled it. It does start out a bit slowly, but it didn't take long before I couldn't put it down. The story actually spans three generations with the emphasis being on the oldest and youngest. Life was very different a hundred years ago, particularly in a rigid societal structure that allowed no room for intermingling. What happened to this young seamstress who worked in Buckingham Palace in the early 1900's was both heart-breaking as well as inspirational. How she was able to ultimately tell her story was ingenious, and to anyone who loves to quilt, you'll find yourself wanting to design your own life history in fabric!

You'll certainly want to keep a box of tissues close at hand while reading Liz Trenow's latest novel, The Forgotten Seamstress! Told from the perspective of two very different narrators from two completely different time periods, The Forgotten Seamstress, is a story of love, loss, and self-discovery that immediately captures the reader's heart and marks the beginning of an unforgettable emotional journey. Trenow has certainly proven herself to be a very talented writer of historical fiction and one who has done her research extremely well. Throughout, the novel slips back and for between the past and present, and is done so with such smoothness and natural grace that it all blends together very well and not once did it feel "choppy" or disconnected from the novel as whole in any way...brilliantly written! The characters are extremely well-developed and I felt as though each were a life-long acquaintance. But ultimately, it's Maria's story that tugged on my heart and left me with tears in my eyes on more than one occasion. As she tells her story from the confines of a mental institution, I questioned her reliability as a narrator. Is she telling the truth or are these just the delusional fantasies of a very unstable woman? Caroline's determination not only unravels the mysteries of Maria's quilt but also of Maria's life; a life that left me heart-broken and reaching for a tissue. The Forgotten Seamstress, would make an amazing book group selection and is accompanied by several questions for discussion as well. An amazing story and one that will not be soon forgotten....FIVE STARS!

I enjoyed the historical aspect of this story. The current aspect, not so much. I had a tough time relating to the main character. She seemed to bounce back fast from her serious issues, and the romantic angle seemed wedged in just for the sake of having a romantic angle. However, the historical part kept me flipping the pages, ready to keep reading. Overall, the quilting details were a little intensive for me, but I thought this was a good story with interesting points woven through the pages and generations. I would read another book of this author's.

Trenow uses an interesting technique alternating her characters' voices from different centuries. She allows Maria, "the forgotten seamstress", to speak of her life through the use of taped interviews & an heirloom quilt she secretly created from "Royal silk" pieces left over from a May Royal wedding that tragically never took place. Caroline, the narrator from the present, discovers the quilt and realizes its artistic quality & the possibility of a mystery that she is drawn to uncover.

This won't be a synopsis of the story as that has already been done. It was a very intriguing read for me and covered my two favorite types of reading--quilts and family mysteries. I figured out the mystery from the get-go, but still found it to be an absorbing tale with excellent fabric and quilt descriptions. The historical aspects of this story appear to be quite accurate also. This was my first time for reading this author and I will defintely be looking for more of her books.

When Caroline Meadows discovers a long hidden quilt while cleaning out her mother's attic, she sets out to discover the history and meaning behind it. Sending her on a tumultuous, emotional quest, the quilt itself becomes a living character as it slowly reveals its secrets. There is a lot going on in this book and many key characters. Just as a quilt is made up of many different sections, each event and character converge to tell a wonderful, complete tale. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would especially recommend it to fans of Tracy Chevalier and Kate Morton.

I thoroughly enjoyed this riveting tale set in early 20th century England, and present-day England. Clues are left throughout the story, hidden in a quilt stitched by a meticulous seamstress who worked in Buckingham Palace. In present-day England, Caroline, suffering through one setback and disaster after another, inherits the quilt from her grandmother, and is drawn to its beauty and intrigued by its hidden messages. But she has no idea of the real meaning of quilt, hidden inside, and in plain view. She has no clue of its special meaning to her. This book was hard to put down (and I started the fall semester today). I highly recommend it. I hope you are as surprised and delighted as I was.

What an interesting story, spanning three generations of lives. Well written and captivating; couldn't put it down.Recommended read for all; whether you like historical, relational, overcoming serious problems, and much more. This book has so many avenues for a book club's discussion. Our group had 3 nurses who worked in mental hospitals as part of their training so I printed pictures from the internet of the hospital the author used as an idea. Really good.

Liz Trenow's 'The Forgotten Seamstress' was an excellent read, keeping me turning pages til 4 AM! Ms. Trenow quickly makes the reader care about the characters, paints an excellent picture of London life, and offers a surprising plot twist that I would not have predicted when I began the book. The book also offers the reader the opportunity to reflect on advances society has made in humane treatment of mental health problems and in acceptance of differences. 'The Forgotten Seamstress' is complex on many levels yet also an entertaining story you won't be able to put down.

Reading The Forgotten Seamstress was like stepping into a bygone era where needlework and gossip went hand-in-hand. This book made me cherish those special conversations with my grandmother; those moments when the older generation teaches the younger are so dear. Also, the story is a sweet reminder that royalty are not so different from the rest of us, no matter how it might seem on TV. Maria and Caroline’s stories are sure to lodge itself in your heart. I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

I highly recommend this book for a beginning, middle, and happy ending. I could not put my Kindle down. When I lived in Scotland I became fascinated with the Royal Family. I went to the Aberdeen Library to many lectures regarding the Royal Family and was privileged to have witnessed the Royal Wedding - Prince Charles and Diana. This book was the icing on the cake for me.

The story held my interest on a number of levels. Since I love fabrics, sewing, and quilting, the topic of the book was of interest to me. The author did a good job writing about those subjects. The intertwining of the two stories was a bit far-fetched, but I enjoyed it. It kept my interest to see where the author was going. Granted, I did predict the ending much before the author's reveal; however, the unraveling was not too drawn out. To the author's credit, she did not neatly wrap up both storylines at novel's end. It leaves room for reader speculation about what would happen next.

This was my first Liz Trenow book and after reading it, I will read more. You have to read this book!! I will not divulge what happened, but the suspense alone had me on the edge of my seat. Just trust me on this....read this book. The author did a superb job of piecing this story together toward a satisfying end which I wanted a bit more of. Great job Liz Trenow! Now I want a sequel.....

I love books where it goes between the past and the present and ties it all together. This was a well written book with great characters and depth. There was an element of suspense that made it hard to put the book down. I wouldn't say it was a light-hearted story and yet there was always a feeling of hope and positivity. I loved that story centered around a very special quilt. Now I want to make a quilt to share my story.

The Forgotten Seamstress is a unique, intriguing, amazing and fantastic read. I love how the characters and their story just came to life. Liz Trenow really knows how to grab your attention throughout the novel. I'm definitely going to be looking for more by her. Great book! 5+ stars.

The basic premise. had a lot of potential but the overall effect seemed bland. Lots of interesting details about historical fabrics and quilting, but plot and characters are fairly predictable. Would recommend as a pleasant read to anyone who has a special interest in textiles or quilting,

Heirloom quilts always tell a story and this book tells one in a remarkable way while exploring a difficult subject prevalent in the early 20th century. Maria, the girl/woman who made the quilt, tells her story via a tape recording. Caroline's obsession with learning the history of the quilt, so important to her grandmother, is told in real time. Have your box of tissues ready as the stories converge.

One of the best I've read in years: it was as though I was watching a film, it was so realistically written. The conversations flowed, the quilt descriptions emerged as if they were photographs, the marvelous handling of two time periods showed Trenow's amazing literary skill. It was a story I didn't want to end. Thanks, Liz!!

Definitely a book I'd recommend to others who'd enjoy the talk of fabric and quilting and the light historical fiction threading through this story of a contemporary woman who discovers much about herself through an intriguing heirloom.

This intriguing and suspenseful story draws the reader in from beginning to end. It was a fast read just because I could not put it down. You don't have to be a quilter or seamstress to enjoy this; it is full of layers of romance, mystery, history, sadness and joy. I am looking forward to reading other works by this author.

This is a lovely written tale of how life intertwines throughout the years and if you research items of curiosity your existing world just might expand with forgotten tales and forgotten people. And maybe, just maybe the amount of people you can call close friends will grow and grow.

Interesting novel about a lowly seamstress in Windsor Palace who catches the eye of the prince who takes advantage of her naiveté. She thinks he loves her and soon becomes pregnant. Soon afterward she is whisked off to an insane asylum where her baby is taken from her. She is subjected to horrific "treatments" for her crazy rantings about the prince.

This book, about a quilt laden with secrets charmed me. Drawn into the tale, alternating between Pre- WWII and today, the characters are as real and three-dimensional as the reader is. I strongly recommend it for those who love historical fiction with a dash of romance and adventure.

The story was so scattered. Very predictable and things fell in to place so conveniently for Caroline. I know I'm enjoying a book when I look forward to time to read! Not so much with this book. I gave two stars - the cover is pretty!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good story and well written. While I thought there were too many coincidences that allowed the truth to be ferreted out, it is fiction so I'm okay with that. However, I think it is a pretty well known fact that stuff like this happened.

A well-written historical novel. It encompassed British royalty, WWI and WWII, quilting, fabrics, mental illness, and mental institutions. Liz Trenow pulled this all together with interesting characters and fascinating facts from the era. It was an enjoyable light hearted read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fascinating look into orphanages, the plight of the working class and mental health care in the early 1900's. It was also very descriptive that one could visualize the quilt.

This was really good - a bit of history but I don't understand the way children were treated, nor treatment of how the main character was treated later in her life because of a 'mistake'. I couldn't put this book down either, & was sorry it ended!

Author Liz Trenow has written a sweet tale which brings past and present full circle. The characters are believable and you keep reading to see how it all works out.
Though very sad in the end a story worth reading.

I've just recently moved away from legal thrillers to historical fiction, but this brought a little of both factions together as the mystery of a beautiful antique hand-made quilt uncovers Royal ancestry family ties amid family secrets. Heart-breaking, but uplifting.

This was a really well written book and a great story. The only thing I did not like about it was the alternating story lines. It had two stories going at the same time. They were of course eventually tied together. Overall very good.

The story line in this book is centered around a quilt. It is amazing how the main character lived through the struggles in her life through her quilting. I am a quilter and each and everyone of my quilts, simple as they are, are filled with loving thoughts. Quilting is a wonderful pastime!!! This is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

I always enjoy history as part of a novel. This book has that plus cultural norms of the times. The characters were appealing, and the story compelling. Read the authors first novel also. Great story!

This book keeps you reading to find out what happens next. Maria is the main character and was employed as a seamstress in the Royal British palace. Caroline has inherited a quilt and wants to know it's history. She tracks down the woman who made it, locked up in a mental asylum. This is a remarkable story of political intrigue and palace gossip and a young woman's life in the balance.

I read other review before I started reading this book. it did take me awhile to get into the book but once I got into it, i had to finish the book. it is intriguing and entertaining. I enjoyed reading this book like others did.

This book covers two time periods and a variety of interesting characters. It's got some British expressions I had to look up, but that didn't distract me much. An especially good read if you like past secrets, fabric, and something different and memorable.

I love beautiful fabric and with the author's descriptions, I could see and feel the fabrics. The main charater is strong, but i felt that the secondary characters were a bit weak. Overall I really enjoyed the search for the lost quilt.

While telling an interesting story, this book highlights the contrasts in social services between 2 different generations. If you're interested in quilts, read the book club guide and go to the website to see what the quilt might have looked like.