Book Review

I have been asked to provide a book review for Jennifer Chiaverini's newest book, 'Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker' to be released January 15, 2013.    This is Ms. Chiaverini's first departure from the Elm Creek Quilt series and she brings back Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley.

From Ms. Chiaverini's website:
Elizabeth Keckley made her professional reputation in Washington, D. C., making expertly fashioned dresses for the city’s elite, among them Mrs. Jefferson Davis and Mrs. Robert E. Lee. In March 1861, Mrs. Lincoln chose her from among numerous applicants to be her personal “modiste,” responsible for creating the First Lady’s beautiful gowns and dressing her for important occasions. In this role, Elizabeth Keckley was quickly drawn into the intimate life of the Lincoln family, a clear-eyed but compassionate witness to events within the private quarters of the White House.

This book is vastly different from the more light hearted books I have read by Jennifer Chiaverini.   Her thorough research into the time period is reflected abundantly throughout the novel.   She captures the essence of her main character Ms. Keckley perfectly.   

In a question and answer with Ms. Jennifer Chiaverini:

Your New York Times bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series has frequently drawn on history to great acclaim, and your passion for the American people, their struggles and triumphs, shines through. What is it about the antebellum and Civil War eras, especially, that intrigues you as a writer?

The antebellum and Civil War eras were a tumultuous and transformative time for our nation, showing the best and worst of humanity in stark contrast. Looking back, we discover great moral failings alongside true heroism in the struggle for justice, equality, and freedom. My personal heroes are people who face adversity with moral courage and dignity, whose hunger for justice and compassion for others lead them to stand up for what is right even at great risk to themselves. My favorite characters to write about either possess similar qualities, or are given the opportunity to summon up these qualities and do what is right but fall short. What slavery, the Underground Railroad, secession, and the Civil War say about our country—that we are capable of both great moral failings and tremendous goodness—resonates strongly even today, perhaps especially today, and as a creative person, I am drawn to explore and try to understand that conflict. 

I found the novel compelling enough to keep coming back to and am frankly thrilled that Ms. Chiaverini can write with such a different hand compared to her other novels.   

This is a book I would certainly recommend to quilters and to those that like a good novel.

Quilt Author - Jennifer Chiaverini

A few years ago our guild did a program called 'secret sister', where each month you bought the same person a little gift. And at the end of the year, you revealed yourself.   My 'secret sister' bought me a few of the 'Elm Creek Quilts' books by Jennifer Chiaverini.   By the end of the year, I had either borrowed or purchased all of them.

I absolutely loved her! Imagine capturing a novel with not only your favourite passion as the basis of it, but making it come alive with a continuing set of characters that had so much heart to them you felt like they were your best friends.

When I was asked to do a book review of her latest book, 'The Giving Quilt', I could hardly wait to start.  I might add that I finished the book in two days.

The story is about a group of quilters getting together at Elm Creek Manor to participate in a week of charity quilting called 'Quiltsgiving'.  It focuses on the interesting background of six women and what led them to Elm Creek Manor, and how their new friendships helped them to heal and grow.

Now I will admit, the book is broken into chapters from the perspective of each woman.  I had a little trouble at the beginning getting my head around that, but once I did, I couldn't wait to finish a chapter to see how the next quilter was handling her week at the Manor.

If you have never read a book by Ms. Chiaverini, or you are a die hard fan of yours, you will not be disappointed by her latest book, 'The Giving Quilt'.   

Book Review

I was contacted a few months ago to do a book review on Jennifer Chiaverini's newest book, 'Sonoma Rose'.   You may know her as the author of the 'Elm Creek' series.   Her books are based around a quilt or quilters and the story continues from there.  

I will admit up front that I loved the Elm Creek series and have yet to find another book(s) that captured my heart when it came to a well written book that included my love for quilting.  

Having said all of that, I was delighted with the story of 'Sonoma Rose'.  I know nothing about Prohibition or wine making or what life was like back then.   This story told of all of that and unraveled the story of a young woman and her life.   Ms. Chiaverini did it in such a way as you were often taken back to the past, so essentially you got two stories told to you.   But trust me when I say this, it was not done in a way that made you get lost in what time frame you were in.  So often I have seen writers try and do this and they fail miserably.  I was delighted that this author did it in a manner that only heightened the character's traits.

Here is what is stated on Jennifer Chiaverini's website:

As the nation grapples with the strictures of Prohibition, Rosa Diaz Barclay lives on a Southern California rye farm with her volatile husband, John, who has lately found another source of income far outside the Federal purview.

Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the loss of four who succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease currently afflicting young Ana and Miguel. Two daughters born of another father are in perfect health. When an act of violence shatters Rosa’s resolve to maintain her increasingly dangerous existence, she flees with the children and her precious heirloom quilts to the mesa where she last saw her beloved mother alive.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a wonderful story involving quilting that is set in Prohibition times and how life for a woman revolved back then, this is your book.   I give it two thumbs up!