Claude Reynaud is a small-town, middle-aged French dressmaker, spending all his days and nights creating stunning attire for the upper-crust women of Paris. Women flock to his small tailor shop as they claim his creations transform their lives. Claude's artistry helps add glamour and excitement to the lives of others, yet his life seems quite subdued in contrast. His wife left him eight years earlier and he never bothered to get a divorce. He had never been in love, so maybe he rationalized he didn't need one.

Enter Valentine de Verlay. Claude is immediately taken aback by her graceful, elegant beauty. He is hired to make her a wedding dress for her upcoming nuptials to a childhood, family friend. Claude falls hopelessly in love with Valentine, who has an unpleasant fiancé and some complicated reasoning for getting married.

THE DRESSMAKER is written in a refreshing, airy tone that is almost poetic in its descriptions of everyday pleasures. It expertly captures the world of haute couture and transports the reader to a world few of us experience in real life. THE DRESSMAKER reads a bit like a modern-day fairy tale.