Starred review from July 16, 2018
Lester whisks readers away to the past in this marvelous pair of intertwined romances. Fearing repercussions from the Germans for aiding the French resistance, seamstress Estella Bissette leaves Paris for New York in 1940. Once shipboard, she meets Sam, a talented American pattern cutter; after starting work in New York, Estella befriends Janie, a beautiful Australian model. Sam and Janie join Estella at a high-society party, where Estella shares a kiss with Alex Montrose, a British spy she’d met in Paris. But Estella discovers that Alex kissed her believing that she was Lena Shaw, a woman who looks exactly like Estella. Fast-forward to 2015 New York City, where Fabienne Bissette attends the annual Met Gala for an exhibit honoring her grandmother Estella, now a famed designer. At her grandmother’s urging, Fabienne spends a weekend in Paris and meets Tiffany designer Will Ogilvie. Will and Fabienne fall in love, but their relationship is hampered by the distance between her home in Australia and his in New York. Their complicated romance is expertly juxtaposed against the story of Estella’s life as she struggles to become successful and copes with the secrets her mother hid from her, including why she and Lena look so much alike. This rich, memorable novel unfolds beautifully from start to finish. Agent: Jacinta di Mase Management.