Questions About The Dressmaker's Gift

by Fiona Valpy (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (15)

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Mary Jean I’m pretty sure the author was hinting at epigenetics, for which there is now considerable scientific evidence. However, I do agree that Felicity’s su…moreI’m pretty sure the author was hinting at epigenetics, for which there is now considerable scientific evidence. However, I do agree that Felicity’s suicide doesn’t exactly track well with her mother’s character and beliefs. My thought is that the author put this part in for the purpose of helping Harriet, the descendant of both women, learn to forgive through compassion. And after forgiveness can sometimes come a better understanding, or reframing, of how things unfolded as they did.(less)

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Alicia

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Marilyn

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Lori G It was never disclosed how they got caught. But that interaction with Ernst was perhaps some foreshadowing for the capture.

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Sorry, Mireille: How can Mireille receive and check emails in 1940? These details drive me nuts. Anacronistic.

Allison Agree with Helen. Sophie corresponded with her grandmother Mireille and passed along stories of the war, which Harriet embellished with her own resear…moreAgree with Helen. Sophie corresponded with her grandmother Mireille and passed along stories of the war, which Harriet embellished with her own research and journaling. I also found the level of detail that Harriet “intuited” to be distracting until I decided I preferred the war stories to the present day and just decided to go with suspension of disbelief. (less)

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Unanswered Questions (2)

How can the scene of the three girls in front of the Paris workshop (dated to 1941) be 'more than forty years earlier' sc. than when Harriet found the photo, which, by my calculations, must have been around 2007 (10 years earlier than the main timeline in 2017), i.e. nearly seventy years earlier! Am I missing something or is the author being incredibly careless?

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How can Mariel have emails in 1940?

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