Jennifer Robson

In Jennifer Robson's "Our Darkest Night," twenty-three-year-old Antonina (Nina) is the daughter of a Jewish physician, Dr. Gabriele Mazin. Devora, Nina's mother, is in a care home after having suffered a devastating stroke. The Mazins live in Venice in 1942, a time when the Nazis' stranglehold on much of Europe is steadily tightening. Dr. Mazin has no desire to leave his home, but his good friend, a Roman Catholic priest named Father Giulio Bernardi, warns him that the Jews of Venice may show more eventually be rounded up and deported. Nina's father convinces her, in spite of her heated protests, that she must escape as soon as possible. A Gentile farmer, Niccolò (Nico) Gerardi, a friend and neighbor of Father Bernardi, escorts Nina (who poses as his bride) to the rural farm where Nico lives with his father and six siblings.

The author touchingly depicts Nina's anguish when she abandons her mother and father, as well her unease when she arrives in Mezzo Ciel, where the Gerardis live. Nina is uncomfortable having to pretend to be Nico's wife, although her "husband" is a perfect gentleman who treats her with sensitivity and kindness. Nina, however, is shocked by the venomous reception she receives from Rosa, Nico's sister. Rosa capably runs the household for her father and numerous siblings, and she orders Nina to do her share of chores, such as scrubbing floors, dusting furniture, working in the fields, darning clothes, and hauling and washing loads of laundry. It is not an easy life.

This is an evocative work of historical fiction with a sympathetic hero and heroine. Robson discusses the persecution of Jews in Italy during the German occupation. Also incorporated into the narrative are scenes about the courageous deeds of partisans who valiantly fight against the Nazis, and the altruism of righteous Gentiles who risk their lives to help Jewish families flee their tormentors. What keeps this tale from reaching its full potential is its predictability. Robson inserts an inevitable, paint-by-numbers love story, and introduces a one-dimensional brute—a German officer, Karl Zwerger—who loathes Nico and threatens to destroy him. In the final chapters, Nico and Nina face incredible hardships. Alas, the manner in which the novel concludes robs it of power and credibility. Still, "Our Darkest Night" is heartfelt, has fine descriptive writing, and is told skillfully enough to keep us turning pages, notwithstanding the book's implausible plot twists. show less

It's London in 1953: Coronation Year. The book begins on 1st January with Edie Howard, the owner of the Blue Lion hotel, looking forward to the year ahead but knowing it's going to be hard work. She needs to turn around the Blue Lion's fortunes and as it has a coveted position right on the Coronation procession route she knows she has something unique to offer potential guests.

The Blue Lion is a brilliantly drawn establishment (the illustration at the beginning is also quite literally show more brilliantly drawn). It has residents who live there all the time, along with people who come to stay for shorter lengths of time for holidays. I found it really easy to imagine the look, the feel, the smell of the hotel, the wonderful breakfasts that Cook manages to make, even though so much is still on the ration, and the quite eccentric residents in situ about the place.

Edie Howard is only one of the three main characters. The others are Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer taking her first job as such at Picture Weekly, and James Geddes, a talented artist of Scottish/Indian heritage which doesn't always get him the best reception in 1950s England. The stories of the three characters are woven together perfectly and I found them such engaging creations.

At the heart of the book is a plot to spoil everything that Edie has worked for and it adds a touch of intrigue and excitement to the storyline that mostly revolves around planning for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. I was transported completely to 1953 London, the difficult after-war years mingling with the growing excitement of a new Elizabethan age.

Coronation Year was everything I hoped it would be and more besides. It's absolutely my favourite kind of historical fiction, based around some real events, with a royal theme and several different strands coming together. This is my first book by this author but I do also have The Gown and looking at her other books I think I'd like them all. I do hope for more royal stories in the future too. I absolutely adored this book which utterly captivated and delighted me. show less

“She and Nico had danced under such a sky. They’d sung of love and stardust and the promise of brightening dreams, and she’d been so stupidly certain their happiness would endure. Yet how could goodness endure, let alone flower, in a world that emboldened and embraced men such as Karl Zwerger? And how was she meant to survive when her Nico was no longer a part of it” (269)?

The heart of Our Darkest Night seeks to answer this hard question: How can goodness thrive in a dark and broken show more world, a world that at times embraces and empowers hate and evil, like the rancorous power of Nazi ideology? The answer comes in the voices of Nico and Nina and Father Bernardi and so many other characters in this Italian-set WWII historical fiction story. The answer comes through their voices and their stories that carry—sometimes the smallest—seeds of hope. In small mercies that make big impacts, like the bright stars that pierce the deep midnight-darkness, each of these characters shows how goodness thrives. They put one foot in front of the other, they hold a stranger’s hand to offer comfort, they cling to memories of better yesterdays, they boldly believe in promises and miracles and hope—even in the face of despair.

I desperately wanted this book to move the way that it did, but I’ve read too many hopeless historical fiction novels. I was afraid to hope. But I’m so glad it circled around in the end with Nico and Nina sojourning side by side back to their beloved Italian farm just as they did in the beginning when they were merely strangers. He became the hero of her story, and their journey was such a satisfying circle—a true hero’s journey with both Nico and Nina returning with their reward—home and family and the promise of joy.

“‘The soul unto its star returns’” (267). show less

If I say the word wedding gown, what do you think of? Do you think of a royal wedding gown like Princess Grace's, Princess Diana's, Duchess Catherine's, or Duchess Meghan's? If you are royal obsessed, you probably think of some of those much photographed gowns. What about Queen Elizabeth's wedding gown? Do you think of that one? If you were lucky enough to see the "Fashioning a Reign" exhibit at Buckingham Palace in 2016 like I was, you got to see the intricately embroidered gown in person show more and it is impressive indeed. It was the wedding gown of the future queen but what of the people who made it? Designer Norman Hartnell was credited with the gown but the numerous people who had a hand in its actual creation remain anonymous. Jennifer Robson's new novel, The Gown, focuses on two women who played a major part in the meticulous hand embroidery and on the granddaughter of one, who never knew about the important part her grandmother played in creating Princess Elizabeth's glamorous wedding gown.

Ann Hughes had worked in the embroidery room at Norman Hartnell's Mayfair studio for eleven years, creating beautiful embroidery that had graced the royals' and other wealthy patrons' clothing when Miriam Dassin, a Frenchwoman new to London, joined the atelier. The year was 1947, a year of continuing austerity after WWII The winter was brutally cold and food was scarce but at least Ann had a roof over her head, even if her beloved sister in law, her brother's widow, had moved to Canada, leaving her lonely and in search of a roommate. As Ann and Miriam worked together and got to know each other, Ann invited Miriam to move in. These two very different women became good friends as well as co-workers, sharing their secrets and their heartbreaks, the horrors of war and of life afterwards.

In 2016, in Toronto, journalist Heather Mackenzie is mourning the loss of her Nan. When she discovers several beautiful floral embroidery samples left to her by her grandmother, she decides to research her Nan's life before she moved to Canada, a life never discussed with her daughter or granddaughter. And when Heather discovers that the embroideries match those on Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress, she is more determined than ever to uncover the past her grandmother never shared, a past that will lead her to the celebrated artist Miriam Dassin and to the realization that her grandmother had a hand in the celebrated wedding gown.

There are three different narratives weaving together in this novel, Ann and Miriam in 1947 and Heather in 2016. Ann and Miriam's stories focus on the life of working class young women in the aftermath of the war, their growing friendship, and their dating lives while Heather's story centers mainly on her search to learn more about her late Nan, to uncover the mystery she left behind. Ann and Miriam's stories are a bit more engaging than Heather's, offering more tension and drama than the modern day narrative does. That the 1947 narratives offer a look into the lives of two women who gave their skill and their quiet, unquestionable loyalty in the making of the princess's wedding dress, women who are otherwise anonymous, makes for fascinating reading. Although the wedding gown is central to the story, and to Heather's discovery of information on her Nan, this is as much the story of the necessity of friendship as anything. It is their friendship that helps Miriam confront the nightmare of her past and it is their friendship that gives Ann the courage to do what she ultimately needs to do. It is also that friendship that opens doors and the future to Heather. Readers or Anglophiles looking for engrossing historical fiction, for a tale of women's friendship, or for well done multiple narratives will find this a quick and rewarding read. show less