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The Seamstress of New Orleans

Audiobook
Fiction
Unabridged   11.5 hour(s)
Publication date: 05/31/2022

The Seamstress of New Orleans

Available from major retailers or BUY FROM AMAZON
Digital Download ISBN:9781696607384

Summary

Against the backdrop of the first all-female Mardi Gras krewe in turn-of-the-century New Orleans, Diane McPhail's mesmerizing historical novel tells of two strangers separated by background but bound by an unexpected secret—and of the strength and courage women draw from and inspire in each other.

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Product Description

The year 1900 ushers in a new century and the promise of social change, and women rise together toward equality. Yet rules and restrictions remain, especially for women like Alice Butterworth, whose husband has abruptly disappeared. Desperate to make a living for herself and the child she carries, Alice leaves Chicago far behind, offering sewing lessons at a New Orleans orphanage.

Constance Halstead, a young widow, has thrown herself into charitable work. Meeting Alice at the orphanage, she offers lodging in exchange for Alice's help creating a gown for the Leap Year ball of Les Mysterieuses, the first all female krewe of Mardi Gras. During Leap Years, women have the rare opportunity to take control in their interactions with men, and upend social convention. Piece by piece, the breathtaking gown takes shape, becoming a symbol of strength for both women.

But Constance carries a burden that makes it impossible to feel truly free. Her husband, Benton, whose death remains a dangerous mystery, was deep in debt to the Black Hand, the vicious gangsters who controlled New Orleans's notorious Storyville district. Benton's death has not satisfied them. And as the Mardi Gras festivities reach their fruition, a secret emerges that will cement the bond between Alice and Constance even as it threatens the lives they're building . . .

Reviews/Praise

“An undercurrent of New Orleans’s dark side propels the story, heightening the tension and supplying McPhail with a wealth of evocative details.” – Publishers Weekly

"Narrator Jessica Marchbank is a classically trained vocalist, and that shows in her performance of this audiobook focused on two women in early-twentieth-century New Orleans." --AudioFile

Author Bio

Diane C. McPhail is an artist, a minister, and the acclaimed author of The Abolitionist's Daughter and The Seamstress of New Orleans. A member of NC Writers Network and the Historical Novel Society, she lives in Highlands, North Carolina. Visit her online at dianemcphailauthor.com.