The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes
Secrets from a Victorian Woman’s Wardrobe
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The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes
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Narrated by:
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Karen Cass
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By:
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Kate Strasdin
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
The hidden fabric of a Victorian woman's life - from family and friends to industry and Empire - told through her unique textile scrapbook.
In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of her life and times. Her name was Mrs Anne Sykes.
Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Strasdin spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within the album's pages.
Piece by piece, she charts Anne's journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry.
This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.
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Critic reviews
'An extraordinarily rich record of middle-class Victorian life.. [a] fascinating book' Guardian
'The story of a singular woman... Kate Strasdin's forensic detective work has finally let Mrs Sykes - and her book - speak again.' Judith Flanders
'Irresistible.' The Times
What listeners say about The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susanna Parkinson
- 01-05-24
A pure delight
What an absolute joy to listen to. A little window into
Anne’s life through the pages of her book and a lesson in fashion and social history.
I just wish there was an accompanying pdf of the fabric swatches with the audio book that you get with the paper version.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Carrie
- 22-09-24
A history through fashion
I enjoyed this book presenting a 19th century social history through fashion and material culture that touched on a wide array of women’s lives.
A bit repetitive in places and narrator was not the best but overall I enjoyed it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Claireg
- 21-07-23
Fascinating and wonderful history of textiles
I loved this book - a history of textiles and their construction, trading and the people who wore them in the 19th century, told through swatches and scraps in the diary. So personalised and meticulously researched. I am now desperate to see the dress diary in real life!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PinkFeijoa
- 29-06-23
Wonderful! I wished it would never end!
Truly wonderful book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have an interest in textiles, clothing and/or history then this is the book for you. Beautifully written & so many wonderful stories woven through. Highly recommend.
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1 person found this helpful