The Gown

The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding is a 2019 work of historical fiction by Jennifer Robson. The novel explores post-War World II Britain through the stories of the women who made Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding gown. The narrative follows three protagonists: Ann, a senior embroiderer at Norman Hartnell; Miriam, a French Jew who emigrates to England after the war; and Ann’s granddaughter Heather, who looks for answers about her grandmother’s past after she dies. The three narrators’ stories intertwine between 1947 and 2016 to reveal the underappreciated women who made Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

Jennifer Robson is a best-selling author of six novels, all set in and around the World Wars. She holds a doctorate in British economic and social history from the University of Oxford. She resides in Toronto, Canada.

This guide uses the 2019 paperback edition by HarperCollins publishers.

Content Warning: The source material features a depiction of sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Ann and Miriam’s stories begin in England during the winter of 1947, one of the coldest on record. Ann, a senior embroiderer for Norman Hartnell, and her fellow workers have just finished a commission from the royal household, a large selection of gowns for the upcoming royal tour of South Africa. Ann makes plans to plant her gift from the queen, a pot of white heather from Balmoral, the royal estate in Scotland, in her garden in the spring.

Meanwhile, Miriam has just arrived in England from France. She is a Jew who survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp. She assumed a false identity during the war and was arrested for aiding the Resistance not because she was a Jew. She arrives in England with a letter of recommendation from Dior, the famous French designer, for her embroidery. Miriam looks for work, but all the English designers rudely turn her away. Before she approaches Hartnell, Miriam decides to brush up on her English for a couple of months.

While Miriam is searching for work, Ann’s friend Doris announces her engagement. Ann sketches a wedding gown for Doris to make by altering her mother’s old wedding gown. Eventually, Miriam approaches Hartnell with her letter of recommendation from Dior, and he hires her on the spot. He introduces her to Miss Duley, the head of the embroidery workroom, and Ann whom she will be partnered with. A couple months later, Princess Elizabeth becomes engaged to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. Miss Duley confides to Ann privately that Hartnell is already at work on a design, and Ann will be asked to make the embroidery samples to accompany it. Miss Duley also asks Ann to befriend the shy Miriam. Ann strikes up a conversation with Miriam, and they become roommates. Soon after, Hartnell announces that he has been chosen to make the royal wedding gowns. He asks Miriam and Ann to make embroidery samples of the flowers. He reminds them they must not breathe a word of the design outside the workroom.

A few weeks later, the women from the workroom go dancing to celebrate Doris. At the dance hall, Ann is approached by Jeremy Thickett-Milne, a rich, handsome army captain. After their dance, he gives her his card and tells her to call. Ann is conflicted about whether to call him. On their way home, Miriam’s shoe gets stuck in a street grate, and Walter Kaczmarek, the editor of the magazine Picture Weekly, comes to her aid. He gives Miriam his card and asks her to call him. Ann calls Jeremy a few days later, but a woman answers and tells Ann not to call again. After work one night, Ann runs into Jeremy in the street, and he apologizes for his sister’s prank. After a café dinner, Ann agrees to a second date at a fancy restaurant. While Ann is on her second date with Jeremy, a rich couple approaches their table, and he doesn’t introduce her. Ann is conflicted about his behavior. Meanwhile, Miriam starts seeing Walter regularly.

The day after Ann’s second date, the queen and princesses pay an unexpected visit to the workroom to see the progress on the gown. While they are with Hartnell, Ann sees Jeremy, an aide to the queen, who pretends he doesn’t know her. Ann is hurt, but Jeremy begs her forgiveness in a letter, so she agrees to go to dinner with him again. Jeremy picks her up in his car and takes her by his home to get his gloves, which he had forgotten. He invites her inside where he reveals how angry he is that she won’t give details about the wedding gown. He rapes her and then steals the drawing of Doris’s wedding gown from her purse. Jeremy leaks the sketch to the press as Elizabeth’s gown. Ann tearfully confesses to Miss Duley and Hartnell. They forgive her, and Miriam makes sure Hartnell knows the real culprit is Jeremy.

After they finish the gown, Ann is invited to watch the royal wedding with Miss Duley and Miss Holliday, head of sewing. Miriam goes to the palace on the wedding day in case of a sewing emergency. After the wedding, Miriam figures out Ann is pregnant, and Ann reveals she must move to Canada because people in England won’t accept her as an unwed mother. Ann moves to Canada, and Miriam moves into the flat of one of Walter’s friends. Walter asks Miriam to spend forever with him, and she agrees.

Running in parallel with the story of Ann and Miriam is the story of Heather, set in 2016. Heather gets a phone call from her mother saying that her grandmother, Ann Hughes, is dead. After the memorial reception, Heather’s mother gives her a box from her grandmother labeled “For Heather.” Inside, she finds beautiful embroidery samples and a picture of Ann in a sewing workroom. Heather researches and discovers that her grandmother worked for Norman Hartnell on Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown. Heather also finds that she was friends with the famous artist Miriam Dassin. Heather is laid off from her job because of corporate restructuring and takes this opportunity to figure out what she is passionate about doing. She vacations to London hoping to find out more about her Ann. She connects with Daniel Friedman, one of the people involved in a retrospective exhibit of Miriam Dassin’s work. Daniel reveals he’s Miriam’s grandson; he arranges a meeting between Heather and Miriam

Miriam invites Heather on a tour of Buckingham Palace with her and Daniel, where Heather sees Elizabeth’s wedding gown in person. Heather is then invited to a reception for Miriam. Daniel escorts her, and Miriam thanks Heather in honor of her grandmother, who was the first person to believe she could be an artist. Heather decides to write what she is passionate about, a story of the women who made Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown.