The Dressmaker's War By Mary Chamberlain
Since the beginning, many wars and battles had occurred, yet only two world wars had happened. Usually to learn about a certain event like World War Ⅱ, you would read a textbook or go online; however, you can read from a fictional novel. An example of a historical fiction is The Dressmaker’s War by Mary Chamberlain.
To summarize, the novel begins in the spring of 1939 in London, Britain; and is about an 18-year old poor maiden named Ada Vaughan. Although Ada grew up in a poor family, she became an amazing and successful dressmaker. One day on her journey home from work, she collided with a handsome young Austrian man named Stanislaus von Lieben and soon the two became lovers. During their trip to Paris, the war was declared and the
two lovers later fled to Belgium; but on the night that Germany invaded Belgium, Stanislaus disappeared and the Nazis soon captured Ada. The book continues about Ada’s life as a prisoner and slave during the war as well as the aftermath. As I was reading this novel, it sparked more interest in me about World War Ⅱ. The storyline was full of love, violence, sexual context, murder, and mysteries, especially with the questionable Stanislaus. Ada was an extremely naive and stupid girl like falling in love at first sight and do everything her boyfriend tells her to do. For me, it broke my heart to read all her choices and actions because although she is naive, I can see the purity and honesty in her heart and she didn’t deserve any of the cruelty she received; and I can connect to this on a personal level. Sometimes I can be naive and I make wrong decisions because of my bluntness and honesty.
How could this story have been told from another point of view? Well to start, it can be in point of view of the man in question: Stanislaus. If it was in Stanislaus’ point of view, it will unravel all his mysteries. One thing for sure is that we will know his reasons for leaving Ada in the beginning of the war and how he perceived Ada this whole time. We can learn what Stanislaus has been doing this whole time during the war and how it affected his work. Another point of view could be through the nun’s eyes. In this story, the nuns were forced to be prisoners to do slave work and help the elderly. Through the nun’s point of view, we can learn how they felt to help the Nazis against their will and how they dealt with beatings, harsh conditions, sexual abuse, and harassment. Thirdly, a point of view can be from Ada’s parents. Through her parents’ point of view, we can learn how it was like to not know of your loved one’s whereabouts. Ada’s parents are kind of like parents of a soldier, but the difference is that Ada’s parents do not know if Ada is dead or not. Lastly, an American soldier’s point of view can tell this story. In the story the American’s fight against the Nazis. Through their point of view, we can learn how it felt like to go against an enemy with guns and tanks; how it is to kill someone; how it felt to rescue survivors, who were delusional; and how it was to go through tough training. These points of views are the most intriguing to learn about World War Ⅱ.
Historical fiction novels are a great alternative to reading about history, yet how accurate is, history is in fiction.
To summarize, the novel begins in the spring of 1939 in London, Britain; and is about an 18-year old poor maiden named Ada Vaughan. Although Ada grew up in a poor family, she became an amazing and successful dressmaker. One day on her journey home from work, she collided with a handsome young Austrian man named Stanislaus von Lieben and soon the two became lovers. During their trip to Paris, the war was declared and the
two lovers later fled to Belgium; but on the night that Germany invaded Belgium, Stanislaus disappeared and the Nazis soon captured Ada. The book continues about Ada’s life as a prisoner and slave during the war as well as the aftermath. As I was reading this novel, it sparked more interest in me about World War Ⅱ. The storyline was full of love, violence, sexual context, murder, and mysteries, especially with the questionable Stanislaus. Ada was an extremely naive and stupid girl like falling in love at first sight and do everything her boyfriend tells her to do. For me, it broke my heart to read all her choices and actions because although she is naive, I can see the purity and honesty in her heart and she didn’t deserve any of the cruelty she received; and I can connect to this on a personal level. Sometimes I can be naive and I make wrong decisions because of my bluntness and honesty.
How could this story have been told from another point of view? Well to start, it can be in point of view of the man in question: Stanislaus. If it was in Stanislaus’ point of view, it will unravel all his mysteries. One thing for sure is that we will know his reasons for leaving Ada in the beginning of the war and how he perceived Ada this whole time. We can learn what Stanislaus has been doing this whole time during the war and how it affected his work. Another point of view could be through the nun’s eyes. In this story, the nuns were forced to be prisoners to do slave work and help the elderly. Through the nun’s point of view, we can learn how they felt to help the Nazis against their will and how they dealt with beatings, harsh conditions, sexual abuse, and harassment. Thirdly, a point of view can be from Ada’s parents. Through her parents’ point of view, we can learn how it was like to not know of your loved one’s whereabouts. Ada’s parents are kind of like parents of a soldier, but the difference is that Ada’s parents do not know if Ada is dead or not. Lastly, an American soldier’s point of view can tell this story. In the story the American’s fight against the Nazis. Through their point of view, we can learn how it felt like to go against an enemy with guns and tanks; how it is to kill someone; how it felt to rescue survivors, who were delusional; and how it was to go through tough training. These points of views are the most intriguing to learn about World War Ⅱ.
Historical fiction novels are a great alternative to reading about history, yet how accurate is, history is in fiction.