The Dressmaker (Bainbridge novel)

The Dressmaker (US title The Secret Glass) is a gothic psychological novel written by Beryl Bainbridge. In 1973, it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like many of Bainbridge's earlier works, the novel is semi-autobiographical. In particular, the story was inspired by a relationship that she had with a soldier as a teenager. The characters of Nellie and Margo were based upon two of her paternal aunts.[2]

The Dressmaker
First edition
AuthorBeryl Bainbridge
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenrePsychological Fiction
PublisherDuckworth (UK)
George Braziller (US)
Publication date
1973 (UK), 1974 (US)
Media typePrint
Pages152[1]
ISBN0-7156-0721-9
OCLC746555
LC ClassPZ4.B162 Dr PR6052.A3195

Plot

Set in Liverpool and Lancashire during World War II, a repressed dressmaker and her sister struggle looking after their 17-year-old niece, who is having a delusional affair with an American soldier.

Reception

The Dressmaker was almost unanimously praised by critics. Karl Miller of the New York Review of Books called it "a magnificent book" about isolation and family strife. The Times Literary Supplement said that the novel was a "remarkable achievement ... Miss Bainbridge's imagination pushes her towards nightmare, and her eye for detail is macabre." [3]

Publication history

  • 1973, UK, Gerald Duckworth, ISBN 0-7156-0721-9, Hardback
  • 1974, US, George Braziller, ISBN 0-8076-0746-0, Hardback (as The Secret Glass)
  • 1974, UK, Fontana, ISBN 0-00-613691-5, Paperback
  • 1975, US, Signet, ISBN 0-451-06675-8, Paperback (as The Secret Glass)
  • 1985, UK, Flamingo, ISBN 0-00-654081-3, Paperback
  • 1992, UK, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-015699-2, Pub date 30 Jul 1992, Paperback
  • 1994, UK, Chivers, ISBN 0-74-512272-8, Large print
  • 1996, US, Carroll & Graf, ISBN 0-7867-0322-9, Pub date 1 May 1996, Paperback
  • 1999, UK, Soundings, ISBN 1-8604-2610-7, Pub date 01 Jul 1999, audio CD (read by Jacqueline King)[4]
  • 2010, UK, Abacus, ISBN 0-349-12370-5, Paperback

[5]

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted for film in 1988 by starring Jane Horrocks as Rita, Billie Whitelaw as Marge and Joan Plowright as Nellie. The screenwriter was John McGrath and Billie Whitelaw won the 1988 Evening Standard British Film Award for best actress for her role.

References

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