As always, biggest thanks go to Rebecca Saunders at Hachette Australia, publisher extraordinaire, who, when I telephoned her in late 2015 with a barely formed idea of writing about the fashion industry in the 1940s, said: Write it. That’s a book I want to read. I did write it, and the whole way through she was supportive, encouraging and, as always, perceptive in her editing. Her belief in the book made me believe in turn that maybe it wasn’t too bad, that maybe somebody would read it, and perhaps even enjoy it.
The rest of the team at Hachette are also fabulous. From sales to marketing to publicity to editorial, I am very blessed to work with such amazing people.
In writing this book, I am indebted to the wonderful Margaux, my tour guide through Your Paris Experience, who walked me around and talked me through the Marais district in Paris, and the historical fashion district of Paris—the Sentier. She took me to the Atelier Legeron, where I was able to watch women making the flower and feather decorations for couture dresses, as Estella does in the book. Margaux also introduced me to the beautiful Théâtre du Palais-Royal, which I knew, as soon as I saw it, had to go into the book.
My sincere thanks also go to Matthew Baker from Levys’ Unique New York for a fabulous tour of Gramercy Park and surrounds and to Mike Kaback for an illuminating tour of New York’s Garment District.
I’ve always said I love a dusty archive and in writing this book, I am hugely grateful to Jenny Swadosh, Associate Archivist at the New School in Manhattan for access to the Claire McCardell fashion sketches collection and the André Studios collection of sketches, and for pointing me in the direction of the alumni newsletters which alerted me to the existence of the Paris School.
The National Archives in Kew has a treasure trove of information about MI9, which I used extensively.
I also read many books as part of the research process, among the most helpful of which were: MI9: Escape and Evasion 1939–1945 by Michael Foot and J. M. Langley; Fleeing Hitler: France 1940 by Hanna Diamond; Avenue of Spies by Alex Kershaw; Paris at War: 1939–1944 by David Drake; Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved and Died in the 1940s by Anne Sebba; 1940s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook by Emmanuelle Dirix and Charlotte Fiell; Fashion Is Spinach by Elizabeth Hawes; Claire McCardell: Redefining Modernism by Kohle Yohannan and Nancy Nolf; The American Look: Fashion, Sportswear and the Image of Women in 1930s and 1940s New York by Rebecca Arnold; Fashion Under the Occupation by Dominique Veillon; Paris Fashion: A Cultural History by Valerie Steele; Forties Fashion: From Siren Suits to the New Look by Jonathan Walford; Women of Fashion: Twentieth Century Designers by Valerie Steele; A Stitch in Time: A History of New York’s Fashion District by Gabriel Montero; American Ingenuity: Sportswear 1930s–1970s by Richard Martin; and Ready-to-Wear and Ready-to-Work: A Century of Industry and Immigrants in Paris and New York by Nancy L. Green.
The quote on page 134 about beautiful clothes and French Couturières comes from Elizabeth Hawes’s book, Fashion Is Spinach, and is reproduced here by kind permission of Dover Publications. The headline of the newspaper article that Alex shows to Estella on page 148 is borrowed from the June 26, 1906 edition of The Washington Times. The poem that both Alex and Fabienne quote from is called Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep, by Mary Elizabeth Frye.
My family get as excited as I do about my books, and there’s nothing better than taking my kids to a bookshop and having them shout, at the tops of their voices: Look Mummy! There’s your book! Ruby, Audrey, and Darcy, I adore you. To Russell, who always takes every opportunity to tell everyone he meets about my books, thank you for your unfaltering support.
Finally, a book is nothing without its readers and I have the best, most loyal, most enthusiastic readers in the world. Thank you to everyone who has ever read any of my books. I hope you enjoyed reading this one too.