A Dress Of Violet Taffeta

A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle Époque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique design from the USA Today bestselling author of In Royal Service to the Queen. Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her? When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses she made for her dolls were the envy of her group of playmates. Now, she uses her creative designs and her remarkable eye for color to take her place in the fashion world—failure is not an option. Then, on a frigid night in 1912, Lucy’s life changes once more, when she becomes one of 706 people to survive the sinking of the Titanic. She could never have imagined the effects the disaster would have on her fashion label Lucile, her marriage to her second husband, and her legacy. But no matter what life throws at her, Lucy will live on as a trailblazing and innovative fashion icon, never letting go of what she worked so hard to earn. This is her story.

'Fans of The Crown will enjoy this poignant look behind the royal curtain' GEORGIE BLALOCK A crown princess. Her childhood nanny. A shocking betrayal... Marion Crawford is just twenty-two years old when she becomes governess to the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose in 1931. As their beloved 'Crawfie', she is instantly confided in, trusted and immersed in the lives of the royal family. As World War II finally comes to an end, it's clear that Princess Elizabeth has fallen in love. Now heiress presumptive to the British throne, no one believes that Prince Philip of Greece is a suitable husband for the future Queen of England. No one, that is, except for Crawfie. For Crawfie, too, has fallen in love - and has convinced her fiancé George that they must wait for Elizabeth and Philip to receive the King's blessing before she leaves the service of the Crown. Yet soon she finds herself torn between her loyalty to Princess Elizabeth and losing the man she loves. But no one ever anticipated the betrayal that will sever her bond with the royal family forever...

Lauren Begay is twenty-something, engaged, and miserable in Chicago. With her wedding to high school sweetheart Ben just months away, Lauren knows in her heart she can't walk down the aisle. A proud workaholic and interior design assistant, she is chasing a promotion that will elevate her design career, preferring to study blueprints over wedding dresses. With her girlfriends eager to throw her bridal parties and a bachelorette bash, Lauren feels the pressure to put a stop to the wedding plans. The fear of the unknown and being single after a decade with Ben has Lauren reevaluating her cold feet.Amidst juggling her career and upcoming wedding, Lauren is also trying to keep her friendships intact after a stunning secret is revealed between two of the girls. With tensions rising high and causing rifts between the six friends, Lauren's hesitance on her wedding soon isn't the only drama impacting her life.This third book in a six-part girlfriend series continues the stories of Lauren, Breely, Nora, Scarlett, Kristy and Tinsley, and takes readers on six individual stories about relationships, career choices, personal conflict and the bond of friendship.

As the War for Independence wore on into the 1780s, unrest ruled the Carolinas. Settlers who had cleared the land after the Cherokees withdrew were being mustered for battle as British forces pillaged their hard-won farms. Robert Morgan's stunning novel tells a story of two people caught in the chaos raging in the wilderness. After sixteen-year-old Josie Summers murders her abusive stepfather, she runs away from home disguised as a boy. Lost in the woods, she accepts a young preacher's invitation to assist in his itinerant ministry. Eventually her identity is revealed and affection grows between the two. But when the preacher is kidnapped by British soldiers, Josie disguises herself once again and joins the militia in a desperate attempt to find him. Brave Enemies is a page-turning story of people brought together by chance and torn apart by war—a story of enduring love and of the struggle to build a homeland.