Great book - characters were good and it kept me captivated from the first page to the last. Will look for others by this author

A believable story about a Vanessa who's strong, talented and smart in the world of the theatre set after the second world war. Finding fabrics for dresses and costumes among both allies and enemies clearly provides challenge, intrigue and great stories to regale.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

I am obsessed with everything costume and wardrobe and I love historical fiction so this book jumped out to me from the title with the description only making me want to read it more.
Eagerly I jumped in and although I wasn't disappointed in the story I didn't love it as much as i wanted too.
Obviously I loved the subject matter and the setting, but the characters just tainted the experience. They felt twee and contrived in their personalities and their actions. While they were not bad characters they were....difficult.
The setting was amazing. I felt and saw every part of the work Evans created and created beautifully.
This book has a meandering pace that at times feels a little lost, but the ending certainly ties up all the loose threads very well.
Grab this book as your ticket to a 2 night read with an interval in the middle to grab snacks, drinks and maybe a quick repair to your costume. Enjoy.

Initially I was unsure if I even liked this book, but by a third of the way through I couldn't put it down,
Vanessa survives WWII but with no life to rejoin. She finds a family at the bombed-out theatre of oddballs and the lovely dog, MacDuff who has only three legs.
What she feels for the Commander swings between fury, contempt and adoration. She finds real friends a the theatre along with enemies.
Mostly set just by the end of the war, the privations and restrictions along with rationing and bombed records add to the grinding grimness of the time, whilst the life and gaiety provided by the stage and the glorious costumes offset this somewhat - or they would do if fabric wasn't rationed!
This is so well researched and has such accurate details it is an absolute joy to read

This was a lively and engaging read, one that painted brightly coloured pictures of the theatrical world in the early 20th century. With sympathetic characters and a fast-paced plot, The Wardrobe Mistress is a book worth inhaling in a single sitting.

an interesting insight into post WW2 London and the theatre world . a good holiday or bedtime read , good themes.

I felt like I had been waiting for ages for the new book from Natalie Meg Evans to be published and when finally I got my hands on The Wardrobe Mistress I couldn't wait to read it. I have loved everything the author has written in the past and she has become one of my favourite historical fiction authors. Both the cover and the blurb for this new book seemed very intriguing and I felt another very good read was in store. The book is split into four parts and follows the story of Vanessa Kingcourt as she undertakes a journey to uncover family secrets which if revealed could change everything she had believed to be true. The brief prologue was very intriguing and takes us back to a very young Vanessa as she goes to the theatre with her father at Christmas. It's all such a wonder to her but something unusual happens which despite her age will stay in her mind for a very long time to come.

The story then jumped in time to 1945 and I felt we were back on familiar territory as the author had written about the war in her previous books but as it was in the closing stages the war itself would not dominate the remainder of the story, and it became clear the author was edging away from what she had written before and venturing to a whole new world – the world of theatre. It took me quite some time to get into the pace of the story as with the author's previous books I thought there was lots going on and they were full of mystery and suspense. The mystery was here but I found the pace slower and at some points hard going as not much happened. It was in the later half of the book that I found myself really getting into the story as everything started to come together piece by piece and things were ramped up more than a notch.

Emerging from the war after spending years as a wireless operator, Vanessa is without direction having lost her husband. She needs to reconnect with her family as she has not seen her father for 19 years and the relationship she has with her mother is strained and complicated. But events conspire against her and reuniting with her father is not be. What next for Vanessa? An encounter with a ship's captain Alastair Redenhall leads to a journey which Vanessa never expected to undertake that has connections and twists and turns that the reader would never have foreseen.

The story then unfolded told from the perspectives of Vanessa and Alastair. Alastair has inherited a theatre from his godfather which couldn't be more different from the times he has spent away fighting at sea. He is doing his best to get a new production up and running in the hopes of bringing the glory days back to the Farren theatre. A ray of light on the streets of London after so many years in the darkness of war. Combined with this his personal life is not the best as he is battling with his wife. There is an emotional tug of war as Fern wants a divorce but he is not willing to give it to her. Fern was one of the best characters in the book. She had wit and was able to wind people around her little finger. She played a game of cat and mouse and was quite clever behind it all. I thought Alastair was an enigma of sorts in that sides to his character were very slowly revealed or that what you believed to be true about him wasn't right at all. He presented many different personas. as did lots of characters in this book, and given it focused on the theatre and the stage that would seem apt given actors play so many different roles across their lifetimes. Alastair had a tough image as a sea captain and now he had to take on this new role and make the theatre profitable once again. There was something about him, the way he was written that made me feel I could like this man if I met him in real life. That beneath the exterior he presents to the employees of the theatre or even his dealings with his wife that there was a softer side to him. That he could be a man filled with compassion and understanding and he shows his softer side as he gets to know Vanessa more.

It's against the backdrop of the rehearsals and pre-production for the play that Vanessa once again comes into contact with Alastair. She responds to the advertisement looking for a wardrobe mistress. Given she has no real experience it is surprising she gets the job but as the reader comes to know her better it's a mark of her character that once she sets her mind to something she never backs down nor gives up but stands firm until she works and works to achieve something and to find answers. For that is what she is looking for too, her father had been an actor and although towards the end his career may not have been glittering she still wants to know more about him and her family heritage. Why did that visit to the Farren Theatre where she is now employed stay so vividly in her mind?

Vanessa like any character did have her vulnerable side too. She was lonely and hurt after her experiences in the war and given she had lost her husband despite the briefness of the marriage she must have been bewildered at what her next step would be. But soon Alastair inspires something in her, reawakens what has been dormant, an emotional pull that given the chance could blossom into something more but is there too much against them for happiness to be achieved? At the same time the opportunity to uncover things people want secret proves too hard too resist for Vanessa and just what is the significance of a certain item she wears around her neck?

There were an awful lot of characters introduced as the story progressed and that was understandable given the cast of the play and the people who had invested in the theatre. Some of the characters I paid little heed to although there was one loitering on the sidelines whom struck me as being odd yet significant. As Vanessa adapts to her new role as wardrobe mistress and attempts to get the costumes ready for the opening of the show there were a few twists and turns yet nothing major. I felt everything was slowly very slowly building and building to a dramatic conclusion and I would have been disappointed if this had not been the case. I felt the overall tone of the book was of tension and nervousness and at times I thought it was quite dark compared to the author's previous books. Where the author did excel was the descriptions of the theatre itself, the creation of the costumes, the routine and rehearsals for the play and how the actors prepared. Clearly a lot of in-depth research had gone into this and that's what I love about Natalie Meg Evans novels the research combined with a story that grips you and has you asking so many questions in a bid to tie up loose ends.

The Wardrobe Mistress wasn't my favourite read from this author still none the less it is a very good read. I think I didn't favour it as much as her previous books because for me the pace picked up slightly too late. The latter sections of the book kept me rapidly turning the pages desperately searching for all the answers just as Vanessa so desperately was too. Just when you thought everything was resolving itself something else was thrown in putting everything off track. All the little clues laid down throughout the book became red herrings and I was surprised more than once towards the end at all the revelations unfolding. It paid off to keep going with this story despite my misgivings about the earlier parts of the book and I think most people will enjoy this new story from Natalie Meg Evans.

This the third book I have read by Natalie Meg Evans and it did not disappoint. This author really knows how to do historical fiction beautifully.

I loved the post-war theatre setting and the colourful characters, and the mystery and intrigue made it a captivating read. Highly recommended.

The Wardrobe Mistress is a fabulous read ,telling the story of Vanessa a young woman with a sad background and set just after WW2 in London's theatre land. It is a love story with a mystery woven through it . I loved the characters and the ending was perfect

An easy pleasurable read. Vanessa is trying to find the truth about who her parents are. This is an enjoyable way to escape for a few hours.

Having enjoyed The Dress Theif I couldn't wait to read the Wardrobe Mistress and I was not disappointed.
A dazzling love story set in the theatre land of post war London but combined with amystery that runs throughout the story and is not resolved until the story reaches its conclusion..
It also deals with a lot of social issues that were relevant at that time regarding divorce and homosexuality.
Absolutely brilliant

Wow, an unputdownable book! A bit slow at the beginning getting into it but once I got going, the characters had me hooked. Poor Vanessa, torn between her love for Alistair and being rejected. I loved the theatrical setting to this book and could imagine the wonderful costumes that had to be produced for Lady Windermere's Fan. A very interesting insight into the world of theatre and all that it entails. Will look out for more from this author. Well researched.

I enjoyed reading this book on the whole, but found a few sections rather long-winded. Lots of lovely descriptions of theatre and costumes, and a nice handling of the WW2 vibe in London. Some good characters. All in all a nice read for the summer or on a long train journey.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book in return for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher. I absolutely loved this wonderful book. The authors writing is fantastic and a very very worthwhile read.