Delicious Dior with Natasha Lester

I recently had the delightful pleasure of meeting charming historical fiction author Natasha Lester at the Brisbane GenreCon writers' conference. There I was fascinated to hear Natasha talk about her researching process. She shared about the importance of immersing yourself as a writer into all the fine details of the places you write about. I bought a copy of her latest release, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre, which is set in Paris, LA, New York and Switzerland before, during and after World War 2. Natasha's expertise in the research area is clear, as I soon became fully immersed in life in 1940's Paris. I could hear the rustle of the silk Dior gowns and feel the ambience of the Paris Ritz hotel.

The 1947 part of the story centres on the new fashion house of Christian Dior and the publicity around the opening show. I found myself longing to get behind a sewing machine and make myself a fabulous gown! Paris comes alive under the brilliant hand of the author who weaves the glamour of Dior with the heartache of loss and pain during the war and brings them together into a gloriously impossible romance that is all the sweeter for the obstacles that seem to prevent it. You can view my Goodreads review here and I thoroughly recommend reading Natasha Lester's beautiful book.