By Danielle Steele
The Deveraux family were among the most important members of 1920s San Francisco society, and the wedding of their daughter, Eleanor, to wealthy banker Alexander Allen would be the highlight of the 1929 social calendar.
The wedding, held in the family’s magnificent Pacific Heights mansion, was everything they’d hoped, and Eleanor’s dress was a triumph. Designed by one of the most famous fashion houses in Paris, it was exquisite in every way.
But the dream life was about to come to an end, along with the most perfect honeymoon in Europe, when Alex received news of the Wall Street Crash. It seemed that the family was about to lose everything . . .
In the years that followed, the Deveraux lived through periods of huge social and political change, not only in America but in the rest of the world. What brought them together was the beautiful wedding dress, first worn by Eleanor, which remained a family heirloom and continued to hold a special place in the hearts of a family desperate to survive the turmoil and changing fortunes of the times.
ISBN: 9781509878079
Copies courtesy of the publisher, Pan MacMillan Australia
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steele. You can read their feedback in the comments section below, or add your own review.
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I read The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel and enjoyed it as just about all her books. I liked the fact that even though successive brides in the family wore the dress, there was at least one who rebelled against the tradition and did her own thing. It was positive to read about the family’s fight to get there wealth back.
The Wedding dress follows the story of 4 generations of women and their lives starting in 1928 with the extremely wealthy mother Louise and daughter Eleanor Deveraux. The enchanted and luxurious lifestyle they lead and the expensive and beautiful debutante ball gown they travel to Paris to have custom designed and then later Eleanor’s even more extravagant however timeless wedding dress.
The story begins in a fairy-tale style setting of love and romance; however, it quickly changes as their lives turn upside down both on a global world scale and on their own individual personal level.
I really enjoyed Eleanor and her mother’s characters. Eleanor being the major character of the book bought a strong, loving, and supportive feel to the book.
I enjoyed the content of the story and the characters. I did however find that the story was fast paced and as though there were major life events that were skimmed over to move onto the next life event. I would have liked some extra time with the characters dealing with and processing the hands they had been dealt.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review ‘The Wedding Dress’ by Danielle Steel.
Thank you for the opportunity to read The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel.
It is the story of the Deveraux family in 1920s San Francisco. They are the pinnacle of high society and live grandly. Charles and Louise hold a ball as a debut for their daughter Eleanor and have hand picked all the guests. It is grandiose and Eleanor meets a wealthy banker Alex there. Their subsequent wedding is a society highlight with the pinnacle being a specially made Parisian wedding dress. After a luxurious honeymoon life changes forever.
The Wall Street Crash occurred and lives were flipped upside down. Some people coped better than others with the reversal of fortunes. Eleanor and Alex went through many trials over the years and it was interesting to see how their marriage worked.
Over the years their family changed and endured hardships with many successes scattered through. This was such a smooth read I didn’t want to stop. Every time things were going well something happened to change the path of their lives and it was so interesting to see how they coped and adapted. A wonderful book to show the many facets to a life which I wanted to keep going.
This is the first Danielle Steel book that I have read and I throughly enjoyed it.
This book follows four generations of women who are all brought together by one magnificent wedding dress.
I really enjoyed the historical aspect of the book and how it went from following Eleanor Devereaux in the 1920s and her families struggle through the depression, through to the 70s and current time, as we follow her daughter, granddaughter and their lives.
It’s a beautiful story of loss, hope, love and family as we follow Eleanor’s life and that of her family and the bond that the different characters share.
I loved the descriptions of grandeur that Steel describes of the 1920s pre depression with the luxurious mansions, grand debutant balls and parties that were had.
I would highly recommend reading this book.
This is not my first Danielle Steel read the wedding dress was a good story it was about the wedding dress about four generation and it takes you through Daniel still doesn’t disappoint
Times change, circumstances change, this is true for Eleanor. Her youth spent indulged with the luxuries of life. Her wedding that which can only be dreamt of. Her dress designed just for her, in France, with all the beading, lace and eligance all brides wish for. But times change.
The rich become poor. The dress being one of few items saved from her privaledged youth. Her and her new husband working for a living, her parents shattered by the loss.
Turn the clock forward, what does the future hold for the amazing dress. Can they hold onto a past that will never again exist, what will come of the future.
Steel tells a touching tale, her characters relate able, the challenges so true. An easy book to read, not too soppy, not too dreamy, just right.
Thanks Beauty and Lace for the opportunity.
The Wedding Dress is a book set in 1928 about the lives of the Devereaux’s who’s lifestyles was luxurious and full of balls and magnificent furniture and clothes. The story transports the reader back in time with the description of how life was lived in this family and how charmed Eleanor’s life was that it was like a movie playing in your head with the story so vivid it was like it was playing out. Eleanor’s story starts out like a fairy tale, travel to exotic places buying beautiful clothes with her mother, while her father stays behind working in the family bank.
When Eleanor has reached her age to be presented, her parents organise a debut ball where many young and eligible men are invited in hope that one of these would be a suitable husband. Charles & Louise also invited another wealthy banker Alex, albeit he is older than the other men it is him that Elanor meets and falls in love with. Their romance is whirlwind and sweeps Eleanor off her feet, seeing her and her mother again going on an amazing trip to Paris to purchase the most amazing wedding dress. The description of the dress is so detailed that you can almost see it in your minds eye and the grandeur was splendid.
Following an amazing wedding day Elanor and Alex then go on a grand honeymoon where no expense is spared. A twist of fate and a Wall Street Market crash brings their rich and worldly lives to a grinding holt. The story is vey good that it describes how this event affected the lives of this and other families. It described the harsh realities of how the wealthy were completely wiped out virtually overnight and left penniless. The main characters of this story were both strong and weak. In the end it was good to see how the writer painted the picture of how strong Eleanor was given her charmed life and how strong the mother was also both who focused on setting up a life in this new harsher poorer world.
The story followed their now very normal and mundane lives compared to the grand luxury of the past. It showed a strength of character of loyalty, love, hope and despair as it followed these characters lives over the many ensuing years during the depression. The story covered the death of her parents, the birth of her child and then a grandchild and a varied amount of personal tragedies. The family dynamics changed many times over the storyline but with each stage it showed a renewed strength of character and determination to survive and triumph. This period of time in history was a difficult time with poverty and war and a lot of depression and suicide amongst the upper class, and this book really covered all of these areas well to give a small insight into this life.
The pinnacle of the storyline was the beautiful wedding dress specifically made for Eleanor on her wedding day. It was the focal point of the story as this was the last piece of treasure to be bough and worn by Eleanor. When their lives changed this dress was carefully boxed up and kept safe in hope that richer and more carefree times would again happen. Danielle Steel was clever to focus on how an item worn in a time long ago could actually weave the future generations back into remembering the past bride and her life.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to lose themselves in a wonderful story of hope, courage and love. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book it will be treasured on my bookshelf for many years.
Danielle Steel’s novel The Wedding Dress is a lovely, heart-wrentching, fast paced, engaging and resilient novel about life, love, relationships and the ever elusive and bitter sweet memories of years past and the changes life brings across decades.
The Wedding Dress follows four generations of women who are brought together by one magnificent wedding dress. The last remaining luxurious item the family retains after the wall street crash and the need to downsize their grandure and lifestyle.
The book jumps across 4 generstions of woman and the differences in their lives. It is sweet. Kind and gentle and allows readers to engsge with, fall in love with and run theough the novel with ease. It was quick r3ading but very rewarding.
I love the connection of the families previous owned home being used as a collection point for a grand family engagement of a different magnitude and the memories which the wedding dress brought with it.
I foind the historical aspect of the book pleasing. Beginning with Eleanor Devereaux 1920s and ending with her granddaughter and their lives as hard working, honest and noteworthy characters.
I definitely think this book is worth reading.
Thank you fir allowing me the opportunity to read it.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this book, I enjoy Danielle Steel books and this one did not disappoint.
It goes through the generations of a wealthy family it has joys as well as tragedy it keeps you in suspense in some parts of the book. It is well written like you expect from her and you feel that you are a part of the story. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.