The Dress in the Window: A Novel

The Dress in the Window is a story of three women — two sisters and one mother-in law — who are picking up the pieces from World War II. They are all bound by necessity rather than love. Jeanne and Peggy, two sisters, lost their sweethearts, parents, and inheritance. They have no income of their own. Thelma is Peggy’s mother-in-law, and she couldn’t turn Peggy away when Peggy was carrying her grandchild.

This novel provides an interesting perspective on the secret lives of women; as well as the mill and fabric industry in the North East United States. The story of the three women’s intersecting lives is layered and complicated. I struggled to understand how a couple of pieces fit into the larger story. Each of the women is a fighter in her own way — what I found most touching about this novel is that each of the main characters’ inner struggles revolves around feeling betrayed by one or both of the other women, when really who they were each most betrayed by were the men they loved.