A Vintage Affair

In my eighth novel, 'A Vintage Affair', the heroine, Phoebe Swift, has just opened a vintage dress shop in Blackheath. At the same time she is coping with the recent loss of her best friend, Emma. So Phoebe takes refuge in her work - restoring these wonderful old clothes to their former glory so that they can go on to have new lives. But what of the past lives these clothes have lived she often wonders? What stories would they tell if they could speak? One day Phoebe meets an elderly French woman, Therese, who wishes to sell her some elegant dresses and suits. In Therese's wardrobe Phoebe also finds a child's sky-blue winter coat, from wartime France. At first Therese wishes not to reveal the coat's history but, as the two women become friends, she opens up. Phoebe listens to the poignant story of the little blue coat not knowing that it is to have a profound and uplifting connection with her own life...

I have been hugely helped in my research for 'A Vintage Affair' by the auctioneer and textiles expert Kerry Taylor of Kerry Taylor Auctions. and if you click on the 'Resources' box, below right, this will take you to links to a number of wonderful vintage clothing websites, including Martha's Closet, My Vintage, Devoted2Vintage & Elizabeth's Vintage Closet & Candy Says.

Critical acclaim for
'A Vintage Affair'

Heat
'A warm romantic tale.'

Daily Mail
'What a lovely book!... A rather bitterwseet love story is described in wonderful, vivid detail; brilliantly well-drawn characters abound and the vintage bits are very well researched. I hate to admit it but I had a few tears in my eyes at the end. Read this if you're in need of a serious feelgood factor.'

Irish Tatler
'Romance in a vintage clothes shop – we were sold from line one. Luckily, this book lives up to its hype, and is filled with all the sensory goodness that leads to inevitable comparisons to Joanne Harris – this is an author to bookmark.'

Easy Living
'The love triangle is light and sparky, but what makes the book stand out is Wolff's passion for vintage fashion; velvety, silken prose describes the clothes and their history, with several pieces telling rich stories that develop into compelling sub-plots.'

 

Isabel talking about 'A Vintage Affair' on You Tube

In this interview for Amazon I talk about my new novel, 'A Vintage Affair', in which my heroine, Phoebe, has just opened a vintage dress shop. One day she goes to buy a collection of clothes from an elderly Frenchwoman, Therese, but among the gloroius old suits and gowns is one garment that Therese won't part with - a child's coat...

 

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