After all, Dungatar is a fictionalised community, but its references to post-World War II Australia are very real. By ‘historical context’, all we mean here is the factual background which tells us why Rosalie Ham wrote her novel, and why she chose the particular setting of Dungatar.

Historical Contextīefore we move on to looking at The Dressmaker’s plot and delving deep into analysis, it’s really important to understand the main historical context which underpins the novel. But somehow, it just does, and it’s what makes The Dressmaker one of my favourite books of all time. Not every book can do that - and, seemingly, on a surface level, you wouldn’t expect a novel about fashion and betrayal to do it either. Ham’s novel is layered with meaning, character development, and a moving plot which really helps us reflect on who we are as people.

Specifically, The Dressmaker offers real insight into some of the most pressing issues that have been around for centuries - how communities respond to crisis, why certain groups are marginalised, and how we should respond to tyranny and intolerance. This subject isn’t just about studying books and writing essays, it’s also about learning new insight you’ll carry with you throughout your life. The Dressmaker is one of those texts which reinforces why studying English can be so great when you give it a proper chance. I find it to be one of the most intriguing texts of our time - managing to weave together a historical narrative with humour, wit, and modern-day social concerns regarding patriarchy, class, and the effects of isolation. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly's mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion'-Provided by publisher.Set in Dungatar, a barren wasteland of traditionalism and superstition, isolated amidst the rapidly modernising post-World War II Australia, acclaimed author Rosalie Ham’s gothic novel, The Dressmaker, provides a fascinating window into 1950s Australia. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat-the town's only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics-and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar.

She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave.

'A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture- After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child.

The dressmaker by rosalie ham