The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes : Secrets from a Victorian Woman's Wardrobe

The hidden fabric of a Victorian woman's life - from family and friends to industry and Empire - told through her unique textile scrapbook. 'Irresistable' The Times'The story of a singular woman... Kate Strasdin's forensic detective work has finally let Mrs Sykes - and her book - speak again' JUDITH FLANDERSIn 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of her life and times. Her name was Mrs Anne Sykes. Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Strasdin spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within the album's pages. Piece by piece, she charts Anne's journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry. This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear. 'An extraordinarily rich record of middle-class Victorian life.. [a] fascinating book' Guardian; 320 pages; 23/02/2023

FREE DELIVERY FOR ORDERS OVER £40

We aim to process and dispatch our orders within 24 hours. The orders go into our warehouse to be picked, packed and consolidated into one parcel where appropriate. Please note orders are only processed Monday-Friday.

We sometimes split orders between multiple parcels. Items from our extended range section are dispatched separately.

If any items are missing from your delivery, please allow 2 working days for the rest of your order to arrive before contacting us at sales@books2door.com

All of our books are 100% brand new, unread and purchased directly from the publishers in bulk allowing us to pass the huge savings on to you!

UK DELIVERIES

Orders Under £40

Standard Delivery: £2.99 (2-4 working days)
Express Delivery: £5.99 (1-2 working days)

Orders between £40 and £100

Standard Delivery: Free (2-4 working days)
Express Delivery: £2.99 (reduced rate, 1-2 working days)

Orders over £100

Express Delivery: Free  (1-2 working days)

These delivery times are the maximum delivery periods that a purchase can take to reach our customers. Delivery may be sooner than this. These times are an estimation, not a guarantee.

There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays.