The Seamstress - by Frances De Pontes Peebles (Paperback)

About the Book

An enthralling novel of love and courage, passion and adventure that brings to life a faraway time and place, "The Seamstress" is an epic saga, rich in depth and vision, that heralds the arrival of a supremely talented new writer.

From the Back Cover

Winner of the Friends of American Writers Award for Fiction

As seamstresses, the young sisters Emília and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, mend, and conceal--useful skills in the lawless backcountry of Brazil, where ruthless land barons feud with bands of outlaw cangaceiros, trapping innocent residents in the crossfire. Emília, a naive romantic, dreams of falling in love with a gentleman and escaping to a big city. Quick-tempered Luzia also longs for escape, finding it in her craft and secret prayers to the saints she believes once saved her life. But when Luzia is abducted by cangaceiros led by the infamous Hawk and Emília stumbles into a marriage with the son of a wealthy and politically powerful doctor, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never would have imagined.

Review Quotes

"THE SEAMSTRESS is a gripping portrait of the lives of two sisters caught in the political unbalance of a country at a crossroads. Bittersweet, beautifully written, this sweeping saga is as impossible to put down as it is to forget." - Aryn Kyle, author of THE GOD OF ANIMALS
"This impressive debut novel seduces with its sweeping story, strong characterization, and extraordinarily vivid detail. A good read-alike for fans of Isabel Allende." - Booklist (starred review)
"[An] engrossing historical saga. . . . The novel's true beauty is the exquisitely realized relationship between Emilia and Luzia, two strong women who, despite the separate paths their lives take, remain connected and committed to each other." - Library Journal
"[A] sweeping new novel. . . . Peebles sets her story within a political context that is vividly and convincingly rendered. . . . There's much to admire about THE SEAMSTRESS--its scope and ambition, its historical intelligence." - San Francisco Chronicle
"[A] richly woven tale. . . . This is the best book I've read in the past year. . . . This saga of motherless sisters unfolds against a panoramic backdrop of drought and political unrest. . . . Fans of Isabel Allende will find much to recommend in this saga, with its fully realized characters, gripping moral quandries, tense drama, and lyrical descriptive prose." - Elle
"[Peebles'] first novel, THE SEAMSTRESS, is not only a thrilling and tragic story set in Pernambuco, Brazil--her birthplace--but also a story about growing up and leaving home. And how distance and time can both crystallize our family ties and fray them. . . . Riveting characters." - Chicago Sun-Times