Christine Wells' new historical novel, THE PARIS GOWN, takes us back to the capital of France, where SISTERS OF THE RESISTANCE was set. The title gown is a Christian Dior confection, and while the story doesn't center on the gown itself, the couture dress serves as a symbol of the ties that bind the three main characters together.

In fact, we meet these young ladies as they stand outside House of Dior. They had met during a class at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Claire took the class as a step in her quest to become a fine Parisian chef. Margot, from Australia, and Gina, from America, took the class as a step toward learning about fine dining so that when they married and entertained for their husbands, they would know about French cooking. Because Claire's mother was British, they spoke in English most of the time. However, when they ate at Claire's family brasserie, they spoke French.

Each woman had very different goals in 1950 when they were best friends and fantasizing about their promising futures. Claire's dream was to open her own restaurant serving exquisite food and earning a Michelin star. Margot just wanted to get married and have a large family. Gina was determined not to marry and wanted to write books. She was a journalist in the meantime as she attempted to write a novel. While Claire's middle-class background means that a coveted Dior gown would be way out of her reach, the other two women have the financial resources to buy couture gowns, and they generously share their wardrobes with Claire. But Claire yearns to have a Dior gown of her own, as impractical as that dream might be.

"Wells has written a novel that we want to keep reading not because there's a huge mystery to solve or international espionage and thrills. It’s because the story is engaging, the women's plights are touching, and we want to know how it all ends."

The story then moves six years into the future, and we see that Claire is working at the brassiere when she gets the shocking news that her father is selling the family restaurant, retiring and moving with his sister to Nice. Claire had left the restaurant to work at other establishments where she could learn about haute cuisine and hone her skills, but she returned to the brasserie when her father's ill health meant that he needed her help. This means that trying to get back into the world of haute cuisine won't be easy. She has two years of working in a brasserie, which is looked down upon by those in the business of fine dining, and the mere fact that she is a woman is another black mark against her.

Gina shows up unexpectedly on Claire's doorstep (really the doorstep of the brasserie). While Claire had just received Gina's wedding invitation and a photograph of Gina and her fiancé, Hal, looking gloriously happy on a yacht, Gina is not married and a bit secretive about why. We eventually learn why she called off the wedding, but it's apparent that she’s not happy about it. She truly loves Hal, and she fled to Paris to work on her novel and be in the city she adored so much.

Both Gina and Claire hadn't heard from the third member of their trio in a long time. Margot's letters had stopped years before, and while they wrote to her in spite of the lack of communication, they didn't know what happened to her. When they discover her in Paris, Margot is working under a false name at the House of Dior, wearing a blonde wig to cover her dark hair. She is bone-thin and terrified.

Wells excels at creating characters with whom we immediately connect. We may not be like them, but they are all likable women, and we feel for their situations and their frustrations and dreams. Each of them has experienced obstacles to success and faces obstacles to personal happiness. But they find they are much stronger together than they would be individually. By supporting and listening to and loving each other, they emerge, like a butterfly from its chrysalis, strong and ready to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Wells has written a novel that we want to keep reading not because there's a huge mystery to solve or international espionage and thrills. It’s because the story is engaging, the women's plights are touching, and we want to know how it all ends. There's a bit of #metoo, historically appropriate disdain for women's work, and the ever-present reality that when family is in need, it's the woman who drops everything to be the caretaker. It's a feel-good story, and we feel like we are living in Paris. We walk with the women down the fashionable boulevards where the couturiers have their ateliers. Our mouths water as we "watch" Claire create fabulous sauces and pastries in the early morning hours at her family's restaurant. We delight in the balls that we see the women attend, wearing the title gown.

And at the end, our hearts are a little fuller and our spirits a bit lighter because we know that in fiction, at least, there are wonderful happy endings. Now if only we had a Dior dress of our own.