In Jade Beer's fourth novel, The Memory Dress, a very special gown brings together themes of love, loss, and the complexities of friendship. Told in the alternating voices of Jayne and Meredith, neighbors in a posh Bath apartment building, Beer's narrative examines the limits of memory, the challenges of loving someone with an incurable illness, and the unexpected ways community can emerge.
Quiet and introverted, Jayne is content living on her own: walking dogs for company and distraction, working part-time at a florist's shop. But an unexpected encounter with her downstairs neighbor, Meredith, piques Jayne's curiosity and leaves her both intrigued and worried. Meredith is pleasant, but she seems lonely and confused, wondering where her husband, William, has disappeared to. When Jayne sees the chaos in Meredith's apartment, she grows even more concerned. But when she spots a sumptuous pink silk dress tossed over a chair in Meredith's bedroom--a couture creation worn by Princess Diana--Jayne becomes determined to uncover some answers about Meredith, the gown, and the connection between the two.
Beer (The Last Dress from Paris) stitches her story together with alternating threads. One is an account of Meredith's career working for London designer Catherine Walker in the 1980s. She chronicles Meredith's work on a number of Diana's gowns; her courtship with her colleague and eventual husband, William; and the joy and heartbreak of raising their daughter, Fiona. In 2018, as Jayne tries to piece together Meredith's story, she is aided by Meredith's "memory room," a collection of photos and clippings arranged meticulously by William, which helps Meredith fill in some of the gaps in her memory--but not all of them. Beer draws on real-life details of Diana's wardrobe to create the backdrop of Meredith's personal and professional adventures, and aid in Jayne's scavenger hunt.
As Jayne searches for William, probes Meredith's memory for the missing stories, and enlists her neighbors to help Meredith navigate the details of daily life, she slowly emerges from her shell of isolation. Gradually, Jayne begins to bond with her neighbors, and even to open her heart to Jake, who lives in the apartment's refurbished carriage house and seems eager for Jayne's companionship. Although they don't always agree on how to help Meredith, these friends become just as intrigued by the dress as Jayne is. Beer sensitively explores the challenges of mental illness, the gifts (and the limits) of community, and the power of emotional bonds to change a person's life. The Memory Dress is a tribute to unlikely friendships, enduring love, and the history contained in every stitch of an exquisitely crafted garment. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams
Shelf Talker: Jade Beer's fourth novel pays tribute to unlikely friendships, haute couture, and the enduring power of love.