Phoebe Swift is willing to make desperate changes in her life. After the death of her best friend and calling off her engagement, Phoebe abruptly quits her posh job at Sotheby’s and opens her own vintage shop. Her passion for previously worn clothes and the stories they once told is Phoebe’s hook for running her own business, and she quickly befriends a Mrs. Bell and begins to learn her stories. Mrs. Bell is a widow dying of cancer, and asks Phoebe to sell her clothes to new owners. While looking through Mrs. Bell’s closet, Phoebe stumbles upon a child’s blue jacket, and the story behind it fills the pages with mystery and sadness, but a happy ending.
A Vintage Affair by best-selling author Isabel Wolff is a beautifully written story about the essence of friendship, forgiving oneself, and finding love in unexpected places. There are many subject matters that will pull heartstrings, and I found myself wide-eyed in many places due to the emotional intensity of the characters and their situations. Wolff did an excellent job when it came to research for this novel, and it showed when I became quickly immersed in the storyline and could not put this book down. I did think there were a bit too many sub-plots for my liking, but other than that, an excellent read and a definite recommendation from me!
Rating: 4/5
Ooh, I’m such a sucker for ‘vintage shop’ books, and I’d buy that just based on the cover. It reminds me of this amazing exhibition I went to in Venice, where there were all these stunning gowns and dresses all made from rolls of butcher’s paper that had been texturised and painted! Amazing…
Hi Samantha
Thank you so much for this great review – I’m delighted! Just in case anyone’s interested, the novel I wrote after ‘A Vintage Affair’ was ‘the Very Picture of You’ about a portrait painter, Ella, and the secrets that her sitters tell her while she’s painting them. And I’ve just finished writing ‘Ghostwritten’ which will be published in the US next year. Set in present day and on Java during WW2, it’s about a haunted ghostwriter.
Many thanks again for the lovely review, and very best wishes
Isabel Wolff
Author
Thanks Isabel, loved the book! Ghostwritten sounds fabulous 🙂