Precious Things (39 page)
Authors: Kelly Doust
You never know what you'll uncover when you take a harder look at things. The weight of the past is written everywhere. Sometimes, though, that knowledge can only enrich us, and help us tread more lightly into the future. That's how I feel about living with very old â and sometimes very precious â things.
| 1891 | Normandy, France: Aimée makes a collar for her ill-fated wedding, before ripping it off and passing it to her father's maidservant, Faustine |
| 1926 | Paris to Shanghai: Dariusz, a circus strongman, buys the collar from a dealer at the Marche aux Puces and gives it to his love, Lexi, to mend and use for one of her trapeze costumes. Lexi recreates the tired-looking collar into a headpiece, or coronet, which she wears for her final performance in Shanghai |
| 1926 | Kuala Lumpur by way of Shanghai and Hanoi: Wily dancer Zephyr finds the coronet lying, discarded, upon a ballroom floor and takes it back to her hometown of Hanoi, before journeying on to Malaya with her wealthy new husband, Gerrit |
| 1931 | Malaya to London: Zephyr's twin sister, Vera, takes the coronet as payment for the injustices perpetrated against her, unaware of the diamond hidden inside |
| 1953 | Rome: Vera's stepson, the formidable painter Christian Hunt, brings the coronet with him from London. Bella, his light-fingered American muse, wears it while posing for one of his darker paintings |
| 1957 | Rome: Francesca wears the coronet to the market, where the course of her life changes for ever |
| 1973 | London: The coronet is back in his possession, but Christian Hunt gives it to Liliana, a gypsy, to sell at her Portobello Road market stall |
| 1974 | Istanbul by way of London and New York: After Liliana gives her the coronet, Ulrika takes it with her to New York and then Istanbul, where she attaches it to the bodice of a beloved prairie dress and wears it into the Grand Bazaar |
| 2015 | London: Head Auctioneer Maggie finds the coronet, very much worse for wear, in a discarded job lot. Intrigued, she takes it home to mend it |
| 2016 | London: Maggie's daughter, Pearl, pulls the coronet apart for good |
| 1. | Why do you think Maggie says yes to the promotion at Bonninghams, even when it means she'll have less time doing the things she loves most and with the people she cares about? |
| 2. | How does the novel's title relate to the story? |
| 3. | The author has chosen two epigraphs: an extract from Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market and an Oscar Wilde quote. How do these epigraphs reflect the book's larger themes? |
| 4. | Mothers and daughters feature a lot in this book; can you explore the different sorts of motherâdaughter stories in the narrative and figure out what the author seems to be saying about this important relationship? |
| 5. | People say that infidelity in a marriage is emblematic of other problems between the couple. What does Maggie's emotional infidelity with Michael highlight in her relationship with Tim? |
| 6. | Maggie seems to want it all. Do you think she'd be happy if she got everything she wanted? Why is it impossible to âhave it all'? |
| 7. | All of the characters seem to receive the coronet at a time when they're grasping for more. Do you think the coronet is âdangerous', or is it simply that the characters want too much? |
| 8. | What do you make of Bella and Christian's relationship? Why did Christian abduct Francesca, and what were the results of this tragedy? |
| 9. | Winston Churchill once said, âThose who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' How do Maggie and the other characters in Precious Things learn from the mistakes of the past? |
| 10. | Maggie's story shies away from a âHollywood ending' because she never seems to repair the relationship with her mother. In realising how important her relationship with Kate and Jean is, she creates another family instead for Tim, Pearl, Stella and herself. How realistic do you think this is, and when is it reasonable to walk away from family dramas? |
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BOUT THE
A
UTHOR
KELLY DOUST
is the author of five non-fiction books about craft and fashion including the bestselling
The Crafty Minx
,
A Life in Frocks: A memoir
,
Minxy Vintage
and
The Crafty Minx at Home
. She has a background in book publishing and publicity, and has worked in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia and freelanced for magazines such as
Vogue
,
Australian Women's Weekly
and
Sunday Life Magazine
. Kelly lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and daughter.
RAISE FOR
K
ELLY
D
OUST
Precious Things
âA mesmerising and sublimely told tale about how our stories and secrets outlive us, intertwined in the threads of our precious things' â Jacinta Tynan, author of
Mother Zen
and television presenter, Sky News
âThe stories of the different women Doust imagines are so touching and poignant. I loved it' â Kristy Allen,
Australian Women's Weekly
âCaptivating, mesmerising and an absolute pleasure to read,
Precious Things
does not disappoint' â Dijanna Mulhearn, Wardrobe 101
âWe are drawn in from start to end; this is a novel to get wonderfully lost in' â Pia Jane Bijkerk, stylist, blogger and author of
My Heart Wanders
and
Paris: Made By Hand
A Life in Frocks
âThere's more to fashion than pretty frocks. Kelly Doust flicks through a wardrobe of memories conjured up by her favourite and not so favourite outfits to discover what makes us fall in love with clothes within a lifetime. Delightful and charming, with a sprinkling of sound fashion advice' â Kirstie Clements,
The Vogue Factor
âKelly really takes the time to analyse fashion and style in an enlightened, informed and highly readable way . . . some extremely savoury food for fashion thought' â Melissa Hoyer, fashion journalist
âA vivacious antidote to drab, Doust's enthusiasm and individuality will appeal to those interested in fashion, craft, and personal style' â
Bookseller & Publisher
âKelly Doust has truly shone in this sweet concoction of memories and musings on her â and many other women's â first true love: fashion . . . a very enjoyable and thought-provoking read . . . Trickled with fashion tips and cute illustrations, this charming memoir will spark a newfound appreciation for your â and others' â wardrobes' â shesaid.com
Minxy Vintage
âKelly Doust is a girl after my own heart, reinventing vintage finds to suit her personal style. Her book is a vintage vixen's guidebook for the chic: just read, shop, recreate, and repeat. Her finds are exquisite and her reinvention tricks are inspiring and achievable for even the newest vintage shopper among us. You can't help but get inspired by her vintage acumen' â Janie Bryant, award-winning costume designer,
Mad Men
âKelly Doust introduces readers to her wonderful world of reviving and customizing vintage pieces, with tips on how to find, buy, clean, repair and salvage vintage clothing . . .
Minxy Vintage
is a great guide for anyone who wants to bring their crafting and sewing skills to create personal and individual pieces from budget vintage finds, while bringing a modern and unique twist to wearing vintage clothes' â Dita Von Teese, burlesque star and vintage icon
âCute, creative and full of fun ideas' â
Marie Claire
LSO BY
K
ELLY
D
OUST
The Crafty Minx: Creative recycling and handmade treasures
The Crafty Kid: Projects for and with children
A Life in Frocks: A memoir
Minxy Vintage: How to customise and wear vintage clothing
The Crafty Minx at Home: 50+ handmade and upcycled projects for beautiful living
OPYRIGHT
Extracts from âGoblin Market' by Christina Rossetti from
Goblin Market and Other Poems
, 1862.
HarperCollins
Publishers
First published in Australia in 2016
by HarperCollins
Publishers
Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
Copyright © Kelly Doust 2016
The right of Kelly Doust to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968
, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollins
Publishers
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
A 53, Sector 57, Noida, UP, India
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF, United Kingdom
2 Bloor Street East, 20th floor, Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8, Canada
195 Broadway, New York NY 10007, USA
ISBN: 978 1 4607 5097 1 (paperback)
ISBN: 978 1 4607 0557 5 (ebook)
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Doust, Kelly, author.
Precious things / by Kelly Doust.
CollarsâHistoryâFiction.
FamiliesâFiction.
A823.4
Cover design by Darren Holt, HarperCollins Design Studio
Cover image by Liz Dalziel / Trevillion Images; pattern by shutterstock.com
Picture frames and dinkus by shutterstock.com
All other internal illustrations by Jessica Guthrie