The Rebel of Seventh Avenue by Annabelle Marx

Fashion, I came to realise, wasn’t just about beautiful dresses. It was about self-respect, freedom of expression and power.

1910, Edinburgh. Young seamstress Maisie McIntyre’s world shatters with her mother’s death. Desperate to escape the grinding poverty that has defined her life so far, Maisie makes a daring choice: she steals a bolt of peacock-blue silk, a stash of money and sails for New York City.

With nothing but raw talent and fierce determination, Maisie’s gift for dressmaking opens doors she never imagined. As she builds her couture empire, designing bold, modern fashions for Manhattan’s elite, Maisie falls for Joseph Jackson, a talented Black architect with dreams as ambitious as her own. But in a world steeped in prejudice, she finds herself facing an impossible choice.

Vividly recreating the glamour and grit of early 20th century New York – from the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to the emerging women’s rights movement – comes a sweeping tale of ambition, love and a woman determined to fashion not just beautiful clothes but her own place in a man’s world. Fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, An American Beauty and novels by Marie Benedict will be spellbound by The Rebel of Seventh Avenue.