Lauren Chater on the secrets locked up in 17th century clothing in 'The Winter Dress'

Good Reading Podcast

Jo Baaker is drawn back to the island of Texel to investigate the provenance of a 17th century silk dress unearthed by a local diving team. It offers a tantalising opportunity to explore the way people lived during Holland's Golden Age. Jo's research leads her to artist and intellectual Catharina van Shurman and her companion Anna Tesseltje and the mystery deepens as she delves into Anna's history. The beautiful silk dress soon becomes emblematic of lives and fortunes won and lost. And Jo has other reasons for returning to her birthplace. As details about her own past emerge it disrupts everything she thought she knew about her own troubled past. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Lauren Chater about cultural dress theory, researching the former inhabitants of clothing, turning real historical figures into great female characters and Lauren's habit of disappearing down historical rabbit holes.