The Last Silk Dress

by Ann Rinaldi

First published 1988

Amazon

4.1(27)

Susan Chilmark throws herself into a Richmond campaign to collect silk dresses for a Confederate observation balloon. The project offers a patriotic role outside the home, but her search for material and approval leads her into family secrets that challenge what she has been taught about honour and slavery.

As shortages and war pressure reshape the Confederate capital, Susan must decide whether loyalty means protecting reputation or acknowledging injustice. The silk balloon links technological experiment with civilian sacrifice, while the dresses themselves expose differences of class, race and control over women’s property.